Transit Diary: A Foggy Bottom resident leans on transit and walking to move herself (and a lot of corn) around town

Transit Diaries is a series in which residents of Greater Washington track how they get around the region for a week, shedding light on what’s working well and not so well with our transportation system. Read past Transit Diaries. If you’re interested in writing a Transit Diary, please click here.

Hello! My name is Courtney Cooperman and I’ve lived in DC for the past three years. I live a proudly car-free life and generally get around by walking, Metrorail, or bus. I am a member of the Greater Greater Washington Neighborhood and especially passionate about affordable housing issues–I work for a federal housing policy organization and volunteer with Jews United for Justice, a grassroots organization committed to achieving racial and economic justice in DC and Maryland.

I was lucky enough to spend much of the summer traveling – mostly to escape the DC humidity and mosquitoes! – and I documented my travels around DC for a week after getting back from a trip. My experiences were overall pretty smooth, which speaks to my good fortune as a resident of a highly walkable neighborhood with many transit options. But of course there is always room for improvement, and I’m grateful for the community of GGWash readers and supporters that are working to make transit equity a reality for all Greater Washingtonians!

Day 1: Tuesday, August 1

9:17 am: My transit diary begins at National Airport after a redeye flight across the country. I just spent an incredible week with a close friend and her family in western Montana, and now it’s time to come back to reality. Fortunately, my trip home has been a smooth one, and the last leg of the journey—a Blue Line train from National Airport to Foggy Bottom—is no exception. (My home is about a seven minute walk from the Foggy Bottom station.)

Highlight: I only had to wait 5 minutes for the blue line at National Airport! This was excellent because I was very eager to get back home and take a nap after my redeye.

Hitch: Crossing through Washington Circle to get back to my house, there is one stoplight that only gives pedestrians 11 seconds to cross from the circle to Pennsylvania Ave between 23rd and 24th. It’s super annoying and to be honest I usually jaywalk to make it across in a reasonable amount of time–however, I didn’t feel safe jaywalking at rush hour with a large suitcase on 3 hours of airplane sleep.

3:00 pm: After catching up on sleep, I leave the house to run some errands on foot.

6:30 pm: I’ve been meaning to check out the Da Vinci exhibit at the MLK Library downtown and finally make the time to do it! It’s a quick trip from my house there—just six minutes from Foggy Bottom to Metro Center and then a short walk. The exhibit was closed for a short break, so my boyfriend and I checked out the permanent DC history exhibit on the fourth floor while waiting. (Sidebar: this exhibit is absolutely a must-do for all DC residents, especially those who have recently moved to DC and are navigating their place in a city with a long history of struggle for social justice and self-determination.)

Mileage: 4.4 miles on Metro, 3.7 miles walking

Day 2: Wednesday, August 2

11:40 am: I start off the day working from home, then I head downtown for a lunch plan. I usually work from home all day on Wednesdays, but I’m so close to my office that I work from there for the rest of the day.

Mileage: 2 miles walking

Highlight: Someone complimented my toenail color while I was walking! You can’t get that kind of affirmation from passersby when you’re traveling by car! (It’s called Purple with a Purpose by OPI, for anyone wondering.)

Hitch: No major hitches today

Day 3: Thursday, August 3

9:00 am: I have a doctors appointment in Tenleytown, so I take the 33 bus (which has a stop just yards away from my house). Afterwards, I take the 33 back downtown to my office (with a stop at the White House Farmer’s Market for some lunch and produce on the way).

Hitch: After my doctor’s appointment, I was waiting for the bus at an outdoor table at a cafe on Wisconsin Ave and tracking the bus’s progress on the WMATA website so I didn’t have to stand in the sun for too long. The website said the bus was still 3 or 4 stops away, so I hadn’t gotten up to return to the bus stop yet, but then I saw it zooming past me! I chased after it and luckily it was stopped at a red light and the driver opened the doors to let me board. (Thank you, kind bus driver!!)

5:30 pm: I’m meeting up with one of my friends from Jews United for Justice at Union Market. I walk to Farragut North from my office and take the red line to NoMa. Afterwards, I run a quick errand in the neighborhood and then take the red line back from NoMa. I’d usually take it to Farragut North and take the 12-minute walk home, but it’s raining and I didn’t bring an umbrella, so I transfer at Metro Center instead and then brace the rain on the quick walk back from the Foggy Bottom station. Notably, because of my White House farmers market stop, I am carrying six ears of corn with me this entire time. (My greatest regret about my week of keeping a transit diary is that I did not take a photo of myself with all my corn on the metro.)

Highlight: I catch a perfectly timed transfer to the Silver Line at Metro Center!

