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BeyondDC

@beyonddc.bsky.social
910 followers 139 following 565 posts

Urbanism & transportation, WashDC. Planner, professor, longtime GGWash. Trying for joy rather than doom & dunks; not always succeeding.

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Reposted by BeyondDC
Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 05/06/2025
I know America can build things quickly and efficiently because we do it for cars all the time. The slow, arduous permitting and construction processes we have for public transit, bike infrastructure, green energy, and housing are a policy choice that we are free to stop making whenever we want.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Toll revenue on I-66 & I-395 goes to transit. Do you want to be the person who manages that program? They're hiring. novatransit.org/employment-o...
Signs for the 66 tollway
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
After years of insisting it wasn't possible, lo and behold. www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/t...
nbcwashington.com
495 express lanes: VDOT expansion plan makes room for Metro along Wilson Bridge
The plan could improve one of the worst bottlenecks in the D.C. region: The Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
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Reposted by BeyondDC
Barbara Samuels @bsamuels72.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Of course it does. The poor always pay more. “Public policy often helps spread the cost of geographically concentrated catastrophe risks, while the risks that contribute to high insurance costs in cities remain largely within the private homeowners market.”
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Baltimore map in the #WMATA style by u/BurmudaNiccholas at www.reddit.com/r/WMATA/comm...
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Inside every architect there are two wolves constantly fighting.
One is neotraditional and the other is reflective glass.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Riding like royalty in my private cab.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
There is a Metro train with a Texas A&M ad wrap, which I find hilarious given the state of transit in College Station. OTOH I guess it's encouraging someone there embraces the cultural difference? Sadly I wasn't fast enough to get a pic. Sorry Texas stans.
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Ben Ross @benrosstransit.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
In Maryland, the Dept. of Transportation can take land first and argue about the price later for highways, but for rail transit it can't get control of the land until the price is finally determined. This was a sizable factor in Purple Line delays & cost overruns.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
DC already has a triumphal arch, FYI
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
We don't need to be giving New Yorkers this kind of ammunition to start misnaming our lines. Definitely prefer the two-letter abbrevs.
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Mike English @mocomikee.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
It’s a giant problem
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Maryland's two most important economic centers are Montgomery County & Baltimore, and there's never been a direct train between them. Well, this'll be pretty roundabout. Hard to exactly call it "direct." But it'll be interesting to see if riders materialize. Fascinating experiment.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The Tysons Sheraton—one of the earliest & most recognizable Tysons landmark highrises—could be demolished for townhouses & duplexes. www.ffxnow.com/2026/09/01/h...
ffxnow.com
Housing developer seeks to demolish Sheraton Tysons Hotel instead of converting it | FFXnow
Previous Image 1/2 Next Image The owner of the vacant Sheraton Tysons Hotel is rethinking its plans for the property, which has been sitting untouched more than two years after Fairfax County leaders ...
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Kansas Ave Red Line station would be an instant NoMa
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alex davis @alexdavistransit.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
okay, this convinced me to go see it
Coyote smushed on the front of the rail runner
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d. reed, crisp & juicy enjoyer 🦀🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇬🇾 @justupthepike.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
sometimes i feel like i’m screaming into the void: helping people, especially trans people, move to safety and opportunity is what the yimby/pro-homes movement is all about. but the movement, as it grows and seeks legitimacy, feels quite indifferent to us
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Silver Spring, Bethesda, Ballston... they'd all be ye old timey main streets with 2 story buildings and a bunch of parking lots if they were incorporated towns. The secret sauce of the DMV's TOD success is county level governance: Zoning by a few large jurisdictions rather than many small ones.
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Ben Ross @benrosstransit.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Artist housing is the perfect nimby dodge, to the extent (in my opinion up towards 100%) that nimbyism is about protecting neighborhood social status. Art is a high-status, low-income occupation. Artist housing lets you claim to be inclusive while still excluding all the low-status people..
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
E-bikes are a national security issue. theconversation.com/the-worlds-2...
theconversation.com
The world’s 280 million electric bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars
Electric vehicles get all the press – but it’s the smaller unsung two wheelers cutting oil demand the most.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
It's because roundabouts require drivers to engage their brains and use mental energy to navigate, which is a bigger sin to cars-first thinkers than asking them to wait at a red light. Carbrain in the US is first and foremost about mental conservatism.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Montgomery County putting up speed cameras in Silver Spring targeting drivers who floor it to beat green lights. Colesville at Georgia and at University. Two really dangerous places for any driver to ever floor it. Good! wtop.com/montgomery-c...
wtop.com
Green means go — but not 12 mph over the speed limit in Montgomery Co. - WTOP News
The name “Speed on Green” is part of a plan to expand the same technology used at sites where red-light cameras are deployed to work when that light is green as well.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Rare situation where I think the answer is probably to convert it to limited access. ggwash.org/view/104582/...
ggwash.org
Can we fix Maryland’s “Highway of Death”?
With packed traffic and high speeders, Route 210 makes it intimidating to drive from Charles County into Prince George’s County and DC. Why is the roadway so unsafe, and what solutions could it safer ...
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I'm sure people will get mad at @humantransit.bsky.social for saying this, but he's right. Campaigning on fare-free transit shrinks the coalition of people willing to invest in public transportation. It endangers transit's survival. humantransit.org/2026/08/an-i...
