Gordon Chaffin 19 posts 0 comments

In the month and a half since DC began coronavirus mitigation, I’ve seen more children learning to ride bikes than I had before in the 11 years I’ve lived in the Washington region. The joyous rite of passage is happening more these days…

I've been addicted to Revel's shared electric scooters almost since the operator debuted in DC last autumn. My experiences with the micromobility vehicles and my work as a local transportation journalist have demonstrated to me the power…

Right now, a large portion of DC’s elected officials are considering whether they should run for another term in office. Members of the District’s 40 advisory neighborhood commissions (ANCs) are discussing with loved ones the unpaid time…

The District Department of Transportation plans to construct more than 20 miles of protected bike lanes from 2019 through 2022, as shown on this map. (Image by DC Department of Transportation) Protected bike lanes are an extremely…

Earlier this month, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) presented designs for safety enhancements and road reconstruction for critical areas of Near Northeast DC in NoMa and Union Market, extending eastward through Trinidad to…

The most difficult part of having to scrape together money for the bills is finding the time, energy and emotional resilience to do the things you know you should do — once you’ve done the things you have to do. The working poor, the…

As a reporter for Street Justice, which covers transportation, infrastructure and housing in DC and its suburbs, I recently participated in a panel discussion about transportation in DC’s Southwest Waterfront neighborhood. During the 10…

I’m a full-time local journalist — and, until my news organization gains enough subscribers to provide me a full salary, I am walking three to four dogs every weekday to cover my bills. I love dogs and feel rejuvenated by the daily…

I've studied and worked around transportation and infrastructure for 10 years. I'm an expert. But the more I investigate our infrastructure as a daily reporter, the more I realize how much I don't know about the systems that get people…

"You want to be comfortable and our conditions are uncomfortable. And when you're uncomfortable, you make bad decisions. These streets are vicious; they soak your ass up." ~ Smurf, 17 Blocks 17 Blocks — a new documentary set in DC —…

You may have heard recently that some crazy Virginia man just ran around the whole Beltway. Well, his name is Mike Wardian, he lives in Arlington, and he’s a professional runner. Mike is actually an ultramarathoner, specializing in…

A problem common to many busy DC roads presents a pervasive danger in Brookland on the 600 and 700 blocks of Monroe Street NE: New or fairly new residential buildings attract multiple delivery vehicles and trucks per day, while retail…

Alabama Avenue SE from Bowen Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue — a heavily trafficked, wide, and therefore dangerous road in wards 7 and 8 — is in the final design phase for big changes. Big more in terms of the length of the affected…

Beyond the Beltway, just a few miles from the last Metrorail stations — and even in pockets within that bubble — commuting by car dominates the DC region. These suburban and exurban areas feature most of the new, affordable housing in the…

The most important thing you need to know about electric cars is that they’re now sufficient for the overwhelming majority of instances Americans drive. Their batteries hold enough energy for multiple days’ worth of commutes and…

Longtime local DC journalist Tom Sherwood has this motto: “Local Washington is only as good as the people active in it.” My experience as a local reporter in the DMV corroborates that statement on a daily basis. Our region faces a…

Let’s talk about tax credits for buying electric vehicles. The U.S. government offers benefits to taxpayers to make electric cars more affordable. Right now, the feds offer a $7,500 non-refundable tax credit to buyers of Battery-Electric…

Adding bike lanes to existing roads is a decades-old practice nationally and internationally. And there has been a push to improve the DC area's street features for cycling since at least the early 1970s, when the regional cycling advocacy…

Could business owners and others in DC soon benefit from a new bank owned and operated by the DC government? With $200,000 put in the city’s 2018 budget by the DC Council, officials at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking are…