Choose your favorite route for Ward 7’s DC Circulator line

The DC Circulator is considering seven route options to bring service back to Ward 7, asking the public for feedback in a survey open until Friday.

The feedback will be incorporated into the Circulator’s 2020 Transit Development Plan, which is scheduled to be finalized in December. That plan is updated every three years and lays out ways to improve Circulator service.

The 2020 Transit Development Plan is expected to recommend implementing service to Ward 7 by 2022, according to a July press release.

The DC Circulator currently runs six routes through the District, offering rides for $1 (rides were once free, and fares are suspended during the pandemic). The system is managed by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

Ward 7 has seen Circulator service before. In 2018, the system essentially eliminated a route that grazed the ward’s southern edge near Skyland, citing low ridership and overlap with Metrobus routes. The new route veers south by the Anacostia Metro station to Congress Heights instead.

Many neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River are historically underserved by DC’s transit systems. As GGWash wrote in 2017, District residents in wards 7 and 8 have average commute times of between 30 and 60 minutes, twice as long as in many parts of the city.

The seven routes DDOT is considering were developed from feedback from a survey last winter and a virtual focus group with residents of wards 7 and 8 in September.

Delia Houseal, chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7E covering neighborhoods east of Fort Dupont Park, said residents are largely supportive and excited about more transit opportunities, but skeptical of the impact of a single new route.

Parkside resident and ANC member Artilie Wright, however, was more critical, saying the public input process was opaque and the route options do not address residents’ needs.

“A Circulator in Ward 7 should not exclusively focus on getting residents to other parts of the city — to continue spending money in other neighborhoods,” Wright said. “Bring those dollars to Ward 7. Instead, it should also bring residents and tourists to see what we in Ward 7 have to offer.”

DDOT is asking for feedback on the following seven route options:

1. Union Station - Deanwood-East Capitol Street

This 14-mile route was served by Metrobus Route 97 during peak hours, but the route was suspended this year during the pandemic. It would serve the Deanwood, Benning Road, Stadium Armory, and Union Station Metro stations. More than 44,000 people live within a quarter mile of this route.

2. New York Avenue - Deanwood-Benning Road

Metrobus routes B2 and W4 overlap with parts of this 10-mile route. An longer alternative version of this route would end at Union Market. Between 16,000 and more than 24,000 would live within a quarter mile of this route.

3. Potomac Avenue - Benning Road

This route would overlap with Metrobus routes M6 and W4, serving more than 29,000 nearby residents.

4. Alabama - Good Hope - Naylor Road

This 11-mile route would connect Potomac Avenue to a loop by Hillcrest and Skyland, and is currently served by Metrobus routes M6 and the 30s. 19,000 residents live nearby.

5. Skyland-Minnesota Avenue - Deanwood

This 13-mile route would connect Skyland, Minnesota Avenue and Deanwood Metro stations. A longer alternative end would stretch the route to Fort Lincoln. Metrobus U7 serves part of this route. More than 27,000 people live nearby.

6. Navy Yard-Benning Road

This 11-mile route would connect Navy Yard, Skyland and the Benning Road Metro, sharing connections with the W4 Metrobus line. More than 10,000 people live nearby.

7. Navy Yard-Benning Road via Minnesota Avenue

Like option 6, this route would connect Navy Yard, Skyland and the Benning Road Metro station, but by way of Minnesota Avenue instead of Alabama Avenue. More than 10,000 people live nearby.

For more information about the DC Circulator click here. Readers, which route would you choose?