Washington DC

DC has a lot of traffic. One way they deal with it is by reversing lanes on many streets during peak hours.

Some streets have 3 or 4 lanes that shift throughout the day... one way, both ways with turn lane, one way.
Some streets are simply shut down in one direction.
Some streets become one way during peak hours.

I dont like it.

Reversible lanes:
IMG_1651.jpg

IMG_2733-1.jpg


One way time
IMG_1998.jpg

IMG_2728.jpg
 
Didn't this appease the traffic management zealots and save most of DC from being vivisected by freeways in the 60s?
 
Sort of off-topic, but not really.

I'm thinking of spending a 4-day weekend down in DC in December. I've never been. I assume, based on what I've heard about the Metro, I can forgo a rental car. Correct?
Are there any hotels (3-4 star) that are recommended for people traveling on foot?
 
statler said:
Sort of off-topic, but not really.

I'm thinking of spending a 4-day weekend down in DC in December. I've never been. I assume, based on what I've heard about the Metro, I can forgo a rental car. Correct?
Are there any hotels (3-4 star) that are recommended for people traveling on foot?
Click to expand...

If everything you plan on doing is in the city, then you wont need a rental car.

Besides looking at hotels in the city itself, dont forget to look at Arlington (near Roslyn metro) or Silver Spring. Further out, but presumably cheaper.
 
I like the lane reversal thing a lot and think Boston should experiment with it. Why don't you like it?
 
^ As an occasional DC pedestrian with Boston crossing habits, reversible lanes have nearly killed me in the past. My stupidity aside, they're not friendly to pedestrians and turn city arterials into rush-hour freeways.
 
Shepard said:
^ As an occasional DC pedestrian with Boston crossing habits, reversible lanes have nearly killed me in the past. My stupidity aside, they're not friendly to pedestrians and turn city arterials into rush-hour freeways.
Click to expand...

Exactly. As a pedestrian, youre trained to look left....but during certain hours cars are coming from the other direction.

Also, I saw more than one ocassion where a car was going the "wrong way" because they didnt realize it was between 4 and 7pm.
 
statler said:
Sort of off-topic, but not really.

I'm thinking of spending a 4-day weekend down in DC in December. I've never been. I assume, based on what I've heard about the Metro, I can forgo a rental car. Correct?
Are there any hotels (3-4 star) that are recommended for people traveling on foot?
Click to expand...

I don't think you need a car, their Metro is excellent. For one evening or afternoon, check out Old Town Alexandria- lovely old city center (a bit of a walk, but doable from the King Street Metro stop).

Anything near the city center or near Rosslyn in Arlington is walkable. Look for hotels near metros, obviously. Rosslyn is strange because it has the longest escalator I've ever been on. I stayed in a Courtyard by Marriott that was over there and enjoyed it. It was walkable to the metro and easy access to Georgetown and the city by cab.

Hotwire and Priceline bidding are how I find decent hotels at good rates. I'd try them and search by neighborhood. anything near the center of DC will be good and Rosslyn is fine as well. enjoy.
 
DC has been home to the smartbike bike share program for a year. With only 10 stations and a restriction on users, the DC model is the global standard for "what not to do". Fortunately, clearchannel will probably never get another bike contract in this country. There are plans to expand the system into something useful.

Boston will be getting a larger system (200 stations or so) courtesy of the canadian government next year

IMG_1833.jpg
 
Well that makes no sense, especially since I'd expect tourists would want to use such a system.
 
I thought of this forum when I took these pictures.

IMG_2200.jpg

IMG_2201.jpg

IMG_2202.jpg
 
The blob devoureth all streetwall in its path. Feed the blob and it shall ever expand.
 
^ Although a less monolithic approach might me a good solution for saving Shreve's and the rest of the block.
 
The old facades are totally overwhelmed. The differentiation that was supposed to be preserved feels lacking.
 
From Yahoo! News.

Washington, D.C. favorite area for wealthy young

By Patricia Reaney Patricia Reaney ? Wed Sep 16, 10:42 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) ? Washington, D.C. has become the favorite area for wealthy young adults, with the nation's highest percentage of 25-34 year-olds making more than $100,000 a year, according to a new analysis.

