Reston rising
A new community group in Reston is pushing to increase density around its proposed Metro stations. The group building heights of up to 350 feet, to ensure that the expected 26,000 jobs and 7,000 residential units do not gobble up prized green space. But Reston founder Robert E. Simon, a prominent figure in the community, wants to preserve a “suburban feel.” (Fairfax Times)
An even better Frederick
Its downtown already being acknowledged as one of the 10 best neighborhoods by the American Planning Association, Frederick is going through a planning and public involvement process to redevelop an aging 1970’s era retail corridor. Plans discussed include smaller blocks, mixed use development, and pedestrian-friendly, tree-lined streets. (Examiner, Frederick News-Post)
Walter Reed is Metro-accessible
Most news articles about Walter Reed say it’s not accessible by Metro, but actually it’s 5 blocks from Takoma if there were a new entrance added on Dahlia Street. (The Brightwoodian)
O’Malley, Ehrlich spar
Governor O’Malley and Bob Ehrlich debated yesterday. Ehrlich was colorful and animated, O’Malley more cautious, but he beat back Erhlich’s barbs. (Post) … With his Purple Line opposition and education formula, Ehrlich seems to have given up on Montgomery County. (Gazette)
VRE breaks own record
Virginia Railway Express set a single-day ridership record Wednesday, with more than 19,322 passenger trips. (Post, mcs) (Tip: mcs)
Live atop a church
A church in Clarendon is adding 8 floors of apartments, about 2/3 affordable, atop their building (but not taller than the steeple). Other churches in the area and around the nation are watching this as a potential model for how to deal with shrinking congregations. (Examiner)
Be nice, taxi drivers
Alexandria may require all taxi drivers to be polite, “not just to their passengers but at all times to city officials and people on the street.” Cabbies say that’s not reasonable. (Examiner)
Top image: Reston Town Center by citta-vita on Flickr.
Parking minimums can bring profit maximums
Some local developers, including Jair Lynch and Chris Donatelli, realize the economic benefits of axing parking minimums. Perhaps they’ll testify before the DC Zoning Commission on November 15 in favor of more progressive parking regulations. (Housing Complex, Jaime Fearer) (Tip: Jaime Fearer)
Scaling down with the Joneses
Early buyers of stalled developments in Prince William make do with uncompleted golf courses and new neighbors of more modest means. The housing market is slowly readjusting to realistic sizes and price points. (Post, Eric Fidler)
Health projects funded instead of BRAC
Area Congresspeople were hoping to secure funding for BRAC-related transportation projects, but last week failed to get it. The money will go towards military medical equipment and research projects. (The Hill, Bossi) (Tip: Bossi)
“Hipster Express” ties U Street, Brooklyn
A new DC-NYC bus, TheKnowItExpress, will travel from U Street to Brooklyn (and Manhattan). Not surprisingly, it’s being dubbed the “Hipster Express,” and also features Wi-Fi, laptop borrowing, and bicycle storage. (TBD) … But will the stop in Manhattan, at Penn Station, take too much time? (City Desk)
Food fights
The vent for burger joint Rogue States is upsetting its neighbors at the law firm Steptoe & Johnson. A court has ordered Rogue States to halt cooking until the two parties can resolve their beef. (Post) … 45% of Georgetown Cupcake customers are willing to wait more than 30 minutes for a cupcake. (Vox Populi, Eric Fidler)
Not another Adams Morgan!
Barracks Row is the latest to consider a liquor license moratorium. Residents say, as they do everywhere, that they don’t want to be another Adams Morgan. (Housing Complex)
Drivers not behaving in bike lanes, so remove the lanes?
Crain’s wonders if bike lanes are working for New York, noting that motorists are parking cars in them and pedestrians are walking in them. Even if this infrastructure isn’t perfect, it ought to be improved, not removed. (Rob Pitingolo) (Tip: Rob Pitingolo)
Sincerest form of flattery
NYC DOT is taking a cue from DC and replacing part of its car fleet with car sharing. Is bike sharing next? (Post, Streetsblog, Eric Fidler)
Top image: Photo by barxtux on Flickr.
