Posts tagged East Of The RiverRSS
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Boxing Day links: bikes, buses and blogs
Ticket dismissed: One of the bicyclists ticketed for riding the wrong way on New Hampshire Avenue by U Street, Sam DuPont, successfully appealed his citation. DuPont argued that “going the wrong way on NH was the only safe way to navigate that part of the city, and that DDOT has recognized this fact in their plans to install contraflow bike lanes on that very block.”… Keep reading…
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Saint Elizabeths: reuse or abuse?
In mid-November, I attended the second St. Elizabeths West Campus walking tour hosted by the DC Preservation League (DCPL). Founded in 1852 as the Government Hospital for the Insane at the urging of social reformer Dorothea Dix and its first Superintendent, Charles H. Nichols, St. Elizabeths’ entire campus was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, designated… Keep reading…
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Streetcar will run through Anacostia, not to Bolling
We now know DDOT’s plans for the Anacostia Streetcar. It will travel from the maintenance facility on South Capitol Street, past Barry Farm to the Anacostia Metro, then continue through downtown Anacostia to Martin Luther King Avenue and Good Hope Road. Keep reading…
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Stretching the streetcar saga
Jim Graham and Chairman Gray filed a disapproval resolution to block DDOT’s transfer of $20 million to extend, or move, the planned streetcar segment. (It’s still not entirely clear if they’re extending it or moving it.) Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Scratching poison ivy in Maryland
ICC’s eviler cousin: Have you ever heard of the CCC? That’s another freeway Maryland is busy building in Charles County to destroy the natural beauty of its southern region. Imagine, DC writes, “building highways to alleviate traffic is like scratching poison Ivy to get rid of the irritation.” Keep reading…
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DDOT moving streetcar toward actual residents
In July, Jim Graham, Tommy Wells, and others on the DC Council were asking some questions about DDOT’s planned initial segment for the Anacostia Streetcar: Why does it run to nowhere? Keep reading…
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Big box retail at Poplar Point?
And Now, Anacostia discovers a WBJ article reporting that private developers are planning big-box retail at the southern edge of Poplar Point, near the Anacostia Metro. According to the article (most of which is behind a pay wall): Keep reading…
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Lunch links: Paint ain’t, 8 debate, rails frustrate
“Paint isn’t a pedestrian safety plan”: Get There reviews the Pedestrian Master Plan and comes out pleased. Some of the best solutions are cheap, like “stop for pedestrians” signs in the middle of the street. Keep reading…
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Afternoon links: more bike safety and streetcars edition
If wishes were offices: At yesterday’s streetcar hearing, David Catania argued that a line to Bolling will create economic development in Anacostia, and that a future extension to National Harbor is in DC’s best interest. Richard Layman delves into this issue more deeply and concludes: maybe, but probably not, and we should have some economic analysis before blindly… Keep reading…
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Connecting communities (or not)
It was Councilmember Marion Barry (ward 8) who had the day’s most relevant quote. “Streetcars are about connecting communities,” he said, as he urged his colleagues to support the proposed 1.3-mile, $43-million Anacostia demonstration streetcar in his ward. There’s only one problem: the proposed line doesn’t connect communities at all. There’s no community on South Capitol… Keep reading…
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Streetcar hearing this morning
I’m testifying at the Council hearing on the Anacostia streetcar at 11 am. I’m scheduled to go first. If you’re interested, you can watch it on cable channel 13 or online here. I’ll put up a post about it as soon as I can find some time. Meanwhile, yesterday’s Post article has good background on the topic, and And Now, Anacostia comes closest to my thinking… Keep reading…
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Meet the new route through DC
If you ask Google Maps how to get from Baltimore to Richmond (or New York to Raleigh, or Boston to Miami), it suggests taking the Beltway around through Bethesda and Tysons to circumvent DC. But that may change. Keep reading…
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Open space versus parks
And Now, Anacostia rebuts Marc Fisher’s criticism of a soccer stadium at Poplar Point. ANA and my commenters make several points, including that the money would be for infrastructure like roads rather than for the stadium itself (unlike with the ballpark), or that Fisher simply prefers baseball to soccer. Ryan Avent, though, is still skeptical. Keep reading…
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Soccer stadium won’t stimulate the economy
Marc Fisher argues that a soccer stadium in Poplar Point won’t generate the same level of economic development as the basketball arena or the ballpark for the simple reason that the arena hosts 200 events a year, the stadium 100, while Major League Soccer stadiums are active only 35 times a year (and football stadiums least of all with only 8 games a year). Keep reading…
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Suburban supermarket and strip mall dropped in Congress Heights
Ward 8, Washington’s southernmost and poorest ward, had not a single supermarket from 1998 until December 2007, when a new Giant opened in Congress Heights. Unfortunately, that Giant looks like it came straight from Atlanta, with seas of parking in front that are never full. Keep reading…
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Forty years
Forty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. That night, a wave of violence and looting destroyed the commercial main streets in Shaw, Columbia Heights, H Street, Capitol Hill, Anacostia, and others. Keep reading…
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Do offices revitalize a neighborhood?
DC’s Department of Housing and Community Development is moving to Anacostia, to a site about eight blocks from the Metro, in an effort to revitalize the area. Richard Layman thought this was a mistake in 2005 when officials suggested moving WMATA headquarters to Anacostia, and argues that the 1986 Reeves Center at 14th and U doesn’t get credit for U Street’s success. Keep reading…
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South Capitol: L’Enfant strikes back
From the South Capitol EIS:As a primary corridor in L’Enfant’s 1791 Plan for the City of Washington, South Capitol Street was envisioned as one of the symbolic gateways to the city and its Monumental Core. ... Today, South Capitol Street lacks any characteristics of its historic and intended function as a gateway. ... South Capitol Street is an urban freeway that has… Keep reading…
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Popular parking at the Poplar park?
Council Chairman Vincent Gray is suggesting that any parking built on Poplar Point for a soccer stadium could be used for baseball games at other times. It’s not a bad idea, as long as the parking is charged at market rate. On the other hand, I wonder how needed it will be—if the ballpark can get by for a few years without Poplar, people will already be used to taking Metro, and… Keep reading…
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Poplar Point may get a deck over I-295
Mayor Fenty has chosen Clark Realty to develop Poplar Point, a large waterfront site near the Anacostia Green Line station. And Now, Anacostia was rooting for Clark, most significantly because their plan included building a deck over part of I-295, connecting Poplar Point to the rest of the Anacostia neighborhood. If you can’t convert a freeway to a boulevard, covering it… Keep reading…
