Breakfast links: The smart money says

SmarTrip stays

Metro has cancelled plans to install new fare gates that would accept payment via credit card or smart phone after the pilot failed to get enough users. Metro still plans to modernize its fare gates without the technology. (Post)

DC declares independence

In a push for fiscal independence, DC will spend its budget using local tax dollars without waiting for Congressional approval. Congress is weighing legislative action against the District. (Post)

Shelter sums

Mayor Bowser revealed that the total cost to run the homeless shelter sites will be about $10 million more per year than DC General. The Council won’t vote on the plan until May at the earliest. (WAMU, City Paper)

No new Circulator routes

DC Circulator won’t add new, promised routes anytime soon. DDOT head Leif Dormsjo says the existing maintenance facility is too small for more buses, and funding for a new facility went to Metro instead. (Post)

Solar support

All of ANC 2B’s commissioners voted to support adding solar panels to a historic building in Dupont Circle, and are urging the skeptical historic preservation board to do the same. (Borderstan)

What’s in a station name?

The Foggy Bottom and Smithsonian Metro stations now have new, longer names. Metro will add “Kennedy Center” and “National Mall” to the station names, respectively, despite limited public support for the former. (WAMU)

HOT and the Pentagon

Traffic around the Pentagon could change significantly with the I-395 HOT lanes. VDOT is weighing four options for improved access to the area as part of the HOT lanes project. (Post)

And…

DDOT’s Jim Sebastian shared his thoughts on getting around DC by bike. (Post) … WABA needs donations to build a bike skills course under the Wilson Bridge in Alexandria. (WashCycle) … Metro had to evacuate nearly 200 passengers yesterday after a train lost power outside of Rosslyn. (Post)