Rheesigning
Michelle Rhee will leave at the end of October. Some are surprised she’s not staying until Gray becomes mayor, but she and Gray agreed the speculation around her future was becoming a “distraction.” Her deputy, Kaya Henderson, will replace her in the interim. (Post, Stacy) (Tip: Stacy)
Peck for City Administrator?
Suzanne Peck, WMATA’s head of IT and former head of DC’s OCTO, is a leading candidate for City Administrator, say sources. (Examiner)
Road rash of crashes
After a string of pedestrian deaths on our region’s roads and highways, DDOT Director Gabe Klein and USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood held a press conference to highlight the danger and remind road users to always behave cautiously. “I’m not saying all this to scare people, but in one sense we sort of need to,” Klein said. (TBD, Stephen Miller)
VA liquor plan gets worse
Gov. McDonnell’s attempts to privatize liquor stores for one-time transportation funds suffered another setback as the latest proposal removes several extra taxes, creating up to a $70 million shortfall that will reduce the profits from the plan. (Fairfax Times)
Get yer historic DC maps
DCRA will release historical maps of DC and put them on Flickr. A handful of historic maps are there now but more will be added over the next few weeks and months. (DCist)
Ban stoplights?
An effort is underway in the UK, inspired by the Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman, to remove stop lights in the interest of improving traffic flow. Designing signal-free intersections that are safe for pedestrians, however, is easier said than done. (People-Powered Arlington, Stephen Miller)
And…
One small developer has been revitalizing Anacostia one small storefront at a time (Housing Complex, Eric Fidler) … Amtrak’s ridership rose by nearly 6% in the last fiscal year, 4% in the northeast and 6.5% on Acela (Post, Gavin) … A lighting designer finds DC’s lighting adequate but not interesting. (The Dirt, Steve Offutt) (Tip: Gavin)
Top image: Photo by Greg_e on Flickr.
Struck in Montgomery County
It’s been a bad few days for pedestrians in Montgomery County. A driver hit a child in a stroller in Aspen Hill on Friday, then a possibly-drunk driver killed two 26-year-olds on Rockville Pike around White Flint yesterday, and today a Gaithersburg police cruiser and its driver hit a 14-year-old boy while another driver hit a 7-year-old and an adult in Silver Spring, but all three only suffered minor injuries. (TBD)
Transformers unscripted
Several streets along the Mall were closed for the filming of Transformers 3. Unfortunately, a sports car Transformer named Bumblebee collided with a real police car while filming a car chase. (DCist, Eric Fidler)
Virginia to keep WMATA seats for now
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission voted down the attempt by Governor McDonnell to take over two Metro seats currently occupied by Northern Virginia leaders. NVTC did promise to work with state officials to discuss how to improve Metro and give the state a role. (Post)
The Monday Metropocalypse that wasn’t
Yesterday, the Orange and Blue Lines were still closed through downtown while many non-government workers still had to commute. But despite fears, Metro handled yesterday’s service without much of a hitch. (TBD)
Exercising her right to pee
Yesterday Malcolm Kenton posted about the lack of public restrooms. Another issue is that many locations make it too hard to use bathrooms. One blogger recounts her encounter with a “bathroom bouncer” who demanded she present a receipt, even though her boyfriend was in the process of ordering. (Chele’s Blog)
DC a bargain for singles, PG for families
DC is the most affordable place for singles to live in the metropolitan area, according to a recent report from Wider Opportunities for Women (PDF, see page 11). One of the reasons was that transportation costs in suburban areas took up a higher percentage of income. Prince George’s County beat out DC in costs for families.
