Photo by Jeff Kubina on Flickr.

Girding for battle in Columbia: General Growth Properties, the owners of the commercial areas of Columbia, will release a plan soon to redevelop the mall and surrounding areas into a higher density, mixed use district (probably something like this. Is it a good plan to create a walkable downtown or overdevelopment in Smart Growth’s clothing? A new group just formed to advocate for the plan. On the other hand, Howard County Blog says not to be so quick to praise GGP’s plans. Via Just Up the Pike.

“Infiltrat[ing] bike and environmental groups”: Anti-Purple Line activist Pam Browning is claiming that these groups have been “infiltrated” by Purple Line boosters, reports JUTP. What about the possibility that they simply favor transit?

Md. delays part of ICC? Just a few access roads: A day after reporting that everything but the ICC is getting cut due to Maryland’s transportation budget problems, the Post adds that one piece of the project is facing cuts: a few minor access roads around the I-95 interchange. “Some critics said they see evidence that the plan is beginning to unravel,” writes the Post. How many cost overruns, gas price increases, and peripheral cuts will it take for officials to really come to their senses?

Can we get out of the ‘50s yet? An op-ed in the Baltimore Sun criticizes the ICC too, along with the overall federal funding formula which still reimburses a much higher percentage of highway construction than transit.

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Tagged: cat:traffic, columbia, development, howard county, icc, maryland, purple line, roads, transit

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.