Breakfast links: WMATA budget shortfall dramatically slashed
Metro train in motion at Dupont Circle by Daniel Kelly used with permission.
WMATA’s budget shortfall decreased to $185 million
WMATA released preliminary budget figures Monday for the next fiscal year ahead of a formal budget proposal in November. The reduction was credited to increased federal funding and slightly improved ridership. They also updated the public on other measures around service plans and fare recovery. (Jordan Pascale / DCist)
MoCo agencies to meet with county council on Vision Zero strategy
Montgomery County Council will hold a briefing today (Tuesday) with several county agencies to discuss traffic safety and Vision Zero plans and ordinances. The briefing comes on the heels of a number of traffic fatalities at several notable intersections in the county. (Steve Bohnel / Bethesda Beat)
Arlington County Board loosens ground-floor retail requirement
Arlington County Board members changed their policy from retail-only to allowing “retail-equivalent” uses on the ground floors of properties with retail spaces to decrease vacancies. They had been approving buildings for alternative uses on a case-by-case basis. (Scott McCaffrey / Sun Gazzette)
DC streateries will not have to pay additional liability insurance to operate
DC restaurants and venues that want to operate outdoor seating will not have to have additional liability insurance than what is already required for their primary locations. The District Office of Risk Management first proposed the regulation in the spring of 2022 and it would have gone into effect on January 1, 2023. (Colleen Grablick / DCist)
Alexandria streateries will pay on sliding-scale to rent parking spaces
The Alexandra City Council unanimously approved a plan over the weekend for businesses using street parking spaces for their outdoor dining and other extensions of their businesses to pay rent for the spaces on a sliding scale, based on location. (James Cullum / ALXNow)
DC releases updated plans for Kennedy Street NW
The District Office of Planning (OP), released an update to their 2008 Kennedy Street plan last month. The aim of the document is to encourage specific kinds of growth in three zones, with the cornerstone of the plan being a new neighborhood hub at 5th Street NW and Kennedy Street, along with street trees, sidewalk cafes, and public art along the corridor. (Ceese Ip / Petworth News)
DC Council members to propose bill allowing traffic cameras to dole out license points
While the bill may not get a hearing in this legislative session, at-large Councilmember Christina Henderson and her bill co-sponsors Councilmembers Elissa Silverman (at-large) and Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1) hope to begin a conversation to broaden solutions for traffic safety, namely ones that are equitable across income and ethnicity. (Martin Austermuhle / DCist)
Long awaited grocery store at Skyland Town Center to open this month
DC’s first Lidl grocery store will open at the Skyland Town Center, at the junction of Alabama Ave and Naylor Road SE, on September 28. This will be Lidl’s first DC store, although two more are planned for Columbia Heights and Tenleytown. (Urban Turf)
Nats Park will stay open after all
DC’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs will allow the stadium to continue to operate, through December of 2023, but will still require a new plan of action for the additional event or retail space. (Darian Khalilpour / Fox 5)
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