Tag: smart growth
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Another Tired Defense of the Henrico Status Quo
Addressing the Henrico Business Council, County Manager John Vithoulkas made a familiar case for a 4% meals tax yesterday. The county, which has already cut to the bone, faces another $100 million revenue shortfall over the next five years, due in great part to the recent recognition of its massive pension obligations. A meals tax…
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PARC Tackles Parking
by James A. Bacon A couple of years ago, the creative geniuses at Xerox’s renowned Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) labs were brainstorming ways to shake up one of the stodgiest sectors of the American economy: parking. A new wave of technologies made it possible to do things never thought possible before, such as adjusting…
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Bacon Drops into the Urbanism Speakeasy
Andy Boenau, a private-sector transportation planner in Richmond, is really passionate about his job — so passionate that in his spare time he publishes a blog and podcast, “Urbanism Speakeasy.” Every week he interviews people with fascinating perspectives on smart growth, New Urbanism and urban planning. In recent weeks, to mention just two examples, Andy…
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McDonnell Solicits Ideas for “Air Rights” Development
The McDonnell administration is soliciting “innovative ideas” from the private sector to develop air rights at the Rosslyn Metro station in Arlington and the East Falls Church Metro station on Interstate 66. In administrative parlance, this solicitation is a “request for information,” which will gather feedback on the feasibility and types of development that could…
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Time to Consider New Downtown Parking Models in VA
In May Richmond City Council voted to increase the hourly rate for street parking downtown from $.50 to $.75 per hour with the goals of netting an additional $250,000 yearly in revenue and helping downtown businesses by increasing the turnover in parking spaces. By way of market research, according to the Times-Dispatch, city officials had…
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Parking Drove Richmond’s Gateway Plaza Participation
There’s a bit more to the Gateway Plaza than I blogged about yesterday. I caught up with Larry Chapman, a partner in Clayco, the company developing the $110 million office tower in downtown Richmond, and asked him why the City of Richmond needed to chip in $11.25 million to make the project happen. It’s all…
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Richmond’s $11.25 Million Investment in Gateway Plaza Seems Justified
by James A. Bacon Richmond City Council has approved $11.25 million in general obligation bonds to build a public parking garage for the proposed Gateway Plaza, a $110 million office tower in downtown Richmond. I’m often skeptical of municipal “incentives” to stimulate “economic development” projects, but I think this undertaking will withstand scrutiny. Chicago-based Clayco…
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Higher Speed Limit Could Give Express Lanes a Lift
by James A. Bacon 495 Express Lanes has increased the speed limit on the I-495 express lanes in Northern Virginia from 55 miles per hour to 65, giving riders a significant new time-saving inducement to use the tolled lanes. The change took effect after the Virginia Department of Transportation released a study confirming that raising…
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More Evidence for Peak Car
The number of cars, vans, SUVs and light trucks on the road in the United States peaked in 2008 at 236.4 million, dipping as low as 230 million in the aftermath of the recession. That number will likely be surpassed as the population continues to grow, says Michael Sivak, in “Has Motorization in the U.S.…
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The Smart Parking Revolution Gains Momentum
by James A. Bacon No one likes paying for parking, but the prospect of parting with a buck or two is nothing compared to the hassle of rummaging through your pockets, in your glove compartment or under the floor mats for stray coins. The only thing worse is worrying about your time expiring, dashing outside…
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A Conservative Case for Mass Transit
by James A. Bacon A new paper published by the conservative Free Congress Foundation makes the connection between mass transit and the economic vitality of American regions. Author Michael S. Bronzini, with George Mason University, argues that mass transit is needed to support a population shift back to walkable urban communities, which is being driven…
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Business Taxes Not a Problem State Gov’t Should Try to Solve
by James A. Bacon Both Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli have proposed reducing or eliminating three locally imposed business taxes — the Business Professional Occupation Licensing (BPOL) tax, the Machinery and Tool (M&T) tax and the Merchants Capital (MC) tax. Both sides of the partisan divide agree that Virginia should be able to find a…
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Floyd, a Street Cyclists Can Call their Own
by James A. Bacon The City of Richmond doesn’t have many tangible results to show for its bicycle-friendly policies so far. Painting white bicycle symbols on a few streets to designate sharrows — lanes where cars should be on the look-out for bicycles — contributes only marginally to making streets safer for cyclists. But the…
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Granny Flats Making a Come Back — Hoorah!
by James A. Bacon Cities across The United States and Canada are liberalizing their zoning codes to allow more “accessory units” like basement apartments, granny flats and even tiny houses in the back yard, reports the Wall Street Journal. The trend is especially evident in regions with housing shortages and high real estate prices like…
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Who’s Got More Smart Growth – MD or VA?
by James A. Bacon State-level incentives to encourage smart growth proved to be of limited effectiveness in Maryland because they did not dissuade local governments from pursuing local priorities, according to a new study of the Washington metropolitan area scheduled to be published in Urban Studies. The study by Amal K. Ali, a geography professor…