New renderings offer a revamped vision of a Union Station designed for people, placemaking, and transit

The renovation project for Union Station seems to be undergoing an identity crisis, trying to figure out if the region’s main hub for transit will create a pathway for cars or for people.

To be fair, the multi-billion dollar Washington Union Station Expansion Project shepherded by the Federal Rail Administration (FRA), requires buy-in from an alphabet soup of local and federal agencies, as well as the region at large.

What started as a major divide over the number of parking spaces needed at the station, and a behemoth of a garage to hold them, morphed into a larger debate about the overall purpose and vision of the project. But the clock is ticking as the public comment period on the preferred plans or Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), the sort of blueprint for planning the revamp, ends September 28.

In a recent statement, Andrew Trueblood, Director of DC’s Office of Planning, said, “As proposed in the DEIS, the Project falls short of what District residents, workers, visitors and stakeholders deserve and appears to be on a path to failure.”

But there is light at the end of the…er…track tunnel. Akridge, the company that owns the air rights above rail tracks, and oversees Burnham Place, a sibling development project at Union Station, has offered up some new renderings and a video offering an alternative vision of the renovation project; one that addresses the major challenges some people have had with the project. To understand why these images matter, however, we must look back at how we got here.

What are the major challenges of the project plan now?

The renovation plans, as they stand, face opposition in several key areas, but three main buckets: parking, pick-up and drop-off (PUDO), and the bus facility. It’s really these surface areas that create the biggest challenges.

Maura Brophy, Director of Transportation and Infrastructure at the Federal City Council, puts it this way: “If we don’t get the surface transportation’s elements of this project right, there’s a huge opportunity cost when it comes to connectivity, civic space and economic development opportunities.”

Here’s a breakdown of the challenges and some possible alternative ways to address the problems.

Parking, parking, and less parking please

One of the most publicized and talked about challenges to the current draft plan for Union Station is its generous amount of parking spaces, about 1,600 at last count, and a large garage to house them. The OP as well as the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which is the approving entity of the project, have all recommended a much smaller number for the station - less than 295. Both the OP and the District Department of Transportation, recommended this much lower parking number.

In the Akridge rendering, the above ground parking facility is nixed, and replaced with underground facilities to accommodate people who wish to park.

This point has been supported and echoed by many different agencies and organizations pushing for the Union Station renovation. Even Amtrak doesn’t want all that parking.

Pick-up and drop-off (PUDO)

One of the other critical challenges facing the station is a pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) area that is ready to handle the high volume of passengers expected in the future.

The Akridge renderings makes use of underground space, and less congested streets to drive taxis, and ride-hail service services into the station and back out without disrupting the other modes of transit that may utilize Columbus Circle, namely pedestrians and bicyclists.

Current draft plans make way for about 3,600 daily trips during peak hours by 2040. That is 24% more than the number of PUDOs currently at National airport.

The new vision moves traffic towards the west side of the station, and away from busy H Street. This move would provide the added advantage of offering viewsheds of the US Capitol with the extra space saved.

The underground services would not only be able to handle the capacity needs of the future, but be adjustable, should plans need to change. It’s harder to make permanent changes on above ground structures, like the PUDO’s current location.

A revamped bus facility

You may have heard the old adage, “less means more.” The new Akridge renderings put this theory to use with about 12- 16 slips, plus 2 stages spaces. This is less than the 24 referenced in the current DEIS. Akridge developers think this is more than enough to accommodate the expected 19% increase in traffic by 2040. Why?

According to the new plan, bus operators should follow best operational practices for turning around arriving and departing buses during peak times. The DEIS notes that for Amtrak’s new “Metropolitan Service,” the rail operator plans on turning around 300-plus passenger trains at Union Station within 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the DEIS states that bus operators could have three times that amount (60 minutes) to turn around buses carrying just 50 to 80 passengers.

An efficiently-run bus facility would require many fewer slips. The benefits of downscaling would accrue to its passengers, allowing opportunities for natural light and access to parks and amenities.

Another shift in the plan would allow the buses to go out on North Capitol instead of down on H Street.

A place to gather round, rather than just go through

One of the other critical challenges to the current DEIS, is that while there is focus on addressing the amount of people who will travel through Union Station, there could be more done to make the station a place where people want to visit.

Nicknamed the fourth airport, Union Station is the largest transit hub in the region with 100,000 people who go through its doors each day. The rendering shows how the station could offer a more aesthetically and socially pleasing experience for travelers and the neighborhood. The photo above shows views of the US Capitol, stores, and lots of green space for people to congregate and experience the station.

It’s a concept popular at transportation hubs like Kings Cross in London, where a development is built to spur economic growth, as well as community connectivity. Kings Cross has no official parking, just a few private lots nearby, as transit, for-hire vehicles, walking and cycling are the prioritized modes of accessing the station.

These images were part of a larger demonstration Akridge presented to community leaders, agencies, and other stakeholders this week.

David Tuchmann, Senior Vice President at Akridge, makes clear that these renderings are “not a literal proposal. It’s not a series of specific buildings that we want to be approved, or an architectural style that we think is exactly right.”

“Our hope is that in creating a vision and making it so visually, (we hope) appealing and three dimensionally understandable that it can take a project of such enormous complexity and, bring it into focus for people as far as what the opportunities could be, if we can change those key areas within the alternative the FRA has proposed.”

Rail is on the right track

Even though several agencies, neighborhood leaders, and stakeholders have challenges with some facets of the Union Station expansion plan, some parts were done very well.

“If there’s one thing that they [the FRA] really did well in this proposal, it is developing the rail program,” Brophy said. “The rail program more than doubles the capacity of the station from a train standpoint, that box was brilliantly checked.”

A history of the Union Station expansion project

One thing most people can agree upon is that Union Station is one of the most important hubs for commuters in the region. Currently, about 37 million people travel through the station each year. And those numbers are only going to grow.

Within the next two decades the station is expecting exponential growth in the number of people coming through the station. Amtrak is predicting a 95% increase in passenger traffic. MARC and VRE are expecting increases of about 150% and 250%, respectively.

But to accommodate the uptick in demand, the station will need a facelift. After all it is more than 112 years old. Platforms will need to be ADA compliant, more space is needed for passengers to maneuver, and plenty of other cosmetic fixes need to be addressed.

As Beyonce said to Jay-Z on B’Day, “partner let me upgrade you.”

And then there are more players involved in the upgrade than the current cast of FX’s “Fargo.” As we reported The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), one of nine agencies that make up the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), owns the complex, and is in charge of figuring out how the project will impact the area.

Meanwhile Amtrak is looking to upgrade to grow its passengers. Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) leases and manages much of the station, and according to its website is charged with preserving and restoring the station’s historic and architectural significance, while making sure it remains a multimodal transportation center, for years to come. This is not mention DDOT, the FCC, and other entities that are involved in the process.

But as much as everyone wants an upgrade, the vision for the end result seems to vary.

What’s next for the station expansion?

As the deadline for the public to have their say in the project comes to a close, more and more people are using their voice to talk about the station.

Just this week a resolution was put on the DC Council floor for members to offer officials comments on the plans. Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) spoke about the Union Station saying, “It is critically important not just to the District, but to the entire region that we get this development right. It is not a once in a generation project, it is a once in a century development project,” Allen said. “Unfortunately the current plans don’t get it right.”

The resolution was passed unanimously Tuesday.

Other community leaders have followed suit with letters sent this week to the FRA urging them to consider challenges the public and some stakeholders have raised about the plan.

This is in addition to other public officials who have spoken out over the last year about the project.

If you want to weigh in on the draft plans for the station you have until September 28 to do it. Click here for more information.