As if we needed another study to tell us D.C. area traffic is awful and getting worse -- a report released yesterday has pushed us into a solid three-way tie for second place in the contest for the Worst Traffic in the Nation award. So congrats, D.C. You are tied with drivers in Atlanta and the Bay Area as you burn time inching along I-395 in your car. Only Los Angeles can boast more... more ›

WTOP's Adam Tuss reports on DDOT's plans for U Street in the wake of last week's public meeting to gather community input, and residents of the corridor may have reason for concern. Among DDOT's various proposals, they have announced they're considering adding angled parking, similar to what you see on 18th Street in Adams Morgan, to U Street. Ever since the U Street corridor began its impressive revitalization, residents have been worried that the street... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. This week, I (carefully) picked up and began reading The Power Broker, the epic (and massive) Robert Caro biography of infamous New York master builder Robert Moses. Bob Moses, it turns out, was one of the best-trained civil service experts of the age when he first began working for the city. He was, as Caro describes him, a consummate idealist, passionately dedicated... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. I got a kick out of New York’s reaction to a report released back in April, showing that carbon emissions in the city had increased by about 8 percent since 1997. The news stories were alarmist and the leaders angry, promising to do whatever it took to reverse the trend and reduce emissions within 25 years. Admirable sentiments, but it made me... more ›

An Examiner story this morning is designed to fill you with dread for the coming D.C. Pricepocalypse. According to a study released Wednesday by George Mason University professor Stephen Fuller, the average price of a home in the national capital region likely will swell almost 3,000 percent in 50 years. The study predicts the average home in the metro area will be $14 million in 2057, compared to today’s average of $477,000. As if your nightmares about never being able to afford to buy a home in D.C. weren't bad enough already. more ›

Whether you are legitimately concerned about the future of transportation development in Virginia or simply sick of the endless debate clogging column inches in your local paper, the end is finally in sight. When the General Assembly finally compromised on a transportation funding package earlier this month, Governor Tim Kaine was not particularly pleased with what he saw. The Governor had promised to exercise his option to amend the bill and send it back to... more ›

Last week Prevention magazine put out its list of the Best Walking Cities of 2007. We were a little bit surprised by the results: 1. Madison, Wisconsin 2. Austin, Texas 3. San Francisco, California 4. Charlotte, North Carolina 5. Seattle, Washington 6. Henderson, Nevada 7. San Diego, California 8. San Jose, California 9. Chandler, Arizona 10. Virginia Beach, Virginia OK, so the top five cities are all plausible, even if we have a hard time... more ›

As if we needed another reason to stay off D.C.-area roads! more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Joe Englert wants a parking garage. So it says in the Washington Business Journal, on page four of a six page testament to the change he’s helping spread along H Street NE, once one of the District’s proudest thoroughfares and now in the midst of a facelift. When he hasn’t been opening businesses there himself, it seems he’s been grooming and instructing... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. "Has a second core emerged?" asked a Bureau of Labor Statistics report this week, drawing the metropolitan area's attention to the remarkable growth in business and professional employment in Virginia's Fairfax County. Headline after headline emphasized the county's new status as second pole in a newly bipolar metropolis, after we learned that Fairfax had pulled to within 100,000 jobs of the District... more ›

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into... more ›

For the better part of 2006, District bar-goers furiously debated the idea of a smoking ban. It was freedom of choice versus the nanny state, healthy air and clean clothes versus a tradition that dates back centuries. But now the debate is over, the smoking ban has taken effect, and the arguments on both sides will finally be tested. First among these is whether or not District bars will lose customers to their more smokeful... more ›

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! Austinist was all about controversy as new construction to increase urban density ran rampant in 2006, as did threats to the city's image from gigantic corporations looking to set up shop in town, leading... more ›

As we look back over the wreckage of another spent year this week, we take a moment to honor the kinds of quotes that are the bread and butter of this column. Namely, the odd things seen and heard on mass transit, and the reliable adorability of lost and/or confused tourists. But remember, Karma always comes back around, so every time you have a chuckle at the expense of an exasperated commuter or weary... more ›

There's a "hoo-ha" brewing in the underground these days, and we all know that every hoo-ha is worth looking into. The Post and the New York Times are both reporting about a smackdown by those elitist Washington intellectuals in an ad campaign that has Nora Roberts ripping off her bodice in rage. The Greater Washington Initiative didn't know the passion that would embroil them when they hung their enormous advertisements from Metro station walls. On... more ›

When you think about a mass transit system, especially a subway, you really have a pretty frightening dynamic at work. Hundreds of thousands of people in an enclosed space. Long, narrow escalators between them and the exit. And the only obstacle between the commuting masses and those who would do them harm is a $1.35 farecard. Metro Police have trouble protecting our iPods, let alone our safety, so it was no surprise to us that... more ›

This post was written by Seattlest editor Dan Gonsiorowski. "The Week in -ist" will run every week, typically on the weekend, but this weekend we forgot, and anyway most of you have the day off today. Earlier this week kissy couples were wading through roses and red tissue paper deeper than an east coast snow dump and singles shook a tiny, lonely fist (no ring!) at it all. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,... more ›

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In the wake of this morning's tragic events in London, the Department of Homeland Security has raised the terror level for mass transit to "orange." We had already reported that authorities in D.C. are on high alert, with increased patrols in the Metro and a joint operations center up and running. The Post is reporting D.C. police with machine guns will be present at Metro stations and "other specialized units" like bomb squad are at the ready. more ›