Breakfast links: There’s still hope
Can bike lanes keep proliferating?
With the the easiest bike lanes are already done, future lanes will require some tradeoffs. DDOT’s decade-long methodical expansion of DC’s bike infrastructure has made a believer out of Harry Jaffe and many others, hopefully increasing support for some reallocation of road space. (Housing Complex, Examiner)
Alexandria still pondering CaBi
Alexandria’s Transportation Director is proposing to pilot Capital Bikeshare in Old Town and Carlyle, but one critic wonders if the city’s underfunded transit system could better use the money. (Gazette Packet)
DoD could hold BRAC moves
The defense bill currently before the house would allow DoD to delay several BRAC moves up to a year. Jim Moran and Bob McDonnell have already written Secretary Gates asking to postpone the Mark Center opening. (Post)
Issa would help DC
Vince Gray and Kwame Brown went up the hill expecting to be beaten up by Republicans; instead, Darrell Issa (R-CA) promised to push legislation keeping DC from getting stuck in future federal shutdowns. He also offered to stop having Congress meddle in DC’s affairs. No, just kidding on that last part. (Loose Lips)
Hand wringing over gas prices
In 2008 the DC council lifted a ban on gas resellers also owning gas stations believing it would lower gas prices. Now they want to restore it, believing it will lower gas prices. (Post) … How much transit could we pay for with all the money and time spent investigating gas companies? (Examiner, LA Times)
Marylands tolls cheap, need raising
Maryland’s proposed commuter toll hike may be steep, but will only bring tolls to where they should have been several years ago. The ICC debt will necessitate even higher tolls sooner rather than later. (Baltimore Sun)
Blumenauer wants better commuter benefit
Congressman Blumenauer (D-OR) wants to create permanent mode parity across the commuter benefit to promote non-SOV commuting, including doubling the bike benefit to $40/month and allowing cyclists to take transit benefits in addition to the bike benefit. (BikePortland, Grist, Gavin)
Big racial gap in housing, here & elsewhere
There’s a big gap between blacks and whites in DC concerning how many can afford to buy homes. The good news, such as it is, is that it’s just as bad in other cities and worse in New York. (Housing Complex)
And…
Just because you install streetcars doesn’t mean you can’t swap in buses on the rare occasion when you need their flexibility. (Eschaton) … More pedestrians were struck by drivers in this particularly tragic week. (WUSA) … With BIXI-based bikeshare systems proliferating, can a company design bags and panniers for their racks? (WashCycle)