Breakfast links: Transportation is for people

What neighbors want

Residents of some River East neighborhoods discussed desired pedestrian improvements at a meeting for one of DDOT’s three “livability studies.” Many want sidewalks and better access to bus and Metro. (Alex Baca/Housing Complex, Stephen Miller)  (Tip: Stephen Miller)

Ha ha ha ha ha

DC Attorney General Peter Nickles thinks Mary Cheh’s proposed Open Government Office is unnecessary because the Fenty administration is an “internationally known leader in government transparency.” They have indeed released many public data sets, but also habitually fight FOIA requests at record rates. (Examiner)

Panel summary

Ted Rosenbaum enjoyed last night’s panel about ped, bike, and transit in Germany vs. the US, and the bicycle flash mob video they showed at the start. Regional cooperation was a big topic; thanks to federal incentives, German cities have more regional transit passes that even often include car sharing. (Elevating Chicago)

Boring garden apartments gone

In some parts of the city, owners of bland mid-century “garden apartment” buildings can actually replace them with something at least somewhat better. (DCmud)

Feds not paying their share again

The federal government is refusing to pay a recently-enacted “impervious surface area charge” which tries to make property owners pay for their stormwater impacts and the costs of replacing storm sewers proportional to the amount of stormwater they’re likely to generate. Those storm sewer replacements are, of course, themselves required by the federal government. (DCist)

O’Malley to ride MARC

We inadvertently missed included in earlier Breakfast Links how a MARC train broke down Monday, stranding passengers for hours with no air conditioning and poor information. MTA and Amtrak (who operates MARC trains) are really sorry. Governor O’Malley will ride MARC this morning to hear from riders. (Martin Weil/Luke Rosiak/Post, Michael Dresser/Baltimore Sun)

Private vans provide access, conflict

Privately-run transit vans are on the rise in New York, accessing areas otherwise underserved by transit. They’ve also sparked some violence between competing operators and create some hazards due to poor regulation, not unlike similar systems in Delhi and Cairo. (NY Times, Our Delhi Struggle)

14th and U on the radio

Yesterday, the Kojo Nnamdi show discussed restaurants at 14th and U and the broader goal of attracting arts to the area.