mcmillan meeting notes

(i want to apologize for not getting this post up sooner, but sometimes you have to spend time taking care of people who need help, and putting the blog off until later...)

here are some brief notes from the mcmillan meeting that happened saturday at trinity university.

donuts and coffee for everyone who came out at 10 a.m. to trinity's library. the meeting started about 25 minutes late.

i'm not a good judge of crowd sizes, but i'd wager that 50 people showed up for this meeting. much smaller turnout that the first meeting in april.

after introductions from councilman thomas and aakash thakkar, eya's vp of development, emily eig gave us a brief history of the site. she showed old photographs of the construction of the sand filtration cells and the fountain that used to be located northwest of the corner of first and channing streets, along with some of the original plans as layed out by frederick law olmstead, jr.

tony norman, a longtime bloomingdale resident, gave more history of the site, and discussed how families remember the site from more recent years. he admonished those present to make sure that we care for our history, because, as he put it, "if we (the district of columbia) don't respect our history, how will the rest of the country respect us?

finally, after the history, aakash thakkar took to the mic again to describe the development to those at the meeting. he was joined by bob youngetob of eya, jair lynch, and barrie daneker of anc 5c07 in fielding questions, as well as others whose names i did not write down. the powerpoint that was shown was pretty similar to the one i have. if you'd like a copy of what i have, please leave a note in the comments and i'll email it to you.

anyway, some of the big details are that there are estimated to be $50-$60 million in infrastructure costs in the site—both to make it available to build on, and to save some of the historical elements of the site. the plans include approximately 1.8-2.3 million square feet of residential to support the retail on site. the developers are operating under the assumption that the city will not provide financing in the form of bonds, so they will have to find the up-front money on their own.

i included the image above to show some of the ideas of retail for the site. the retail element will be the first phase built at the site, with office and residential following. a grocery store will anchor the corner at north capitol and michigan. the developers are currently in discussion with grocers for this corner, but they can't reveal whom at this early point in the process. the image on the screen, though, lists many grocers including harris teeter, trader joe's (please, please, let this be the one), elwood thompson's, whole foods, giant, my organic market, safeway, shoppers food warehouse, fresh market, and yes organic market. since the developers said the site will support a smaller grocery store (in the 35-40,000 square foot range), my guess would be a trader joe's would be perfect for this spot. yes, giant, and safeway would be cannibalizing stores they have nearby, bloomingdale just isn't a whole foods neighborhood (sorry, but true), and i don't know if the space is big enough for a shoppers.

anyway, to step back from the grocery speculation, the developers stated that there would be room for up to 20 smaller stores, including 7-8 neighborhood serving restaurants. we were told to think of the city vista project at 5th and k nw, as well as barracks row, as examples of the feel this project would have, retail-wise.

comments from those in attendance were varied, and i don't wish to recount them in-depth here. suffice it to say that residents of park place, the condominium community to the northeast of the project don't feel that they've been adequately represented in the process of designing this project. members of the brookland community who are opposed to any development anywhere made themselves heard, often to the detriment of bloomingdale neighbors who had the floor. some residents who would rather see the site remain green space made themselves heard, but i believe that they are fighting an uphill battle here.

the next community meeting regarding the project will be held on saturday, january 24th, so mark it down on your calendars now!

i'd be interested to hear from others who were at the meeting, who might disagree with the way i've summarized things, and who feel there are things i glossed over that were important and should be discussed here. please continue the discussion in the comments, i hope we can get a good dialogue started here!

mcmillan site meeting this saturday

click on the image to the right to view the flyer for this weekend's meeting regarding the proposed development at the mcmillan sand filtration site. i received a paper copy of this flyer in the mail on wednesday, in addition to a PDF via email a few days earlier. here are the important details:

date: saturday, december 13th
time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
location: social hall, trinity university (125 michigan ave. NE)

concept plans for the site will be presented. a presentation has already been given to "select" members of the community, and i've received a copy of that presentation, so i felt some of it should be shared with the wider community so you can get a feel for what you'll see at the meeting this saturday.

this image shows a proposed site plan. note that first street is at the top, channing is at the left, michigan at the right, and north capitol at the bottom.

open space in the proposed site plan is highlighted here.

this artwork shows the southernmost park area, as view from north capitol street.

this artwork shows some of the retail frontage at the corner of the northernmost row of filtration towers and a proposed road that would be halfway between north capitol and first street (half street NW?)

finally, here's a ground-level view from the southwest corner of the retail stretch and what i'm calling half street NW.

