Some links to interesting articles that caught my eye this week:
The electric scooters swarming our city won’t solve our commuting calamity
This column by Petula Dvorak of the Washington Post highlights the challenges faced by the private fleets of electric scooters that have suddenly descended on Washington and other cities (including some recent sightings in Alexandria). Plaudits for this excellent quote: “They’re like what happens if my son’s fifth grade squad took over the city planning commission and PeeWee Herman was their board chairman.” Whether the scooters are a passing fad (like dockless bikes) or here to stay after the venture capital runs out remains to be seen. However, they are providing useful new mobility options that help people traverse cities without using cars. In many ways, they’re less impactful than automobiles. They are helping to usher in the urban transport revolution promised by the Segway that never materialized. Cities should seek to manage scooters to mitigate the negative externalities (e.g., require them to be properly parked and yield the right of way to pedestrians) but should not regulate these services out of existence. We need options!
The Black Cat is shrinking by half. Why? Because punks don’t live there anymore.
This Washington Post article by Lavanya Ramanathan tells the fascinating story of how the Black Cat night club, one of the first businesses to signal gentrification of Washington’s 14th Street corridor 25 years ago, is reducing its footprint amid changes in the marketplace. The evolution of 14th Street, which has seen significant redevelopment (and changing neighborhood demographics) is only part of the story. According to the Black Cat’s owner, the indoor smoking ban, online dating, and mobile technologies are also to blame.
Forget food trucks. Now ‘food halls’ are having a moment, and they’re changing the landscape.
Another Washington Post article by Lavanya Ramanathan looks at food halls, which look to preempt food trucks as the hot trend in fast-service dining. I’m intrigued by the concept, and would love to see one here in Alexandria (if Annandale can do it…) We missed the boat on food trucks, with onerous regulations and limited on-street parking options that don’t permit trucks to operate where the crowds are (or where we want them to be), such as near Market Square or the waterfront parks. Because of the hybrid nature of food halls, there are regulatory challenges to overcome (they’re not entirely one restaurant, but they’re not quite a food court). Hopefully Alexandria City Hall will identify creative ways to encourage and support the concept here in the Port City.
Proposing a Main Street shakeup for status-quo Annapolis
This column by Jimmy DeButts of the Capital Gazette could have been about Alexandria, just swap out the word “Annapolis.” It highlights that Old Town isn’t alone in finding new ways to invigorate a historic city center. It takes hard work and creative thinking to attract new visitors. And challenging the status quo.
La Vie on the Wharf is so bad I’m only writing about it as a warning
Yikes! (a Washington Post restaurant review by critic Tom Sietsema)
PlanAlexandria 