Mileage: 7.8 by bus, 5.8 by Metro, 1.3 walking

Day 4: Friday, August 4

3:45 pm: It’s a work-from-home day, and I’m meeting up with a current student from my college who’s interning in DC for the summer for a mentorship coffee chat. However, I don’t actually drink coffee, so we end up having a “cookie chat” at Levain Bakery in Georgetown–just a short walk from my house.

5:00 pm: After the “cookie chat,” I meet up with my mom, who’s making a quick visit from New Jersey! (Big shoutout to my mom for taking Amtrak here!) We go on a walk around the neighborhood, then go out for dinner. We opted to do a tasting menu because her visit is a special occasion, so we needed to go on a long walk to digest. We take a stroll down to the Georgetown waterfront for some fresh air before going to sleep.

Mileage: 4.6 (walking)

Highlight: The Georgetown waterfront is a perfect post-dinner destination!

Hitch: It’s super dark to cross K Street to reach the Georgetown waterfront, and there are a ton of cars going pretty fast. It would be nice to see some better lighting and traffic control down there.

Day 5: Saturday, August 5

10:00 am: My mom and I get breakfast at one of the four Tattes that is walking distance from my house, then we head to the Capital Jewish Museum. (Sidebar: the museum is brand-new, free, and extremely worth a visit!) We take the Red Line from Dupont to Judiciary Square, and the museum is just a short walk from the station.

12:30 pm: I walk to Union Station with my mom to bring her back to Amtrak, and then meet up with my boyfriend and his friend at the Postal Museum, which I’ve never visited before. We both recently read a book about the future of the postal service and its relationship with democracy, so it felt like an appropriate outing. After that, I took the Red Line from Union Station back home and made a corn salad for a friend’s potluck barbecue (the reason for all the corn from the farmer’s market I lugged around on Thursday).

Hitch: I transferred at Metro Center to take the train directly from Union Station to Foggy Bottom. (It’s too hot to motivate myself to go to Farragut North and then walk, even though it’s probably faster.) I just missed a train because people were standing on the left side of the escalator. Fortunately the wait time wasn’t too long, but still a minor inconvenience!

7:00 pm: I head out to take the Metro from Foggy Bottom to L’enfant Plaza and transfer to the Green Line to Navy Yard. My salad was a hit at the barbecue.

Highlight: Even though it’s pretty late at night when we head out from the barbecue, we only have to wait a few minutes for the Green Line train out of Navy Yard.

Mileage: ~15 miles (walking and Metro)

Day 6: Sunday, August 6

11:15 am: I head out for the Dupont Farmers Market and then pick up some new summer reads at Kramerbooks.

Hitch: Whenever I walk home from Dupont, I cross the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and 20th Street, which cars always zoom through shamelessly even when there are pedestrians in the crosswalk. I’m carrying a lot of produce from the farmers market, two new books, and a birthday gift for a friend, so I’m a little slower-moving than usual, and two cars narrowly zip past me while I’m in the intersection.

1:00 pm: I walk over to my friend’s apartment in Foggy Bottom to deliver a birthday gift, then come back home for a bit, and then head to Francis Pool in my neighborhood. It’s actually my first time at a DC public pool and it was a great experience!

Highlight: The pool is less than a 10-min walk from my house—easy enough to do in flip flops!

Mileage: ~3 miles (walking)

Day 7: Monday, August 7

4:30 pm: I’m working from home, and after work, I’m supposed to emcee a DC Housing Trivia Night for Jews United for Justice. However, this is the day that DC was under a tornado watch, so we canceled the event. Instead, I make a quick trip to the neighborhood liquor store so we can wait out the storm with some wine.

Highlight: I successfully made it home with the wine before the downpour

Hitch: I was very disappointed that our trivia event was canceled due to the storm (luckily we rescheduled for later in August and it was a big success!)

Mileage: 0.4 miles walking (don’t judge me, we all have those days occasionally)

Final Tally

Mode	Trips	Modeshare
Walk	6	60%
Bus	1	10%
Metro	3	30%
Total	10	100%

Reflections

Overall, I love traveling around DC by foot and transit–it makes me feel more connected with the DC community, helps me stay active, and can make even the most mundane trips feel like an adventure. However, I know that my positive experiences with active transit are not universal, and I am fortunate to live just blocks away from a Metrorail station and a handful of bus lines that make my transit routines possible. Whether we are commuting, experiencing our region’s cultural attractions, running errands, meeting up with friends and family, or toting a large quantity of produce, all residents of Greater Washington deserve to have smooth, accessible, and enjoyable experiences with our region’s pedestrian and transit infrastructure.