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for the most part, i like what i'm seeing so far. i don't know if i would lay out the rowhouses on the southern third of the site the way the plan shows currently, and i hope there's more differentiation at the northern half of the site to break up facades and make things visually interesting, but since this is a first draft, let's all go to the meeting on saturday and discuss things!

fixing the intersection of florida and r

i want to draw attention to this post over at sean's bloomingdale blog.

the intersection of florida avenue and r street, nw, on the southern edge of bloomingdale, is dangerous. period. for pedestrians, cyclists, and even drivers of automobiles on r street, you often take your life in your hands when trying to cross florida.

traffic on florida avenue is not required to stop, and the lights one block in either direction are timed in such a way that there is nearly always cross traffic on florida at this point. if you are driving westbound on r street, your best bet is to pull into the middle of the intersection when westbound florida avenue traffic clears and hope that traffic on eastbound florida will stop and let you proceed. that's an iffy proposition.

those trying to cross by bicycle or foot might as well prepare for a lifesize version of frogger.

apparently, the city is aware of the shortcomings at this intersection, and are looking into doing something about it. what that is isn't clear, but you can email mike goodno of ddot and let him know you share concerns about safety at florida and r.

his email address is mike.goodno@dc.gov. how about sending him a friendly email letting him know you'd be happy to throw your support behind making this dangerous intersection a safer place for all of us.

the case for bringing back truxton circle

just before thanksgiving, there was some discussion on the bloomingdale listserv regarding the past, present, and future of truxton circle. for those who don't know, truxton circle was a traffic circle on north capitol street, located just north of the current intersection with florida avenue.

as you can see in the graphic to the right, q street and lincoln road fed directly into the circle, while florida avenue ran just to the south. a photo of the circle (with the fountain that resided at its center) can be seen in this graphic, provided by bloomingdale resident tim sloan. he has written a very eloquent defense of why we should bring the circle back, as part of a reconstruction of north capitol street, that would bring the road back to a more human level, away from the car-centric near-freeway that it is today. his letter, in its entirety, is below.

(note: the 2005 ddot study referred to below can be found here.)

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THE CASE FOR A NEW TRUXTON CIRCLE

TimSloanDC@gmail.com 11.17.08

I have researched the 2005 DC DDOT study to rebuild Truxton Circle. In my opinion, it was flawed. It was conducted in a way where the only conclusion could be to NOT recommend building a new circle.

My case starts with the 11th Street bridge project in SE over the Anacostia River. That project begins construction next spring. When completed in 2015, the new 8 lane highway speed bridge will take thousands of cars off of New York Avenue. These cars will bypass NY Avenue and the 395 tunnel in NW for the faster, direct connection to the SE/SW freeway along 295.

Currently, DC DDOT is doing a feasibility study to close the entrance to 395 at New York Avenue NW. This closure cannot happen until the bridges over the river are open in my opinion. The hope is to return NY Avenue into a “grand boulevard” with green median strip.

All these traffic flow changes will affect North Capitol, as well, making the 2005 Truxton Circle study data obsolete.

Traffic heading south on North Capitol Street at R Street in the morning rush is about 2500 vehicles an hour. By the time you get to H Street, that number has dropped to 1250 vehicles an hour. Where are the 1250 cars going that turned off North Capitol? I suspect they are headed to the 395 tunnel entrance on NY Avenue, NW.

The other flaw in the Truxton Circle study is they focused on building a traffic circle that ONLY allowed 2 lanes of North/South traffic to enter the circle. North Capitol has three travel lanes in each direction crossing Florida Avenue currently. So, of course, the wait queues would be enormous due to merging traffic entering a two lane circle.

Chevy Chase Circle in NW has 3 traffic lanes entering and exiting the circle along Connecticut Avenue. It has no problems and higher traffic numbers than those of North Capitol Street.

DC DDOT still has the mind set that New York Avenue, Florida Avenue and North Capitol streets’ sole mission in our neighborhood is to feed the 395 highway beast. This is why cars on North Capitol wiz by at over 50 mph in our neighborhoods. They have no interest in stopping, shopping or slowing down. They are just cutting through, many on the way to Virginia via the 395 tunnel.

The right-of-way for North Capitol Street at Rhode Island Avenue is 110 feet wide, including the very narrow sidewalks. Some are only 4 feet wide. By comparison, the grand section of Pennsylvania between the White House and the US Capitol averages a 100 foot wide roadway width and 20 to 40 foot wide sidewalks on each side. On Pennsylvania Avenue, the 100 foot wide road way provides 4 travel lanes in each direction with a 16 foot wide median.

