Breakfast links: New year brings new transportation projects to the Washington region
The 9th Street NW bike lane facing north in Downtown DC by Joe Flood licensed under Creative Commons.
Potomac Yard Metro station, Yellow line bridge and tunnel to open this year
Both improvements to Metrorail service between Virginia and DC are expected to open by May. Other transportation projects expected this year include a protected bike lane on 9th Street NW and automated traffic enforcement across the District. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)
For second year in a row, more than 300 killed by drivers in the region
Traffic fatalities are at a 15-year high. The majority of deaths occurred in Prince George’s County, though that county, DC, and Alexandria saw small declines relative to 2021. In the District, DDOT acknowledged that it is unlikely to reach its goal of zero traffic deaths by 2024. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)
New tool to allow DC students to report near misses with cars
The app, developed by Washington Area Bicyclist Association in collaboration with Howard University researchers and funded by the National Safety Council, will provide data that can help prevent pedestrian fatalities before they happen. The pilot will begin near 15 schools in Wards 7 and 8, with plans to extend to all schools District and region-wide. (Michael Laris / Washington Post)
Mayor plans to bring 15,000 new residents to downtown DC
After being sworn in to her third term, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to bring new residents to the city’s downtown core, which has seen a severe downturn since the beginning of widespread remote and hybrid working for white collar jobs. (Martin Austermuhle / WAMU)
Census: DC and Virginia populations grew, Maryland shrank
The District population grew 0.5% to 671,803 and it remains more populous than Vermont and Wyoming. Virginia’s population grew about 0.3%, while Maryland lost about 10,000 people, or about 0.2%. (Jenny Gathright / DCist)
Virginia buses show big rebound in ridership in 2022
Fairfax Connector, DASH, and CUE buses saw large upticks in ridership in the second half of 2022, according to data released by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. Metrorail trips in Virginia, on the other hand, saw a slight decline. (Vernon Miles / FFXNow)
White’s Ferry closure continues as stakeholders on both sides of the Potomac River debate re-opening options
White’s Ferry brought pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers from the rural Montgomery County town of Poolesville to the more populous Loudoun County suburbs on the other side of the Potomac. The Poolesville government estimates that drivers have driven 9 million more miles to Virginia on alternate routes since the ferry closed. (Renss Greene / Loudoun Now)
MoCo operates the largest electric school bus fleet in the US
The county plans to phase out diesel school buses completely by 2032. To date, all the electric buses are standard buses, as the vendor is still working on a prototype for the smaller special education buses. (Em Espey / Bethesda Beat)
Maryland to improve collection and sharing of eviction data
Among new laws that took effect on January 1 is a Maryland law that requires the state to collect more data in eviction cases and share it with state and local agencies as well as academic researchers. (Washington Post)
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