The District is rolling out a new bike sharing system this fall. It has been dubbed Capital Bikeshare and it will replace the successful, but limited, SmartBike program that was introduced in 2008. Capital Bikeshare will have 100 stations in the District, which will be a ten-fold increase over SmartBike (there will be an additional 14 stations in Arlington-mainly in the Crystal City corridor). Today DDOT announced the proposed locations of the District stations. Under those plans, Georgetown would receive four stations, as you can see above. Continue reading
Category Archives: Transportation
More Details on the Promised Water Taxi
Photo by Oblivious Dude.
It was back in April that GM first reported that a company named American River Taxi was planning on introducing a water taxi between Georgetown, the SW waterfront, and Nationals Park. After making promises to start in the spring, nothing more was heard from the company. GM feared that the idea never got off the ground (or into the water, if you will).
Well, thanks to a tip from BeyondDC, GM can report that the company has a shiny new website with a lot more details about their proposed service.
While the company originally talked about having taxis service between Georgetown, the SW waterfront, Nationals Park, and Alexandria, it appears that they’re leaving out Alexandria in the initial phase. Continue reading
Filed under Transportation
Boy’s Death Spurs Debate Over Traffic Safety
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The boy that was struck by a woman driving her car near the intersection of Wisconsin and 33rd St. died yesterday. This has lead at least one news source to question whether that intersection is safe without traffic lights or stop signs.
The question of who is more at fault for the tragedy has not been publicly answered. WJLA has eye witness reports that the child ran into the street and was not crossing at the crosswalk. A woman claims, however, that the driver wasn’t paying attention and was using her cellphone, although it’s not clear whether this source saw the accident first-hand. Continue reading
Filed under Transportation
May Georgetown Have This Barnes Dance?
Photo by Gold41.
It was reported last week that DDOT is planning on bringing the Barnes Dance to Chinatown, specifically the intersection of 7th and H. A Barnes Dance (or all pedestrian phase) is a system whereby a certain portion of the crossing light pattern shuts down all car traffic and enables pedestrians to cross from whatever side they want. This even enables pedestrians to cross diagonally.
Traditionally, Barnes Dances would restrict pedestrian crossing to only when the all pedestrian phase was on. DDOT apparently wants to institute a modified Barnes Dance whereby pedestrians will still be able to cross when cars are traveling (as they do now).
While 7th and H may have displaced Wisconsin and M and the most busy intersection in the city, a Barnes Dance would be a great addition to the center of Georgetown. In fact, a study commissioned by DDOT specifically recommended the addition of a Barnes Dance to the intersection of Wisconsin and M. Continue reading
Filed under Transportation
The Georgetown Metropolitan 