Yesterday, Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker sent his FY2025 budget request letter to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. The mayor is expected to send her budget proposal to the DC Council on March 20, 2024.
Councilmember Parker’s letter addresses schools, libraries, rec centers, and youth programs around the ward around the ward; public safety; supports for LGBTQIA+ residents, seniors, and tenants; road safety and trail networks; and ways to offset increased spending.
Specific items of interest to the Riggs Park neighborhood and nearby areas copied from letter:
Address deficiencies at Ward 5 DPR facilities. Maintenance and upkeep of Ward 5’s recreation centers are paramount. My office regularly fields complaints about the condition of Turkey Thicket Recreation and North Michigan Park Recreation Center, especially. I recommend that DGS expand its preventative maintenance campaign to DPR facilities and play spaces for children. Additionally, neighbors in Edgewood continue to express concern over the availability of the Edgewood Recreation Center for neighborhood youth. Routinely, citywide sports teams and groups monopolize recreation space that could otherwise provide Ward 5 youth positive recreational outlets. What’s more, I recommend you expand community-facing programming at Edgewood Recreation Center and New York Avenue Recreation Center. Finally, I recommend you use DPR’s Ready2Play Equity Framework to address funding needs at Ward 5 facilities, such as Bunker Hill Park, Dunbar Aquatic Center, Joe Cole Recreation Center, Keene Field, New York Avenue Recreation Center, and Noyes Park.
Expand and improve the efficacy of the District’s Safe Passage program. The number of juveniles who are at risk of committing or being victimized by crime requires us to expand coverage of the Safe Passage Program, a critical tool to prevent violence involving students as they travel to and from school. Currently, much of Ward 5 does not have coverage under the Safe Passage Program despite longstanding issues at chronic hotspots—including the Fort Totten Metro Station. Therefore, I recommend a gradual expansion of the Safe Passage program, targeting Ward 5, 7, and 8, by increasing funding by $1 million/year. I also recommend improving the value of this program through more frequent school leader convenings and data and information sharing at the school level. This is a key recommendation I expect will soon receive the formal endorsement of the School Safety Enhancement Committee that with the help of my council colleagues I established last budget cycle.
Expand bikeshare options near UDC’s Lamond-Riggs Campus. In 2021, DDOT announced that the agency planned to install a bikeshare station on the northwest corner of South Dakota Avenue and Galloway Street NE. My understanding is that the agency has been having issues coming to an agreement with the property owner on that side of the street regarding placement of the station. With UDC’s plan to grow campus enrollment to 3,000 students with over 100 faculty, I stand ready to help get this station installed as soon as possible.
Design a trail connection between the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) at Fort Totten and the future Prince George’s County Connector. In 2023, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission secured funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a shared-use path between the Northwest Branch Trail of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in Chillum to Avondale Community Park, which borders Eastern Avenue in the District. To complement this project, DDOT should begin planning its own trail connection to the Metropolitan Branch Trail along Eastern Avenue and Gallatin Street N.E.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 