Breakfast links: Public spaces, open spaces

Retail blinders at Eastern Market

At last night’s public meeting on keeping 7th Street, SE closed on weekends, almost all residents supported the closure, but many area merchants want more vehicular access. Richard Layman thinks they are clinging to an auto-centric mindset to the detriment of their own business, while neglecting steps that could bring in more foot traffic. (RPUS)

Gehry insulted to hear criticism

Project for Public Spaces’ Fred Kent told Frank Gehry that his buildings, while iconic, didn’t function well as public spaces. James Fallows was shocked by Gehry’s dismissive response, saying he found the question “insulting” and calling Kent “pompous.” @bogrosemary wrote, “Is this why Merriweather Post Pavillion is just ‘meh’ as far as music venues go?” (The Atlantic via @beyonddc)

Save Our Memorial

Some members of Congress want to repurpose the DC War Memorial as a national WWI Memorial. Congresspeople from Missouri want to keep the current Kansas City memorial as the official national one. Of course, mostly absent from the Congressional debate is whether it’s fair to take away DC’s only monument on the Mall. (Washington Examiner via Save Our Mall)

Fenty signs bag bill

Mayor Fenty signed the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act yesterday. Five-cent fees for bags at grocery store checkout areas will begin January 1, with free reusable bags going out in the fall along with a public education campaign. (DDOE)

Right not to look at art

A Bloomingdale homeowner let an area artist paint a brightly colored mural on the side of her house, and now the neighbors are upset because they have to look at it. Ah, Washington. (Housing Complex)

Kiss-and-TOD at Herndon

The town of Herndon is still debating what to do with the land arround the planned future Herndon-Monroe Silver Line station. Many leaders want to build a kiss-and-ride, but that might come at the expense of walkable development next to the station. They could zone to allow development as long as the property owners include a kiss-and-ride, but some leaders don’t want much development there at all to avoid competing with their existing town center. Even if Herndon stays inactive, the other half of the station is in Reston, which is coordinating land use more closely with the Silver Line. (Fairfax Times, Joshua D, mooniker)  (Tip: Joshua D)

People still want to build houses near Cumberland?

The state government in Maryland occasionally does put its laws where its mouth is on Smart Growth. After Allegany County approved a huge sprawling subdivision way far away from everything, lawsuits started flying, the state legislature took action to stop the project, and now the developer is suing to get permission to build single-family houses where there’s already a glut on the market. BeyondDC summarizes the sordid saga.