By Wyatt Gordon (Virginia Correspondent) • January 21, 2020
Since Governor Ralph Northam’s historic 3.7 billion dollar rail deal, eyes from across the country have been focused on Virginia’s attempt to transform statewide transportation policy. A flurry of exciting proposals from the General Assembly has reinforced the notion of a mobility revolution in the Commonwealth. The enthusiasm for change seems to have carried over to the state’s housing policy as well. Here are the top housing bills we’ll be watching.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, along with the University of Maryland, released a smartphone app called incenTrip, which officially started servicing the region in August 2019. Commuters can earn points simply by traveling to work, whether it’s by bus, bike, walking, carpooling, or even driving a car, and they can redeem those points for money. And, for the last few months, I’ve been getting paid to commute to work.
By George Kevin Jordan (Editor and Correspondent) • January 21, 2020
Join Georgetown University for a webinar on Thursday, January 30, to find out how its Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning will prepare you to solve the critical challenges facing urban communities around the world.
WMATA published incorrect updates and schedules for the bus routes coming back online after the end of the workers’ strike at a Northern Virginia garage. Now bus riders are mistrustful of information about whether or not their bus is actually running. (Margaret Barthel / WAMU)
Prince George’s County added over 21,000 jobs from 2013 to 2018, more than neighboring Montgomery County’s 19,540 new positions, to become the new biggest job creator in the Maryland suburbs. (Robert McCartney / Post)
The Montgomery County Council is holding a meeting focused on the county’s plans to reduce traffic deaths after three pedestrians died on county roads, two on Rockville Pike, so far in 2020. (Alessia Grunberger / Takoma Patch)
Tenants at 3435 Holmead Place stopped paying rent in December in protest of poor conditions in the building. Now residents of seven units are facing hearings in Landlord and Tenant court over the missed payments, and the outcome of the case is uncertain. (Eliza Berkon / WAMU)
Real estate firm PRP plans to turn a 12 story office building on Mark Drive into 213 housing units because of the building’s proximity to existing government office centers and the future HQ2 location. (Alex Koma / WBJ)
Police, under Montgomery County law, are allowed to ticket and confiscate unregistered bikes, but now the County Council has introduced a bill to make registrations optional. (Michelle Murillo / WTOP)
The light rail project is due to open in 2023, but business owners on Bonifant Street are concerned about losing business during the disruptive construction period beginning in March, and about the threat of higher rents once the rail line is in place. (Sasha-Ann Simons / WAMU)
The Office of Planning proposed a zoning change to require self-storage buildings in PDR zones (production, distribution, and repair) to activate their ground floor with another use, like a shop, restaurant or medical facility, that would bring in foot traffic. (Nena Perry-Brown / Urban Turf)
Republican delegate Dave LaRock said he would support Alexandria and Arlington becoming part of DC in order to formally separate the denser and more liberal areas of Northern Virginia from the more rural and conservative parts of the state. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist)
