BeyondDC

Southern Maryland could finally get the rail connection it has needed for decades. The proposed SMRT light rail line would connect Waldorf to Metro’s Green Line at Branch Avenue with: • 18.7 miles of rail • 13 stations • Stops at Joint Base Andrews and Southern Maryland Hospital • Service through Prince George’s and Charles counties The corridor was projected to reach nearly 550,000 residents by 2040, while Charles County commuters already spend hundreds of hours every year traveling to and from work. This region is growing. Its transit system should grow with it.

Another angle toward the Friendship Archway. Gallery Place-Chinatown could be a lively, safe part of DC — with historic Asian businesses protected from displacement — if District leaders were willing to dream big. The status quo is asphalt, traffic, degradation, and insecurity.

BIG PLANS FOR NORTH BETHESDA. Metro is moving toward a deal with Hines to transform 13.9 acres beside the Red Line into “The Nexus,” a massive transit-oriented district featuring: • A new north Metro entrance • 2+ million square feet • 809 homes • 930,000 square feet of life-science space • 100,000 square feet of retail and commercial space • The @UofMaryland Institute for Health Computing Nearly $119 million in public funding has been identified for infrastructure, the station entrance and the institute. This is how you turn a Metro station into an economic engine.

Councilmember @RobertWhite_DC said this morning he wants to HALVE parking fines in D.C. (Will propose as an amendment to @BrianneKNadeau's strategic parking enforcement bill. But @ChmnMendelson says it isn't germane.) White: “Inflation is kicking our butts at the grocery store.”