Sixteen of the top 50 counties in the United States with the highest share of wealthy young people are in the Washington, D.C. area.

Loudoun county, which is part of the Washington metropolitan area, has 10 percent, or 10,327 young adults, making more than six figures -- more than San Francisco and New York in terms of percentage of the population.

"In 1990 you had a lot more concentration of this demographic in the heartland and in Texas, likely driven by the oil economy, and some of the agribusiness," Michael Mancini, of The Nielsen Company, said in a statement.

"But now, there is a densification of young money in major metros." he added.

Arlington County, in Virginia near Washington, D.C. captured the second spot, followed by San Francisco, Manhattan and Douglas County, which is situated between Denver and Colorado Springs in Colorado.

Just under 16 percent of households in the United States are headed by people aged 25-34 years old, whose median income is $49,754. Slightly more over than 13 percent in that age group earn more than $100,000 a year, according to Nielsen.

The overall national median income is $51,287. Highest incomes usually correlate to the highest earning years which are 45-54.

Nielsen compiled the rankings using information from the U.S. Postal service, and data on income, age and household size from Equifax, which compiles credit reporting data.

"It is all based on the percent of the population in the county that matches a demographic," Mancini explained in an interview.

The Washington D.C. area has become increasingly popular with young people during the last two decades, according to Nielsen.

Mancini believes part of the appeal of the Washington area is jobs in both the private and public sector. It also has strong education and healthcare institutions, a moderate climate and easy access to recreational facilities.

"What often happens is that those factors attract the young and educated who then end up staying," he explained.

Forsyth County in Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, Alexandria City in Virginia, Delaware County north of Columbus, Ohio, Scott County in Minnesota and Broomfield County which is part of the Denver area, rounded out the top 10 counties.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)
Click to expand...
 
From Infrastructurist:

Ambitious Plan To Remake Virgina ?Burb Deemed ?Too Urban?Posted on Wednesday September 16th by Jebediah Reed


Tysons Corner today

When advocates of dense, walkable suburban redevelopment point an example of what our sprawling ?burbs might do to become more sustainable and improve future economic prospects the suggestions run something like this: connect to a transit network, rezone, build a tighter street grid, plan around pedestresians, etc. A name frequently on their lips as an early-stage example of this process in action is Tysons Corner, Virginia. The DC suburb has, for several years now, been working on a plan to transform itself from a loose and unwelcoming hodge-podge of retail and office developements, parking lots and extra-wide thoroughfares, into something more, well, urban.

From the Washington Post:
?We?re looking for an urban feel and urban experience,? said Jim Zook, the county?s planning director. ?But there are cities across this country that work very well at lesser densities? than the task force proposed.

But after taking the plan this far, why shred it now in the interest of keeping a lower density? Well, the planning commission is worried there will be too much traffic. They want to cut back new development, make the streets wider, drop three more freeway interchanges into town, and widen the Beltway even beyond the current plans to widen the beltway. It?s being presented as tweaks, but all these tweaks undermine the essential goal, and fly in the face of the basic fact that vital, thriving cities tend to be dense. No coincidentally, they also tend to have traffic. It sucks sometimes, but most people who?ve examined the tradeoffs in any depth understand that it?s well worth the tradeoff.

The situation brings to mind a quote?the source escapes us?that creating an American-style suburb is easy, akin to driving a car. But creating a dense urban environment takes a good deal more skill, akin to flying a jet fighter.

It sounds like Fairfax County started looking at the plans for the jet fighter (or whatever the analogy demands here) and wigged out. ?Make it easier!? they?ve squealed. There are many more steps remaining in the process, but it looks like that might be what happens. It would be a small shame in a national context?but downright lunacy in a local context. Tysons has an opportunity to become a place of nation importance ? a place that other cities look to as America begins to rethink how it configures its cities in the century ahead. (See, for instance, this story Time did about the town, and this one from NPR.) Instead, the Fairfax planners seem to fancy the idea of remaining a placeless place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top