Traditionally Christmas decorations stay up through New Year’s Day, which means today is the official start of the “chucking your dried-up tree onto the sidewalk without regard for your neighbors or trash collection schedule” season. Allow DCist to help point you in the proper direction for Christmas tree disposal. The District Department of Public Works is collecting trees from sidewalks starting today through Jan. 19. However, in order to be certain DPW will pick up…

Tomorrow morning marks the annual running of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The race, which takes place on the National Mall, begins at 8 a.m., with several pre-race events as well. To accommodate the 50,000 people expected to participate, Metro will begin operating two hours early, at 5 a.m., with trains running every 12 minutes from the end of each line. Metro has not scheduled any track maintenance during the day on…

By DCist contributor Matt Pelkey “Out of the way, you slow f#@%!” Everyone’s probably yelled something to that effect from behind the wheel of a car. Following tomorrow’s launch of D.C.’s new traffic calming program, you may find yourself cursing dawdlers on the road more often. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) are launching the D.C. Neighborhood Pace Car Program, in which drivers voluntarily sign a pledge to…

Yesterday, the Post declared support for 1960s-style urbanism dead. No longer, they say, are we to be held hostage by soaring freeways, concrete office blocks, and the utter deadness of the streets and neighborhoods ushered in by the age of the car. Finally, we’ve learned how vital it is to encourage pedestrian traffic and to take advantage of our waterfront resources; We understand that you cannot design cities around automobile use. Except where the Whitehurst…

Forgetful drivers be warned — this is not the week to not wear your seatbelt. The Metropolitan Police Department has announced that through June 4 they will be stepping up enforcement of the city’s seatbelt laws, violations of which can result in a $50 fine and two points on your license. The District Department of Transportation has reported that seatbelt usage in the District stands at 89 percent — leaving 11 percent of drivers…

We’ve always been big fans of cycling. Spare the somewhat aggressive drivers, pothole-ridden city streets and rock throwing kids we occasionally have to navigate, the District remains a cycle-friendly city. Though many commuters don’t often jump on their bikes to get to and from work, tomorrow should be the one day to do so — it’s Bike to Work Day. Sponsored locally by the Washington Area Bicycle Association, the event caps off National Bike Month,…

A few months back, DCist readers had the chance to go back and forth on an issue that has since quieted down — whether the city should knock down the Whitehurst Freeway or not. Opinions differed, with some readers arguing that the freeway — which parallels the Potomac River above K Street in Georgetown — is an eye sore that limits development and others noting that it helps direct 42,000 cars a day away from…

If you own your own car, the already limited parking in the District is slowly getting scarcer. The District Department of Transportation today designated an additional 50 on-street parking spaces for car-sharing services like Zipcar and Flexcar. The new spaces will be located throughout the city, will be specially marked, and join the 150 parking spaces currently in use. Given the notorious congestion and parking difficulties in the District, transportation officials have promoted car-sharing as…

Catchy title, no? While this may not become a weekly, if even monthly feature, today brings us two pieces of news that may be of interest to cyclists in the District. The District Department of Transportation is holding a meeting today to discuss the possibility of building a bike station on the west end of Union Station. The bike station — an innovative solution for cyclists currently used in Berkeley, Ca., Embarcadero, Ca., Palo Alto,…

The District Department of Transportation is sponsoring a second design workshop tomorrow to present alternative design ideas for the Whitehurst Freeway. Part of a series of five public meetings meant to discuss the feasibility of tearing down the elevated roadway that sits uncomfortably between the Potomac River and M Street in Georgetown, tomorrow’s meeting will allow members of the community to review and comment on a variety of alternatives being proposed. The Whitehurst Freeway, originally…