News

Regional transportation news stories compiled by CommuterPage.com. Subscribe to a daily email with the most recent news, recent ACCS blog posts, and upcoming events. Every CommuterPage.com News email includes an "unsubscribe" link.

In South Bend, Pete Buttigieg challenged a decades-old assumption that streets are for cars above all else

He pitched a $25 million plan to convert downtown’s wide, one-way roads into two-way streets with bike lanes and sidewalks. Read more...
Ian Duncan, January 16, 2021, Washington Post

Ten months into the pandemic, transit systems in the Washington suburbs have a long way to normal

Ten months into the coronavirus pandemic, ridership on regional bus systems is 40 to 60 percent below previous levels, according to transit officials, who also point to some encouraging signs. Read more...
Luz Lazo, January 16, 2021, Washington Post

Amtrak suspends some service south of DC ahead of inauguration

Amtrak said in a statement that is suspending some service to Virginia and that no Northeast Regional service south of Washington, including all Virginia stations, will run on Tuesday and Wednesday. Read more...
Tal Axelrod, January 16, 2021, The Hill

Support the Bicyclist Safety Act

FABB encourages all riders and people who love riders to support The Bicyclist Safety Act, a commonsense proposal that is under consideration by the 2021 Virginia General Assembly. Read more...
January 16, 2021, FABB

Federal review of Baltimore-Washington high-speed maglev project moves ahead

A proposal to bring a high-speed maglev train system to the Washington region, which proponents say is key to addressing congestion along the Interstate 95 corridor, has reached a critical milestone. Read more...
Luz Lazo, January 15, 2021, Washington Post

Trump administration delays increase in fines for automakers who fail to meet climate change standards

The federal auto regulator said this week it would delay an increase in fines imposed on manufacturers that fail to meet emissions standards designed to curb global warming, even after the Trump administration has lost two lawsuits over the issue. Read more...
Ian Duncan, January 15, 2021, Washington Post

Alexandria residents invited to provide input on Old Cameron Run Trail project

A city news bulletin indicates: “The purpose of this project is to provide a safe, off-street trail connection for people walking and biking between the Eisenhower East and South Quadrant neighborhoods.” Read more...
Kevin Dauray, January 15, 2021, Zebra

Four bridges connecting Va. to D.C. will be closed starting Tuesday

Virginia State Police is working with the United States Secret Service to close Roosevelt Bridge, the I-395 Bridge and the 14th Street Bridge starting Tuesday morning through Thursday at 6 a.m., according to a joint statement from Virginia lawmakers. Read more...
Matt Blitz, January 15, 2021, ARLnow

2020 ends hottest decade on record

It is now official, 2020 ends the hottest decade on record. Read more...
Brenda Ekwurzel, January 15, 2021, Union of Concerned Scientists

FAA approves first fully-automated commercial drone flights

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week approved the first fully-automated commercial drone flights, giving a small firm the green light to operate drones without direct supervision by human controllers or manned piloting. Read more...
Tal Axelrod, January 15, 2021, The Hill

Link roundup:Biking during Inauguration week

Do not attempt to bike around or through the federal core of DC for the next week. Read more...
Colin Browne, January 15, 2021, WABA

Fairfax Connector service information for Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2021

Due to Presidential Inauguration activities on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, the following detours will be in place on several Fairfax Connector bus routes. Read more...
January 15, 2021, Fairfax Connector

DC Streetcar, DC Circulator, and Capital Bikeshare service modifications

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will modify service in preparation for the 59th Presidential Inauguration on the following transit systems. Read more...
January 15, 2021, DDOT

How to get around -- and avoid -- downtown Washington during the inauguration. It won't be easy.

For those who want to witness the moment Joseph R. Biden Jr. is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, your best bet is to watch from home. Read more...
Luz Lazo, January 15, 2021, Washington Post

MLK weekend Metro schedule: Here's what to expect

Here's what to expect if you're taking the Metro this holiday weekend. Read more...
Alessia Grunberger, January 15, 2021, Vienna Patch

D.C. to begin long-awaited revamp of Rock Creek Park bike paths

If you’ve ever been for bike ride on the multi-use path that runs along Rock Creek, you know much of it is narrow, winding, bumpy, and crowded. Some of the trail is in such bad repair it’s nonexistent -- eroded into the creek and long closed to park users. Read more...
Jacob Fenston, January 15, 2021, dcist

VRE service adjustments

Due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and enhanced security measures related to the Presidential Inauguration, VRE trains will not operate Monday through Wednesday next week. Read more...
January 15, 2021, VRE

