This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe coronavirus pandemic and the recession it generated have disrupted transportation plans in the Washington region more than any events in memory, officials and analysts say.Metro is facing the worst financial crisis in its history. Highway and bridge projects are delayed or in doubt. Increased use of telework has reduced commuting — but could trigger an exodus from downtown that adds to suburban traffic.Combined, these have created a historic challenge for the region to address our chronic, severe congestion just when...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe coronavirus pandemic and the recession it generated have disrupted transportation plans in the Washington region more than any events in memory, officials and analysts say.Metro is facing the worst financial crisis in its history. Highway and bridge projects are delayed or in doubt. Increased use of telework has reduced commuting — but could trigger an exodus from downtown that adds to suburban traffic.Combined, these have created a historic challenge for the region to address our chronic, severe congestion just when...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareNorthern Virginia’s jump to Phase 3 in relaxing covid-19 restrictions, earlier than its neighbors, risks stalling or reversing the region’s progress in containing the disease, according to Maryland and District officials and public health experts.The region has had noteworthy success so far in reducing infection rates, in sharp contrast with many parts of the country in the south and west.That’s partly because jurisdictions here have moved mostly together as they gradually emerge from the strict shutdowns imposed in...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareNorthern Virginia’s jump to Phase 3 in relaxing covid-19 restrictions, earlier than its neighbors, risks stalling or reversing the region’s progress in containing the disease, according to Maryland and District officials and public health experts.The region has had noteworthy success so far in reducing infection rates, in sharp contrast with many parts of the country in the south and west.That’s partly because jurisdictions here have moved mostly together as they gradually emerge from the strict shutdowns imposed in...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA that would have withheld millions in pledged funding to Metro unless the transit agency renamed a station to include Capital One bank is being dropped as part of a “compromise” that will bring changes to the station, the state senator who wrote the measure said Wednesday.Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said she is pulling from a budget bill that would have made at least $165 million in capital funding for Metro contingent upon the system renaming the McLean Metro station as “McLean-Capital One Hall” station.“This...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA that would have withheld millions in pledged funding to Metro unless the transit agency renamed a station to include Capital One bank is being dropped as part of a “compromise” that will bring changes to the station, the state senator who wrote the measure said Wednesday.Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said she is pulling from a budget bill that would have made at least $165 million in capital funding for Metro contingent upon the system renaming the McLean Metro station as “McLean-Capital One Hall” station.“This...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA Virginia Senate bill would withhold at least $166 million pledged to Metro unless the transit system adds the name of Capital One bank to the McLean rail station.The legislation would rename the Silver Line station as “McLean-Capital One Hall,” a reference to a performance venue the bank is building a quarter-mile from the site. Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said she inserted the provision in transportation funding legislation because the bank did not like being “squeezed for money.”She said Metro was unfairly...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA Virginia Senate bill would withhold at least $166 million pledged to Metro unless the transit system adds the name of Capital One bank to the McLean rail station.The legislation would rename the Silver Line station as “McLean-Capital One Hall,” a reference to a performance venue the bank is building a quarter-mile from the site. Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said she inserted the provision in transportation funding legislation because the bank did not like being “squeezed for money.”She said Metro was unfairly...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMaryland Gov. Larry Hogan differs from President Trump about as much as possible for a Republican, but they share one characteristic: Both won their offices in part by selling themselves as experienced business executives who would run government efficiently and cheaply.Hogan has applied that approach to his two biggest transportation projects, the light-rail Purple Line and a plan to add toll lanes to the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and the American Legion Bridge. He brought in private companies to share...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMaryland Gov. Larry Hogan differs from President Trump about as much as possible for a Republican, but they share one characteristic: Both won their offices in part by selling themselves as experienced business executives who would run government efficiently and cheaply.Hogan has applied that approach to his two biggest transportation projects, the light-rail Purple Line and a plan to add toll lanes to the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and the American Legion Bridge. He brought in private companies to share...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIn the storm of crises (covid-19, the recession, Supreme Court vacancy, etc.), it’s easy to overlook the fact that the United States is engaged in the most intensive purge ever of our common historical memory.The removal of monuments and relics of the Confederacy, and other vestiges of slavery and national dishonor, is proceeding at an unprecedented pace and scale, historians say.In the Washington region alone, the past three weeks have seen a vote by the to pull three Confederate monuments from public land; the physical...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareIn the storm of crises (covid-19, the recession, Supreme Court vacancy, etc.), it’s easy to overlook the fact that the United States is engaged in the most intensive purge ever of our common historical memory.The removal of monuments and relics of the Confederacy, and other vestiges of slavery and national dishonor, is proceeding at an unprecedented pace and scale, historians say.In the Washington region alone, the past three weeks have seen a vote by the to pull three Confederate monuments from public land; the physical...WW…