Chevy Chase retail less limited
The Montgomery Planning Board will allow Chevy Chase Center at Friendship Heights to increase its retail space limit, allowing larger shops and restaurants. (TBD, Eric Fidler)
Step it up
A Univ. of Tennessee study found that Americans take only 5,117 steps a day compared to Australians (9,695), Swiss (9,650), and Japanese (7,168). The study faults car-dependence as a leading factor. (Yahoo! News, Eric Fidler)
Top image: Rockville Pike. Photo by thecourtyard on Flickr.
This car really could hit a pedestrian
The dreams of many a science fiction fan have been realized with the news that Google is piloting a driverless car. Google engineers claim this technology will reduce crashes, but the article noted the driver had to disengaged the “autopilot” when a bike made a sudden turn
ran a red light in front of their vehicle. Soon reporters could accurately write about cars hitting pedestrians. Update: As commenters have noted, the article also says that the car “seemed likely” to have avoided hitting the cyclist.
More driving distractions or a ban?
Car manufacturers plan new waves of hands-free devices and entertainment systems (like this one) that allow hands-free texting and more. Such features are designed to attract younger buyers, a demographic auto manufacturers are having a hard time reaching. But Secretary LaHood would like to see a total ban on many of these distractions, setting the stage for a big battle. (Bloomberg, Yahoo, Steve S) (Tip: Steve S)
Not enough money for transit
Alexandria is proposing higher density in the Beauregard corridor, but ongoing and future traffic problems in the corridor may kill it. The city planned to use taxes from new developments, but currently the projected amount of new tax revenues from higher density is not enough to pay for transit improvements. (Froggie’s Blog) (Tip: Froggie)
DC spares federal bike funding
All states and DC had to return some transportation dollars to the federal government, and 28 states disproportionally cut ped and bike programs. DC and nine states cut none of these. (Bike League)
More highways not the only choice
WAMU’s newly revised Metro Connection’s transit segment presented a one sided argument for HOT lanes, saying they are a win for everyone because they have a choice to either sit in traffic or pay the toll. Except they aren’t a win for everyone, because people may prefer to spend that highway money on transit. (WAMU, ErikD) (Tip: ErikD)
Drill, baby, drill
Gov. Bob McDonnell is continuing with his plans to open Virginia up to off-shore oil drilling, holding a meeting later this week with oil proponent T. Boone Pickens. Sierra Club director Glen Besa told the AP, “He says everything is on the table, but the bottom line is his actions show a commitment to fossil fuels.” (WTOP)
An IBM planet?
IBM has a new SimCity-like game called CityOne. However, “solutions” for each problem in the game are either IBM solutions or “do nothing.” (Dave M.) (Tip: Dave M.)
Top image: Photo by kqedquest on Flickr.
Herndon is getting a brand new “town center” development, called Arrowbrook Centre. While work on the actual town center hasn’t started yet, a 6-acre wetlands park broke ground earlier this year. The first phase will include 422,000 square feet of office space, 160,000 square feet of specialty retail/restaurant space and 407 luxury apartment homes. Eventually the project, which is near the future Route 28 Silver Line Metro station, will encompass 2 million square of office, residential, and retail space.
Brown is residential, pink is office, blue is hotel, green is parkland, and red (or darker pink) is retail. Red diagonal marks are ground level retail.
Arrowbrook will occupy former farm fields at the intersection of Sunrise Valley Drive and Centreville Road, by an exit ramp off the Dulles Toll Road. But the area is nowhere near rural. In fact, this is the last undeveloped, non-park farm in the area. On a walk from either Metro station, riders will pass a sea of asphalt, from the ample parking surrounding three story office parks to the high-speed, four-lane Sunrise Valley Drive that is one of the area’s main conduits.
While Arrowbrook uses a more connected street grid, the side where most Silver Line riders will approach Arrowbrook has poor connectivity today. However, the project has built a road around the backside that can be opened up to future development.
The park will feature an all weather soccer field, small amphitheater, jogging trails, and more. Normally building a new park so close to transit would be a bad idea, but because there is another wetlands park that truly will border on the Herndon Monroe Metro station, hopefully this park will someday serve as the replacement for the original one.