Breakfast links: Streetcar obstacles

Farewell for made-in-USA

Manufacturing troubles and lack of demand has doomed efforts to build streetcars in the US. Federal officials promoted it as a symbol of industrial renewal, but starting a streetcar business proved too difficult. (Post)

First M, now K

A downtown DC church is concerned about losing parking or its front lawn to make way for ad dedicated streetcar lane along K Street. Will their opposition derail a lane as it did for bikes on M Street? (Post)

Evans hits a pedestrian

DC Councilmember Jack Evans (ward 2) hit a pedestrian in front of his home in Georgetown. He says both he and the pedestrian are okay. He was not arrested or charged. (Fox 5)

Park-its still not on Penn

Despite earlier plans, DDOT has yet to install park-it barriers along the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lane. Officials decided instead to focus on other bike lane projects that require good weather.  (WAMU)

WMATA needs more money

A draft WMATA budget for next year requires 10% more subsidy from area jurisdictions, or else the agency will have to cut service. (Post)

Plenty of parking, even on Black Friday

Urbanists around the country took photos of mall parking lots on Black Friday, the day of peak demand that drives the overbuilding of parking. What did they find? Many half-empty lots. (StrongTowns)

Va. gas taxes going up

Last year’s Virginia transportation bill counted on Congress to pass an Internet sales tax for some revenue. Since that languished, Virginia’s gas tax will automatically rise 5 cents. The same could happen in Maryland next December. (Post)

A vertical office park

1 World Trade Center, the hemisphere’s tallest building, opened recently. But despite its state-of-the-art systems it remains stuck in the mid-20th century, failing to engage the neighborhood or provide a mix of uses. (NYT)

And…

An ambitious proposal to redevelop 8 blocks could transform the area around Rhode Island Avenue Metro. (UrbanTurf) … Protesters calling for justice in Ferguson stopped traffic on I-395 in DC. (Post) … Could next year’s DC Council special election be the perfect time to test instant-runoff voting? (Post)