By Wyatt Gordon (Virginia Correspondent) • October 1, 2019
When the Virginia Capital Trail was first proposed back in 1999, critics derided the idea of the 51.7-mile multi-use path as overly-ambitious and too expensive. Today, the east-west trail connecting Virginia’s first capital of Jamestown with the modern seat of government, Richmond, faces concerns about overcrowding, and there’s now a sibling trail in the pipeline.
By Leah Potter (Street Sense Media) • October 1, 2019
Painted in bold shades of blue, red, green and pink, Whitman-Walker Health’s Max Robinson Center has stood prominently in the historic Anacostia neighborhood, just a few blocks from the Big Chair, since the early 1990s. It was opened to fill a gap in HIV services in Southeast DC, after having already provided such treatments in Northwest, according to Medical Director Colleen Lane.
Mayor Muriel Bowser moved control of the speed and red-light cameras in the city away from the police department to the District Deaprtment of Transportation, overriding the DC Council’s opposition. The Council argues that the transfer is inefficient, but a GGWash opinion piece makes the case that it’s a good street safety strategy. (Luz Lazo / Post)
During Agenda Alexandria, a civic group meeting, two speakers attacked people who advocated for removing parking and adding bike lanes “a fanatic minority” applying “one size fits all planning” to Alexandria, while Complete Streets defenders pointed to road safety and accessibility benefits of having more mobility options on major routes. (Vernon Miles / ALX Now)
Metro announced that it would extend rail service at least 20 minutes to accommodate attendees at the Mystics and Nationals playoff games Tuesday. Metro didn’t ask either team or their sponsors to fund the late-night service. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)
The two Virginia jurisdictions had their first joint meeting yesterday to plan for changes to the region brought by HQ2, including housing affordability, new education and economic opportunities, and transportation improvements. (Patricia Sullivan / Post)
VDOT and Arlington County are in the early stages of a study to remove Richmond Highway (Route 1) overpasses in Crystal City and drop the street to ground level, as part of several streetscape changes planned around the new HQ2. This plan predates Amazon though; it was proposed in 2010. (Airey / ARLnow)
Developers JBG Smith officially announced plans to remake five major multifamily buildings and one office building within a half-mile of the Crystal City Metro stop and near the new Amazon HQ2. (Daniel Sernovitz / WBJ)
Despite a law that went into effect a year ago requiring drivers to change lanes and give extra space to stopped emergency vehicles on the highway, the number of highway workers hit by drivers has stayed the same, and the number of non-emergency workers hit on highways has gone up. (Neal Augenstein / WTOP)
After an unofficial count last week, the Montgomery County School system added about 2,500 new students, for a total of around 165,000 pre-K through 12th grade pupils in the county. Maryland will release the official count number later this fall. MCPS enrollment has ballooned by more than 11,000 students since 2010. (Caitlynn Peetz / Bethesda Beat)
The new Douglass Community Land Trust bought a 65-unit apartment building in Congress Heights. It will hold the deed to the land and lease it back to the apartment, with the goal of creating permanently affordable units by removing the management’s need to charge high rents in order to make a profit. (Peter Jamison / Post)
