Breakfast links: A new look

Bethesda is the future

Bethesda will become the Metro “station of the future” with brighter lighting, faster fare gates, and a new stainless steel and gray color scheme. (Examiner)

Private Purple

Maryland is looking for private partners to help build and pay for the Purple Line and Baltimore’s Red Line. (Post)

More Metro morsels

Metro had its 4th highest ridership day Wednesday. (Post) … New signs in trains will warn people not to self-evacuate in an emergency. (WAMU) … 389,100 riders will benefit from the Silver Line, but 82,556 will lose out. (Post)

Bike around TJ

Biking around the Jefferson Memorial could improve with some planed security changes. All of the proposed plans have the goal of separating bikes traveling through the area from pedestrians visiting the memorial.  (WashCycle)

A new choice in maps

The people who brought you WalkScore have a new tool called ChoiceMaps that shows access to amenities like restaurants, schools, public transit, and grocery stores in DC.  (UrbanTurf)

Little houses on the hillside

Kenyan McDuffie does not support a development of tiny houses in the Stronghold neighborhood.  Is it because some residents were parking in the alley lot where the houses now stand? (City Paper)

Play nice

Governments in the region should cooperate more and compete less with themselves over luring companies from within the region. (WBJ)

Half-million-dollar highway signs?

Fairfax County says it will spend $500,000 on traffic signs at the I-395 off-ramp onto Route 236.  Will this get the same media attention as Arlington’s million-dollar bus stop? (Ben Ross)  (Tip: Ben Ross)

Outlaw sustainability?

A Kansas state legislator introduced a bill to ban spending any “public funds to promote or implement sustainable development” by the state or any city or town in Kansas. Fortunately, the bill didn’t pass — yet. (Bloomberg)