Events: Join your GGWash Neighbors at a regional rail talk or a trolley play date

Don't forget that this Tuesday, April 30 you can join your fellow GGWash Neighbors to learn about how to make comprehensive regional rail a reality. Head over to the NoMa BID (1200 1st St NE) from 6 to 8 pm to discuss what a comprehensive regional rail system connecting MARC and VRE would look like, and how it would decrease congestion and pollution while increasing access for more people to jobs and housing in Maryland and Virginia. Get your ticket now for only $10, or join the GGWash Neighborhood so you can attend for free!

And how about those who are raising our next generation of GGWash Neighbors? Bring those kiddos to the Trolley Turnaround Playground (1101 Monroe St NW) in Columbia Heights this Sunday (May 5) from 10 am to 12 pm and connect with other GGWashers who are raising kids in the urban environment. This play date is open to all, although we certainly hope you'll use the occasion to join the GGWash Neighborhood if you haven't already. Contact Jane Green with any questions about the event, and feel free to bring snacks to share!

Other events from around the region:

Monday, April 29

Weigh in on Vision Zero: Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen is holding a special meeting about strengthening Vision Zero tonight from 6:30-8 pm at Watkins Elementary School, near Eastern Market Metro and one block north of the Pennsylvania Avenue bus line.

Learn about how to fix Dave Thomas Circle: The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is hosting an open house at the NoMa BID (1200 First Street NE, ground floor lobby) about how to improve safety around Dave Thomas Circle tonight from 6:30-8 pm. Readers are encouraged to attend to support the agency in taking this property to make the intersection safer for all, and also to push DDOT to ensure the design priorities people on foot, bike, and bus.

Find community around fair housing: DC's Department of Housing and Community Development wants to “understand and find solutions for fair housing issues, including but not limited to discrimination, segregation, equal access to affordable and safe homes, access to transit, good schools, and healthy neighborhoods, and issues faced by voucher holders and public housing residents.” To that end, they are “working on a fair housing analysis of the District… along with the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights” and they now want “all residents to come out and voice [their] views and experiences” about what fair housing means to them.

You have several options to help them out by joining any one of their upcoming community meetings:

• Monday, April 29, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Franklin D. Reeves Municipal Center (2000 14th St NW, 2nd floor)
• Tuesday, April 30, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Petworth Library (4200 Kansas Ave NW)
• Monday, May 6, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Cleveland Park Library (3310 Connecticut Ave NW)
• Tuesday, May 7, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Dorothy I. Height/Benning Library (3935 Benning Rd NE)
• Thursday, May 9, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Anacostia Neighborhood Library (1800 Good Hope Rd SE)

Tuesday, April 30

A new and improved sustainability: DC aspires to be “the healthiest, greenest, most livable city in the nation” as laid out in its new Sustainable DC 2.0 plan. Join DC's Department of Energy and Environment at the Streets Market Cafe (51 M Street, NE) from 6 to 8 pm to “thank everyone who has supported this massive two-year effort” including “more than 1,200 [people who] attended a Sustainable DC 2.0 public meeting; 400 [people who] participated in a working group, and scores more [who] provided almost 900 comments on drafts… [so that] the Sustainable DC Plan [would] be more innovative and more inclusive.” Get more info on the party here, you can attend for free!

Sunday, May 5

Walk with the spirit of Jane Jacobs: At 10 am, find fellow walkers at the Arlington Farmers Market at Courthouse (1401 N Courthouse Rd), where “WalkArlington and local landscape architects Ana Quintana and Lan Hogue [will lead] the first inaugural Jane’s Walk in Arlington. Every year on the first weekend in May, people all over the world take part in Jane’s Walks to activate the ideas of Jane Jacobs, legendary advocate for neighborhoods, and to support a community-based approach to city building through citizen-led walking tours. During these walks participants observe, reflect, share, question, and collectively reimagine the places in which they live, visit, work, and play… There is no need to bring anything but yourselves and comfortable walking shoes.” Anyone can join the walk for free, but registration is required.

Check out more urbanist events at ggwash.org/calendar. Do you have an event you'd like to see featured in the weekly events post? Submit it here.