Biden: $20B for 'hardest hit' public transit agencies

President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Jan. 14 that includes a $20 billion investment to “protect the future of transit.” Read more...
Marybeth Luczak, January 15, 2021, Railway Age

Drivers are still top polluters, even during quarentine

Not even months of quarantine orders that confined millions of Americans to their homes were enough to unseat transportation as the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States — and cars are the biggest polluters in the sector, a new study finds. Read more...
Kea Wilson, January 14, 2021, Streetsblog USA

Fredericksburg train station improvement plan advances

The Fredericksburg train station is inching closer to proposed upgrades. Read more...
Mike Morones, January 14, 2021, Free Lance-Star

Inauguration Day closures expected to include the Mall, major bridges

All or most of the Mall is expected to close to the general public for Inauguration Day, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues. Read more...
Emily Davies, Justin Jouvenal, January 14, 2021, Washington Post

Metro is planning normal service this year, but hoping for a cash infusion in 2022

With the most recent federal stimulus coming to Metro’s rescue, the transit agency is proposing to leave service levels stable for a year until the money runs out. Read more...
Justin George, January 14, 2021, Washington Post

Montgomery County conducting transportation survey for visually impaired

Officials in Montgomery County are conducting a survey on how they can best help the visually impaired safely navigate their communities. Read more...
Alessia Grunberger, January 14, 2021, Takoma Park Patch

Metro committee agrees to send new budget for public comment

A Metro committee has agreed to send the 2022 budget for public comment. It avoids major cuts, but members said that’s temporary if more help doesn’t come soon. Read more...
Valerie Bonk, January 14, 2021, WTOP

Weekend Road and Rail: Inauguration closures, roadwork planned for I-66 & I-495

Starting Friday, and lasting through Thursday, Jan. 21, Metro will close 13 stations inside a security perimeter that has been established for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, with 11 stations closing Friday and another two stations closing Saturday. Read more...
Mary DePompa, January 15, 2021, WTOP

Metro GM Wiedefeld says 'don't travel' as inauguration shuts down major Metro transfer stations

Metro Center, Gallery Place and Union Station -- some of the busiest transfer stations in the Metro system -- are closing starting tomorrow through Thursday due to inauguration. Read more...
Jordan Pascale, January 14, 2021, dcist

Biden's new relief plan may help Metro avoid cuts next year

A new $1.9 trillion stimulus plan out from the Biden administration tonight is pitching $20 billion to “the hardest hit public transit agencies” so they can avoid cutting routes and laying off workers. Read more...
Jordan Pascale, January 14, 2021, dcist

New data: Most D.C. voters support protected bike lanes

This past December, WABA partnered with Data for Progress on a citywide poll on biking issues. Read more...
January 14, 2021, WABA

Washington area employers expect majority of workers back in offices by fall

Employers across the Washington area anticipate only 29% of their workforce to return physically to the workplace this winter but that the majority of their employees will return in-person by the fall, according to survey results released Thursday. Read more...
James Jarvis, January 14, 2021, Inside NoVa

D.C.'s 'inauguration perimeter' will make it hard for many to get around Nation's Capitol

D.C. officials are working to get the word out about street closures ahead of Inauguration Day 2021 on Jan. 20 and giving the public an idea of what to expect in the next week. Read more...
Nick Boykin, January 13, 2021, WUSA9

DDOT Director Jeff Marootian tapped for Biden's climate team

Jeff Marootian, the director of D.C.’s Department of Transportation, just got a job in the Biden administration: He’ll serve as the Special Assistant to the President for Climate and Science Agency Personnel. Read more...
Jenny Gathright, Jordan Pascale, January 14, 2021, dcist

Your Metrorail trips in 2021 might get quicker – five seconds at a time

The agency has a new plan to make its train doors open automatically at stations again, beginning on the Red Line in January, and coming to the rest of the system later in the year. Read more...
Stephen Repetski, January 14, 2021, GGWash

Three Md. teams submit proposals for American Legion Bridge, I-270 relief plan

The Maryland Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it had received three final proposals from private sector teams to complete Phase 1 of the Public-Private Partnership program for the American Legion Bridge I-270 to I-70 Relief Plan. Read more...
Liz Carey, January 14, 2021, Transportation Today

Metro announces Inauguration service plans, station closures

Metro will close 13 stations inside the security perimeter, with 11 stations closing on Friday and two additional stations on Saturday and continuing through the end of service on Thursday. During this time trains will pass through the closed stations without stopping. Read more...
January 13, 2021, WMATA

