Wednesday Afternoon Commute - 4 feet

Good afternoon

• This isn't really related to cycling, but while looking at where Young Elementary School was in relation to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, I saw this aerial photo of the RFK parking lots. The thing I noticed was that you can see all the dirt in the parking lot that's runoff from the construction in the NE Corner. That's all.
• Falls Church bike store Bike Club is temporarily closed to address some building safety concerns by the City of Falls Church. It expects to reopen in two months. 
• Pennsylvania may soon have a 4-foot safe passing law. The law would also make it illegal to "turn right into the path of a cyclist." But "He doesn't know of any research showing a link between safe passing laws and a drop in bicycle accidents or deaths, and concedes enforcement will be a challenge."
• Biking is "more reliable."

Comments

[Michael H.]

Google Maps enabled Web GL today. (I just noticed after clicking on the link above.) It runs more smoothly with Web GL enabled, although only on newer computers.

Interesting that Google chose today, the blackout SOPA-protest day, to turn on the Web GL feature in Google Maps.

[oboe]

Just looked at the Google Maps view of RFK and environs. Pardon my French, but...Holy shit is there a lot of surface parking there! Just depressing to think of the opportunity cost hemorrhaging away out there...

[Michael H.]

Here are some proposals for the RFK Stadium and parking lots, from various developers and real estate attorneys. One of them mentioned that a skate park will be added in the parking lot in the near future.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/rfk-stadium-turns-50-experts-ponder-what-happens-to-it-during-the-next-50/2011/10/06/gIQAQNqfYL_story.html

[Westnorth]

190-acre site = 30 L'Enfant Plan city blocks (average 10 blocks a mile) or 38 city blocks (Manhattan or Chicago sized). If it weren't for all that parking, that could fit one heck of a lot of recreational uses.

Also, Google Maps WebGL was available last week (tried it but too slow), so it wasn't related to SOPA.

[washcycle]

My dream has always been that the whole RFK site - which is NPS land - in to Robert Kennedy National Recreation Area[Or Kennedy Brothers NRA or something else]. Bury the Metro line and East Capitol, replace the parking with sporting fields, courts, running and bike trails, boat docks - maybe a stadium that can be used by soccer, etc...