Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Washington DC

Advice for Policymakers: Time to Check Your Blind Spots

By Ryan Avent | Oct 27, 2009 | 2 Comments

Last week, I left my Washington home, walked to the nearby Metro station, rode a train downtown, walked to the National Press Club, and settled in to hear Steven Rattner, former head of the Obama administration’s auto task force, declare that "no one has yet invented a substitute for the automobile." Steven Rattner (Photo: WSJ) […]

What the Virginia Campaign Can Teach Us About Transportation Policy

By Ryan Avent | Oct 19, 2009 | 2 Comments

However the Virginia off-year gubernatorial race ends up — and at the moment it looks as though Republican Bob McDonnell will reclaim the governor’s mansion for the GOP after years of Democratic dominance — the media will frame the story as a referendum on the policies of national Democrats. Virginian rivals Creigh Deeds (D, at […]

The Power of Transit-Oriented Development

By Ryan Avent | Aug 25, 2009 | 11 Comments

Back in the late 1970s, when Washington’s Metrorail system first began operating in Arlington County, Virginia, the future of Arlington and other old, inner suburbs was far from certain. Across the Potomac, the District of Columbia was suffering from depopulation, rapidly rising crime rates, and serious fiscal difficulties. Meanwhile, on the other side of Arlington, […]

Maryland County Foolishly Seeking Congestion Relief in New Lanes

By Ryan Avent | Jul 30, 2009 | No Comments

One would not normally describe Montgomery County, Maryland as a place with retrograde views on land-use and planning issues. Maryland’s I-270, at peak congestion. (Photo: MDOT) The county adopted a Transferable Development Rights program 30 years ago to protect copious acres of rural land from the relentless growth pressures of the Washington metro area. It […]

Understanding Washington’s Metro Crash

By Ryan Avent | Jul 15, 2009 | 2 Comments

The scene of June 22nd’s Washington D.C. Metro crash. (Photo: AP) The House of Representatives subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia convened yesterday afternoon to hear testimony related to the tragic Washington Metro accident of June 22. The proceedings got off to an appropriately somber start, as California Representative […]

What Happens Once You Get Off the Train?

By Ryan Avent | Jul 8, 2009 | 4 Comments

Economist Tyler Cowen responds to my recent take on Ed Glaeser’s recent HSR column: My question is simple: how could you take rail from Dallas to Houston and cope once you got there? San Antonio I can see, at least provided you will camp out in city center (a mistake, but that’s a question for […]

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