Breakfast links: Signs of the times

Ugly signs protest development

A Brookland ANC commissioner has painted unsightly signs attached to her house to protest the Colonel Brooks’ Tavern project. Since the signs are political, they require no permits. (Brookland Avenue)

Will Capitol surface parking ever go away?

Despite touting sustainability initiatives, the Architect of the Capitol is doing little about the acres of surface parking lots. An award-winning plan would bury the parking under parks and buildings, but that’s on hold. (City Paper)

Route 1 to be more friendly

After years of promises and delays, Maryland SHA will allocate $8.8 million to make Route 1 in College Park more pedestrian and bike friendly. Also, a tree-studded median will replace the infamous center lane. (Patch)

Take MLK from MLK to MLK

Marion Barry would designate a bridge, a freeway and Independence Avenue as MLK Drive, connecting MLK Avenue SE with the new MLK Memorial. Kwame Brown called an emergency Council session today to vote. (Post)

The Ward 4 WMATA Board

All 3 of DC’s current WMATA board members live in Ward 4. New member Tom Bulger takes Metro regularly, but not from home to work, since he lives in the Chevy Chase area without good transit access.  (Examiner)

CaBi sets records on the 4th

The 4th of July set a CaBi ridership record, with 5,983 trips. 51% were “casual users” (apparently people with daily or weekly memberships), the first time they exceeded rides by annual and monthly members. (@bikeshare)

Amtrak privitization faces the 5th Amendment

The Congressional Research Service, Congress’s research arm, thinks that a privatization plan for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor might be an unconstitutional taking of “private” property. (Streetsblog)

Bike bits

New transportation chair Mary Cheh attended the Bicycle Advisory Council meeting yesterday. (WashCycle) … DDOT told Wells the M Street cycle track can move forward after community and BID meetings; L Street still “needs more work.”

And…

Why do we need the Old Georgetown Board? (City Paper) …  FedEx Field will install 8,000 solar panels. (Post) … Once, traffic signs and drivers’ licenses were brand new ideas. (TBD) … Phil Mendelson withdrew his bill to let the DC government act as a gun dealer. (Examiner)