What do we get for our 110 foot wide road way? Two high speed lanes in each direction with a median barely wide enough to stand on and all buried 25 feet below grade (street level). At grade, we have 1 local lane in each direction, 1 parking lane and narrow sidewalks. Pedestrian deaths and high speed accidents are common on this section of roadway.

The highway designers of the 50’s and 60’s tunneled North Capitol to serve the unfinished 395 freeway, making a bad transportation plan even worse. We lost a walkable and connected neighborhood.

North Capitol Street will never be a thriving retail district and majestic northern gateway” to the “old city” until there are significant transportation changes in this area:

1. Complete the 11th Street bridges in SE connecting 395 to 295. (completion 2015)
2. Closing the 395 tunnel entrance at New York Avenue NW (entry to the Tunnel will be from Massachusetts Avenue NW).
3. Building a modern three lane Truxton Circle at North Capitol and Florida Avenue.
4. Return the intersection of North Capitol and New York Avenue to a grade intersection.
5. Eliminate the long below grade section of North Capitol Street (W Street to Randolph Street), thus returning Rhode Island Avenue to a grade intersection with North Capitol Street and in the process creating a grand vista L’Enfant would be proud of.

"We must invest in our neighborhood commercial corridors so that they can thrive and flourish." - Councilmember Thomas while talking about the burying of utilities on 12th street NE.

Now imagine cars traveling 25 mph along a tree lined North Capitol with pedestrian friendly intersections and wide medians with trees. Walk along wide brick sidewalks once the underpasses are removed and the street correctly proportioned. Only then can you begin to imagine cafes, shops, restaurants and new housing along North Capitol Street.

The success of a thriving North Capitol Street business district will depend on new infrastructure and transportation projects, not street light flower baskets and banners. Now, let’s get to work.

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here's a comparison of the circle before it's removal, and the same view up newly widened north capitol street immediately after reconstruction.

this graphic, from the 2005 ddot study, shows the proposed circle being centered on the intersection of north capitol and florida avenue. this would require the condemning of property to the southwest and northeast of the intersection. i believe that placing the circle in its proper former location would be more intelligent, and less damaging to the existing neighborhood.

bloomingdales?

god bless alice thompson, the outreach person for the mayor's office here in ward 5. she sent this email out yesterday:

GOOD AFTERNOON ALL,

BLOOMINGDALES:

MONDAY MORNING WE WILL DO A FOLLOW –UP / CLEAN –UP / NOTICE OF VIOLATIONS IN BLOOMINGDALES IN PREPARATION FOR MAYOR FENTY’S WALK THROUGH THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11TH COMMENCING @ 3:00PM.

ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL CONTINUE WITH OUR GRAFFITI REMOVAL. YESTERDAY WE REMOVED GRAFFITI FROM PUBLIC SPACE. TODAY WE REMOVED GRAFFITI FROM OVER 7 PROPERTIES – AT LEAST 5 MORE TO GO, I RECEIVED SEVERAL REQUEST FROM CITIZENS THIS MORNING. THE GRAFFITI TEAM DID A WONDERFUL JOB.

SEVERAL ADDRESSES HAVE TRASH AND DEBRIS, BUILDING MATERIALS, ETC. – WE MUST WRITE TICKETS

IVY CITY:

WE WILL HEAD OVER TO IVY CITY FOR A FOLLOW-UP IN PREPARATION FOR MAYOR FENTY’S WALKTHROUGH – TUESDSAY, DECEMBER 11TH COMMENCING @ 4:00PM. IVY CITY NEEDS FENWICK STREET CLEANED, VACANT LOT NEXT TO THE TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH –1814 CENTRAL PLACE. AND THE REAR ALLEY OOF A VACANT PROPERTY ON 1800 CORCORAN ST, NE.

GRAFFITI NEEDS TO BE REMOVED FROM AN APARTMENT BLDG. ON 1800 CORCORAN (BUTLER HAS THE WAIVER) AND A WALL IN REAR OF A VACANT BLDG ON 1800 CORCORAN. ALSO, PRIVATE HOME 1861 CORCORAN. I HAVE THE WAIVER.

SEE ALL MONDAY, HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND. WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE XMAS LUNCH CLINTON AND I WILL BE THROWING FOR YOU GUYS BY MONDAY. DATE IS THUR. DEC 18TH AT 5MPD HEADQUARTERS.