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DC YIMBYs @dcyimbys.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
There are parts of DC less than 200 feet from a metro where anything denser than a single family home is literally illegal. And the Zoning Handbook is really clear about why.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Incredible that Seattle has passed Chicago & Philadelphia.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Baltimore Ave in College Park needs a complete cars-last overhaul. Busway, bikeways, massive sidewalks, the works. Leave two slow lanes for local cars & trucks, and let the rest use Kenilworth Ave, which is faster anyway. Let the dense high-rise spine be an actual main street.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
A few years later when a different congress ends those grants, what will happen to the service they fund? It'll stop running is what. This doesn't just squander opportunities to spend that money on better service. It very likely mortgages the future. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/03/m...
bostonglobe.com
Pointing to Massachusetts’s fare-free experiment, Markey, Pressley press for a $25 billion federal free transit plan - The Boston Globe
The proposed legislation points to the success of free bus pilots that federal lawmakers say made Massachusetts a “national leader in fare-free transit policy."
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
It is not enough to dump on the trash bins piece. Save it and trot it out as an example for why sometimes it is correct to just do the obviously beneficial thing.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
State preemption is coming and localities have only themselves to blame.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
USDOT starting over on Union Station renovation plans. Throw out the old renderings. www.enr.com/articles/633...
enr.com
USDOT Scraps Approved Washington Union Station Expansion Plan
Federal officials are replacing years of planning with a public-private strategy, even as key questions about scope, financing and environmental approvals remain unanswered.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
A lot of public art would be better understood if we thought of it as public decor. Often that's its real purpose. "Art" has evolved into a more loaded term that means more than just pretty, resulting in argument. When we just want something pretty, we should just say so.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
We know who the bad drivers are and our leaders choose to let them hurt people.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Stumbled upon the motherlode, lol
Hundreds of Lime scooters at their DC warehouse
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Reposted by BeyondDC
Keya Chatterjee @keyachatterjee.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
This was the worst Congressional attack on DC Home Rule we've seen, and Doordash admits they instigated. DELETE YOUR DOORDASH Account. Mobile: In the app, go to the Me tab. Navigate to Manage Account → Manage Account and enter your login credentials; then, select Delete Account.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
#WMATA modernization update with renderings of platform screen doors. Full pdf: www.wmata.com/content/dam/...
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Nothing makes me yearn for the charms of high-rise living like trudging out to the alley to take out trash. Hallway trash chutes FTW.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
I've been in several shops this morning and none of them are playing Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire on repeat and it is a missed👏opportunity👏
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
This #PurpleLineMD flyover video has some of the best views of Silver Spring I've ever seen. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8ST...
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Found the king of ye olde strippe malls in Herndon. maps.app.goo.gl/nWccY5by4g6Q...
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
The dream that AVs will just follow road rules safely is proving to be PR vapor, and now is the time for public authorities to step in.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Feds fund 4th track at L'Enfant VRE station, ensuring continuous 4-tracks along the whole Capitol Hill to Eisenhower Valley rail bottleneck www.bizjournals.com/washington/n...
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
The Republican war on science comes for road safety. Protected bike lanes, road diets, and automatic traffic enforcement prevent people from being killed. Researchers have proven this—repeatedly.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Ugh I hadn't realized they'd STRIPED the parking spaces on Pennsylvania Avenue. A prime public plaza, stolen from the American people to become a surface parking lot for a couple dozen cars.
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Remember sprawl apologist Randal O'Toole? The scale of his defeat is such that the younger generation of libertarian urbanists hasn't even heard of him, and when they do are aghast at his obvious cognitive dissonance. Proof that things can get better! www.reddit.com/r/yimby/comm...
reddit.com
From the yimby community on Reddit: You guys ever hear of Randal O'Toole?
Explore this post and more from the yimby community
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Cute homage to Sharon Bulova at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center. Bulova was on the Fairfax Co Board of Supervisors for 31 years, and chair for ten. She retired in 2019 having never lost an election.
Paris-style street sign reading "Bulova'rd de Sharon"
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Thunderbirds flying over my house today.
Air Force Thunderbird
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
What if... parking were not always the highest priority everywhere all the time no matter what?
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BeyondDC @beyonddc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Thrift stores are trans infrastructure! How urbanism can support transgender people, at @ggwash.org 🏳️‍⚧️ ggwash.org/view/103669/...
ggwash.org
Thrift stores are trans infrastructure, and other aspects of Transgender Urbanism
One of the many wonderful things about great cities is how free they are, how they empower diverse people with the freedom to be themselves. Here are eight aspects of city life that specifically help ...
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RAIL Magazine @railmag.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
A new storage yard doesn't sound that sexy. But VRE standing-up this operation at Seminary Yard in Alexandria is crucial to maintaining service during the Long Bridge corridor project plus any additional frequency growth. Fewer VRE moves across the Union Station throat are also good for AMTK & MARC.
railwayage.com
VRE Acquires Alexandria Rail Yard
Virginia Railway Express (VRE) on June 29 reported purchasing Seminary Yard in Alexandria, Va., to boost fleet storage capacity and support expanded service. The 19-station commuter railroad connects ...
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