Wednesday, June 29, 2016

this blog has officially consumed a decade of my life

I like how the buildings frame the sky this morning (clouds, contrails).
It's official: this blog is ten years old. In that time, I (and many guest contributors) have written 1700 blog posts, while you (the readers) have written over 6500 comments, and given us millions of pageviews. This blog has outlived eight moves, about a half-dozen relationships, fourteen(ish) jobs, three computers, and two bikes. It has changed my life in a really profound way that I could have never imagined when I first sat down at my computer one summer night in 2006.

So now what? For starters, I'm still writing, albeit much less frequently, but you can still get frequent updates about Silver Spring and Montgomery County (and yours truly) on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can find me writing about design and transportation stuff as a contributing editor to Washingtonian and occasionally at other places, like CityLab and Montgomery Magazine. And I'm always looking for new ways to cause trouble in Montgomery County with the Action Committee for Transit and One Montgomery.

Here's to another decade (am I really committing to this?) but in the meantime, let's drink. Stay tuned for an announcement about some kind of JUTP happy hour.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

nobody wants these school buses in their backyard, but moving them is worth it

Montgomery County wants to move a school bus lot away from the Shady Grove Metro station to make room for new houses there, but residents of other neighborhoods don't want the buses in their backyards. But the move is worth it if it means more people can live walking distance to the train.

MCPS Shady Grove Bus Lot from Westside Roofdeck
The Shady Grove bus depot across from new townhouses being built. All photos by the author.

This week, the Montgomery County Council could vote not to sell off a school bus depot on Crabbs Branch Way in Rockville, next to the Shady Grove station. Montgomery County Public Schools has outgrown the lot, and the county wants to move it to make room for a new neighborhood around the Metro station that would have 700 new homes, parks, a school, and a library.