By David McAuley (Elections Committee) • November 12, 2019
Author Steven Higashide describes his new book Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit as “half technical backgrounder, half political field manual” for public transit – especially bus – advocates.
By Alex Holt (Maryland Correspondent) • November 12, 2019
Over the past few months, the Maryland Department of Transportation has garnered plenty of criticism for the lack of funding it’s given the Maryland Transit Administration in this year’s annual budget. State and local lawmakers and transportation advocacy groups have been particularly vocal about the matter, but much of Maryland’s business community isn’t happy with the state’s current level of transit spending, either.
Unionized Fairfax Connector workers voted to authorize a strike this weekend. If they decide to stop work they will join the existing strike by contracted Metrobus workers. The combined strike could impact 40,000 bus riders, and Fairfax County does not have a workaround for transit users yet. (Post)
Over 12,000 people voted in Rockville’s municipal elections this year, up from around 6,400 in 2015 after the city implemented a vote-by-mail system where every registered voter could mail in or drop off their ballot. Rockville is the first East Coast municipality to use this system, but DC is looking at it as well. (Martin Austermuhle / WAMU)
The driver who hit and killed Dwight Thomas Spriggs and Jesus Llanes-Datil while they were sitting on a bench in James Monroe Park pled guilty to manslaughter. The driver was both drunk and speeding at the time of the crash. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist. Tip: Chester B.)
The governors of the two states announced that the states will partner to add two express toll lanes in each direction to the bridge. White the governors called it a “common sense agreement”, urbanists are divided on the usefulness of the project. (Kate Masters / Bethesda Beat)
Some Alexandria residents are complaining about backups on Seminary Road, which is still under construction. The city is installing new bike lanes and traffic signals that will make the roadway into a safer place to travel. (Vernon Miles / ALX Now)
The proposed bill would stop real estate agents in Montgomery County from marketing homes as being in the boundary for specific schools, and have homebuyers sign an acknowledgment of possible changes to school boundaries. (Caitlynn Peetz / Bethesda Beat)
Later this month 77 formerly homeless veterans will move into the first new housing development on the site of the old Walter Reed Army Medical Center off of Georgia Avenue in DC. More affordable housing units, plus senior-specific housing is in the works at Walter Reed. (Bonnibelle Bishop / DC Line)
While the common answer is that Georgetown residents blocked a stop to keep outsiders away, the real reasons are more about the neighborhood’s geography and proximity to the Potomac River, as well as the early Metrorail’s goal to be a commuter system for federal workers. (Jordan Pascale / WAMU)
