Is it just me, or has this May been one of the more pleasant springtimes in recent memory?
In this update:
Commission Updates
In April’s meeting we passed resolutions running the gamut, but some highlights:
- We requested traffic calming along 7th St NE from Franklin St NE to Monroe St NE. Several of our neighbors have reached out with their concerns regarding reckless driving on these blocks. I wrote (and we passed) a resolution supporting their TSIs, calling for serious action by DDOT including, but not limited to, speed humps, curb bumpouts, and raised crosswalks. A few weeks after the resolution was passed one of our neighbors passed along a photo of the aftermath of a crash that was enabled by a poorly-engineered road. I sent this to DDOT to reinforce our assertion that 7th Street NE needs calming.
- We approved some settlement agreements for our neighbors to the south in Eckington, including one for Lost Generation Brewing company to have an outdoor beer garden.
- We requested that DPW restore some confiscatedmissing litter cans in Eckington. Public trash cans have been disappearing citywide, with DPW removing them for reasons such as “people are using them to throw away dog waste.” Thanks to a recent policy change, they now have to notify ANCs before removing any cans. If a can has “disappeared” within ANC 5F’s boundaries, please let me know so we can get it restored.
Our next meeting is May 23rd at 7pm. It will be hybrid - at the Edgewood Rec Center and online on Zoom. See our agenda here.
Committee Meetings
- The Transportation and Public Spaces Committee held our first meeting on May 16th. We approved our rules and procedures, and started discussing possible improvements to some existing bike infrastructure.
Neighborhood Updates
8th St NE MBT Gap
Earlier this month a segment of 8th St NE was repaved and was repainted as it was found - with sharrows. Given several high profile bike infrastructure projects being axed by DC gov, some neighbors expressed concern that a similar fate had befallen the existing project to close the Metropolitan Branch Trail gap. After talking with DDOT, I can reassure folks that this was a scheduling mixup, and should have waited until the 8th Street cycletrack was installed.
Speaking of which, I have received verbal confirmation from multiple DDOT employees that this project has received go-ahead from the Mayor, and is being targeted for a June installation. We’re still waiting on the final design (which should hopefully be out in a few weeks). Until we see bollards and concrete in the ground, however, anything can happen, so let’s stay vigilant.
Transportation News
On Saturday May 20th, I, with other Commissioners, attended an open house at DDOT headquarters. Every team within the organization had a table set up detailing their projects and responsibilities, with their senior leadership available for questions and comments.
In addition to the confirmation about the MBT gap closure, which I thanked Director Lott in person for helping along, I learned the following:
- DDOT’s bike lane team will be revisiting existing bike lanes to see what safety upgrades are needed to ensure low-stress rides, and what needs to be done to complete networks. This is especially important for east-west connectivity. They’ll be using some of the existing crash and injury network data here, which could lead this program to have the same data quality/under-reporting problems as TSI 2.0. As this gets closer to rollout, I’ll revisit to see just how much things are off.
- Only certain kinds of sidewalk installations are possible under the Safe Routes to School legislation. Unfortunately it sounds like what’s needed for the east side of 8th St NE is a little too significant to meet the program’s criteria (caused by the property on the east side of the road being below the road grade). While it sounds like redevelopment may be the only way forward, I think it’s worth continuing to explore what avenues we have for improvement here.
- MBT tree canopy improvement requests need to go through the trails office. I’ll be following up with them to see what’s possible to improve the shade along the MBT.