Everyone has tons of silos really, partly because everyone takes money from lots of siloed federal programs. But VA silos its main state-DOT-controlled-otherwise-fungible transportation pot to a really unique extent.
In principle I'd rather not with all the silos. But hard to argue w/ the results.
VA's budget is heavily lockboxed. Tons of silos defined in code, funded by special tax raised only for it, projects selected by objective data score. It's as depoliticized as possible.
Sure they could pass laws undoing it all, but that's way harder than shifting budget. And they don't bc it works.
Given how wildly successful congestion pricing has been in NY, despite Trump's attempts to bury it, you should probably read the DC congestion pricing report that Bowser tried so hard to bury.
ggwash.org/view/102681/...
DC: New fungible budget every year. Nothing survives multiple budget cycles.
MD: Centralizes everything w/ governor. Every governor starts over. Every project in limbo for decades.
VA: Assumes constant political flux, institutionalizes its processes to insulate them, builds tons of stuff.
Thanks for tracking this.
IMO we need more discussion about the states, espec those interested in building transit.
It is STARK to sit here knowing how VA, MD, and DC all do things differently and get different results. VA's system is by far the best at actually getting things built.
Photo--probably fake--of a suburban intersection with a red light and a sign reading "green every 30 mins mon-fri, 60 mins sat-sun"
Genius analogy. Yes.
📷@danielbowen.au
1997: Modern streetcars first proposed in DC.
2006: H Street tracks funded in budget.
2016: H Street service begins.
2026: The end.
ggwash.org/view/102242/...
Sign for "Starplex Stadium Armory Complex" in DC
I'm sorry, the whatplex?
I am already using all my linguistic capital trying to will NVTB into existence to complete the alphabet set with NVTA, NVTC, and NVTD
IDK who was responsible for pronouncing VRE like "vee are ee" instead of a speedy single syllable "vree," but they had a chance to do something great and absolutely blew it. SMH.
TexMexopotamia would have the world's best food by far.
Saying no to change has been the biggest disaster to urban planning since the invention of car dependence itself.
Responsible planning must find ways to accommodate all the growth there's demand for. Not a convenient amount of it. All of it.
Totally agree
This mis-states it a bit.
It's totally true that building a minimal product is part of DC's problem, in both length and quality. But H Street is a good location--strong transit corridor w/ great land use and underserved by Metro--not at all a poor value segment like w/ CAHSR.
Hm, maybe
MARC's next locomotives will be dual-mode wire+battery.
At least they're not giving up on wires entirely.
www.railjournal.com/fleet/us-com...
In today's sign that using zoning to freeze our communities in amber is ruining America, Princeton, TX has surpassed Princeton, NJ in population. skyscraperpage.com/forum/showth...
Looking forward to our future where wealthy parents buy 8 year olds their own AVs.
Study: Autonomous cars will massively increase VMT & congestion:
www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17...
Classic skyline views are rare in the DC area, but such a pleasant surprise when you find one.
Here's Rockville from the Edmonston Drive bridge:
We should evaluate policies based on their real world effects, not their proponents’ stated goals.
Historic preservation froze the built form of the West Village and turned what had been a diverse middle class neighborhood into an exclusive enclave for the super-wealthy.
Riding the streetcar
When your kid wants a last great Saturday hopping around H Street on DC Streetcar
New meta-analysis of 26 published studies concludes that AVs will lead people to use cars a lot more — which would thicken congestion and worsen pollution (even if AVs are electric).
"AV deployment is anticipated to lead to an overall increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled."
doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...
Today is the exact 10th anniversary of @DCStreetcar's opening day.
ggwash.org/view/102387/...
You can always build *fewer & pricier* units than zoning allows.
You can't build more & cheaper units. That's the whole point.
You asked, we listened. Starting today, CaBi members can park ebikes near full stations for free. Get additional details and applicable terms on our blog. shorturl.at/OBk6W
Ironically we voiced some issues with the homework and they responded with really positive changes in this packet based on that. So I can let this slide, fake online outrage notwithstanding 🤣🚌
Vocabulary homework question asking "Which of the following might be entertaining," with answers A: Magic tricks, B: Football game, C: A bus timetable, and D: Toothache
You and I know that (c) should be circled.
Even my kid knows that (c) should be circled.
But the teacher... the teacher doesn't want it circled.
Yes and there are deeper steps:
NIMBYism was an inevitability of class-dividing suburbia.
Class-dividing suburbia was an inevitability of American racism.
DC A&M 🤣🧑🌾
