The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has added a question & answer document to the website for the Fort Totten to Takoma extension of the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT). In addition, DDOT emailed me separately about the questions I submitted. My questions and DDOT’s responses below.

1. Where will construction staging for Phase 1 be located?

DDOT Response:

The construction crew will initially be staging materials, within the DDOT ROW, on the East side of South Dakota Ave NE at the intersection of Madison St NE/First St NE/South Dakota Ave NE.  Additional potential staging areas will be looked at on an as needed basis.

2. Can DDOT send construction notices about closures impacting pedestrians/bus riders/drivers by email without requiring people to open an ArcGIS account?

DDOT Response:

You are able to sign up for email updates through the website at this link: https://forms.office.com/r/p4heFT9diL. There will be a newsletter sent out about the project on a regular basis. 

3. As part of Phase 1, can DDOT install the missing curb cut on 1st Place NE that will make it easier for those of us east of Fort Totten Metro station south of Riggs Road NE to get onto the MBT at Fort Totten station? I appreciate that DDOT will look into this. I raised issues about connections from the east when the Brookland-Fort Totten extension was being constructed & I raised the issue again after that section was completed. 

DDOT Response:

The team is continuing to investigate the issue regarding installing the missing curb cut on 1^st Place NE, which is the property of WMATA. In order to add the curb cut, the incorporation of additional bicycle facilities may be required and/or a crosswalk that will direct bicyclists to and from the MBT. 1^st Place NE doesn’t currently have bicycle facilities and features high volumes of buses coming to and from the Metro Station.  Further evaluation and coordination with WMATA is necessary to evaluate the design of 1st Pl NE and the potential impacts of the addition of a bike ramp. DDOT is currently discussing this with WMATA and in the context of future development at the Fort Totten Metro Station. The current plans for the MBT directs bikers to the existing curb cut further north on 1^st Place which will be tied in with the next section of the MBT with proper crossings and signages visible to motorists and buses.