MANY THANKS,

ALICE

Alice A. Thompson
Outreach and Services Specialist W-5
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s
Office of Community Relations and Services
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 211
Washington, D.C. 20004
Tel. (202) 727-5746
Fax (202) 727-5931
Alice.Thompson@dc.gov

this is the second email i've seen from her office referring to our neighborhood as "bloomingdales". is this in reference to north bloomingdale + south bloomingdale? are there two "bloomingdales"?

and why all caps? no need to shout! :)

george will grammar tic #7

continuing my irrational obsession with one man's need to make one-word sentences consisting of four letters eerily similar to his last name, i present you with this. end of the third paragraph...

even more blogroll fun!

i have a couple more blogs to add to the blogroll (i've been on a real "read as much about the city as i can" kick lately):

added:

• borderstan—the name may be debated, but the content isn't. a consistently updated blog covering the area between logan and dupont circles.
• off seventh—one of the best shaw blogs has been back for a while, and it's time it was back on the blogroll.
• river east idealist—another east of the river blog (one that actually would like to rebrand "east of the river" as "river east"). good to see more activity from an underblogged part of the city.

(sorry i didn't add your blog to the list, hillrat, but i felt yours was less dc news, and more a personal blog. you can argue this one with me as you'd like!)

there are many, many other DC blogs on my radar, and i post these updates mostly to give these blogs a shout out, not to just announce what's on the blogroll. i'll talk about more of them very soon.

am i an old curmudgeon?

yesterday evening, i had a pizza in the oven, and was sitting in my room reading the dupont current (total nerd alert, here), when i heard some crashing of glass out in front of the house. i leapt to the window, looking outside to see a group of kids who couldn't be more than 9 years old tipping over my garbage and recycling cans.

i had seen these kids hanging out in front of the dc mini mart (our wonderful friendly neighborhood liquor store at 1828 1st street nw) about 45 minutes earlier when i was taking the garbage out to the curb. my first reaction was anger, and i wanted to just run downstairs and pummel the brats.

in the amount of time it took me to throw on a coat and my shoes, i managed to think about things rationally (a little bit, anyways) and i decided to pursue a different course of action. when i got downstairs, i walked right over to the liquor store, where i found the four young boys standing by the front door.

one of them asked me if i wanted to go into the store. i quickly said, "no," and proceeded to ask them why they tipped my garbage over. before they could deny doing so (which one of the boys started to try to do), i told them that i just watched them do it from my window. i told them, "i know you just want to have a little fun, but you can't do what you just did. i want you to come over here and help me pick things up."

one of the boys started to claim that he had simply bumped into one of the cans while walking by. i quickly stopped him and told him i had watched them "bump" into all four, and pull them to the ground. there was no accident here, and they knew that i knew it. i started walking over to the cans, and motioned for the boys to follow me. two of them walked over to the cans with me and helped pick things up. the other two did not.

i thanked the boys who helped me pick things up, and they walked back to the liquor store while i walked back inside. one asked me if i really lived here, and i pointed to the apartment upstairs and said, "yep, right up there."

now, looking back at this event, there are a couple of things i would have done differently. i wish i would have asked their names, and gave them mine. i think i missed out on a chance to really connect with at least one of these boys, and i didn't take advantage of that. i wish i would have been a little more calm when i first went to confront them, because i realize now that i was still too worked up emotionally when i first approached them. i wish i wouldn't have let the other two boys just stand there and do nothing. they were part of the problem, and they needed to be part of the solution.

i asked if i'm a curmudgeon in the title of this post because i wonder 'am i just keeping kids from having a little fun'? sure, what they did was pretty harmless, but at the same time, i want to know what kind of parents let elementary school aged boys run around alone, and hang out at a liquor store, at 8:30 on a school night? these boys are at an age where they're going to be very susceptible to getting involved with stuff that's a lot worse than tipping over garbage cans. the lack of good parenting here really makes me much angrier than any spilled recyclables ever could...

used bike sale at big bear this saturday

there will be a used bike sale on saturday, december 6th, at big bear. sounds like an awesome chance to get a really good bicycle!

from thewashcycle:

On Saturday, December 6, four local, non-profit bike programs are joining forces to bring more bikes to DC streets. The programs, Phoenix Bikes, Renaissance Community Youth Bike Project, The Mount Rainier Bike Coop, and the Rockville Youth Bike Project, use bikes to help young people get active, have fun learning, and serve their communities. There’ll be 20 - 30 road, hybrid, single-speed, kids, and mountain bikes, refurbished by youth, volunteer, and staff mechanics. Best of all, proceeds go to keeping these programs and their cyclists moving. Come by the Bike Sale, running from 10am – 3 pm at Big Bear Café to find a new ride for 2009!