MARC Train - Washington Metrorail service modifications

Washington Metrorail has notified MARC Train that the Union Station Metro station and other downtown Metrorail stations will be closed beginning Friday, January 15 at 5:00am. Read more...
January 14, 2021, MDOT MTA

Fairfax Connector alters service for inauguration road closures

With only a week left until President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Fairfax Connector announced that two bus routes will stop operating today (Wednesday) through Jan. 20 due to planned road closures in Washington, D.C. Read more...
Angela Woolsey, January 13, 2021, Tysons Reporter

Civic associations recommend taking Rt. 1 underground

While VDOT considers lowering a section of Route 1 to a surface boulevard, a group of civic associations, known as Livability 22202, recommends going below ground instead. Read more...
Jo DeVoe, January 13, 2021, ARLnow

Biden forgoing Amtrak trip to Washington over security fears

President-elect Joe Biden will no longer be taking an Amtrak train to Washington for his inauguration because of security concerns, a person briefed on the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Read more...
Alexandra Jaffe, Zeke Miller, January 13, 2021, NBC Washington

Metro isn't making commemorative SmarTrip cards for Biden inauguration

As the pandemic and last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol continue to complicate Inauguration Day plans, another tradition is canceled: A Metro spokesperson says the agency isn’t creating a commemorative SmarTrip card this year for the Biden inauguration as it has for presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. Read more...
Jordan Pascale, January 13, 2021, dcist

Metro to close 13 stations for a week amid threats of inauguration violence

Metro will shut down more than a dozen stations near the U.S. Capitol and Mall for days around the presidential inauguration because of the possibility of violent protests. Read more...
Justin George, January 13, 2021, Washington Post

NTSB: Electric vehicle battery fires a threat to first responders

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Wednesday said that electric vehicle fires pose a threat to first responders and that vehicle manufacturers have distributed inadequate guidance to mitigate safety risks. Read more...
Celine Castronuovo, January 13, 2021, The Hill

D.C., along with three states, signs the Transportation Climate Initiative, but controversy remains

On December 21, the District of Columbia was among the first to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committing to the Transportation Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P). Read more...
Ethan Goffman, January 13, 2021, GGWash

USDOT releases automated vehicles comprehensive plan

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Monday that it had released its “Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan” (AVCP), which lays out the department’s multimodal strategy towards integrating safe Automated Driving Systems (ADS). Read more...
Liz Carey, January 13, 2021, Transportation Today

Widespread street closures in effect as D.C. preps for inauguration

Federal authorities are busy locking down a large swath of D.C. six days earlier than originally planned after last week’s riots and ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Read more...
Alejandro Alvarez, Mark Lewis, January 12, 2021, WTOP

Road closures, parking restrictions as D.C. clamps down before inauguration

Washington, D.C., is locking down near the U.S. Capitol, White House and National Mall, bracing for the possibility of further unrest before and on Inauguration Day. Read more...
Sophia Barnes, January 13, 2021, NBC Washington

Van Buren St. improvements project delayed

The Town of Herndon’s plans for major upgrades to an 0.5-mile stretch from Old Spring Street to Herndon Parkway along Van Buren Street have been delayed. The project, which would add curb-and-gutter, widen travel lanes to 11 feet, and add bike lanes in each direction, was originally set to be complete by the winter of this year. Read more...
Fatimah Waseem, January 12, 2021, Reston Now

Lawmakers unveil an ambitious climate action plan for Maryland

Maryland would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% and plant 5 million trees by 2030, under a revamped, ambitious climate change bill that lawmakers plan to introduce in this year’s General Assembly session. Read more...
Elizabeth Shwe, January 13, 2021, WTOP

American Legion Bridge transit options proposed at Md., Va. virtual hearing

Transportation leaders from Maryland and Virginia took part in an online public hearing to go over studies that suggest ways to expand bus service with the addition of a new American Legion Bridge along Interstate 495. Read more...
Ken Duffy, January 13, 2021, WTOP

Inauguration Day is a week away. The traffic challenges have begun.

Some restrictions went into effect Tuesday morning. Read more...
Luz Lazo, January 12, 2021, Washington Post

CDC to require negative COVID-19 tests from international passengers boarding US flights

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines that require all international passengers boarding U.S. flights to get a negative COVID-19 test before flying. Read more...
Lexi Lonas, January 12, 2021, The Hill