Last week, Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker sent his FY2024 budget request letter to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. The mayor will send her budget proposal to the DC Council on March 22.
In his message about his budget requests, CM Parker stated that the requests are reflective of his vision of healthy communities for Ward 5. He identified five components of a healthy community:
- Opportunity-rich and inclusive neighborhoods
- High quality education
- Rewarding work
- Healthy environment and access to good healthcare
- Responsive and just government
The letter addresses housing, education, facilities, violence prevention, transit and traffic safety, support for LGBTQIA+ residents, support for seniors, and more. Read CM Parker’s full letter.
Items of note to the Riggs Park neighborhood copied from the letter below.
Transfer District-owned Parcels in Riggs Park and Carver-Langston to DPR for New Recreational Facilities. Residents of Riggs Park and Carver-Langston have long-sought to use District-owned parcels for community-facing recreational purposes In Riggs Park, the Office of Planning proposed activating the southwest corner of the intersection of Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue NE with a park facility in the 2009 Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue Small Area Plan. In Carver Langston, residents have advocated for the city to use an empty corner lot at 19th and L streets NE for a community playground. On behalf of both communities, I ask that these properties be transferred to DPR and that planning processes begin to serve the recreational needs of residents.
Increase Frequent and Reliable Bus Service in Ward 5. One of the best investments the District can make in transportation equity is improving the frequency and reliability of bus service. Bus riders in the District are disproportionately likely to be low-income or persons of color. In addition to the service improvements that will accompany the Metro for D.C. Amendment Act of 2022 on the 80 and 92 routes, I request more frequent service on the G8, D8, and E4 routes to better connect our Brookland, Trinidad, Edgewood, Fort Totten, and Woodridge communities. Each of these routes already serves a substantial existing ridership, and connects Ward 5 residents to neighboring communities, local amenities, schools, and jobs. I also look forward to assisting the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) in implementing its Bus Priority plan in Ward 5—particularly on North Capitol Street, Florida Avenue, Michigan Avenue, and Rhode Island Avenue.
Re-envision New York Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and Other Dangerous Ward 5 Corridors. During your third term as mayor, I hope you will look to the New York Avenue corridor in Ward 5 as the venue for a similarly ambitious project as the Frederick Douglass Bridge. The Office of Planning is already exploring how to embrace tens of thousands of new housing units on New York Avenue, and I believe that the time is ripe to pair that vision with a $70 million investment in FY24-FY25 to construct an off-street trail, dedicated transit lanes, and safer streetscape between Truxton Circle and Fort Lincoln. (I intend to engage with Ward 5 communities in WMATA’s bus network redesign to ensure that bus service is established on the New York Avenue corridor.) I also request that you designate $50 million in FY26-27 for the overhaul of Rhode Island Avenue between Bloomingdale and Woodridge to improve bus reliability and improve pedestrian, cyclist, and motorist safety on this dangerous corridor. Furthermore, I am eager to partner with DDOT to improve many other dangerous arterial corridors in Ward 5, including South Dakota and Michigan Avenues and the other Ward 5 high-injury corridors identified the 2022 update to the Vision Zero Plan. I request that you direct DDOT to leverage existing operational funds to improve safety on these corridors as expeditiously and aggressively as possible.
Invest in Ward 5’s Trail and Micromobility Network. According to the DC Sustainable Transportation Coalition, bicycle trips in Ward 5 increased by 36 percent between 2019 and 2022. To serve this growing need, I request that you continue to invest in Ward 5’s trail network by including in the Capital Improvement Plan for FY24:
• $4 million for a design/build contract for an on or off-street trail connection between the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) at Fort Totten and the Anacostia NW Branch trail via Fort Circle Park and/or Gallatin Street.
• $4 million for improvements to the Eckington and NoMa segments of the MBT to increase safety and connectivity on this high-use segment of the trail.
• $4 million for the design and build of the Arboretum trail connector to ensure that Carver-Langston and other Ward 5 residents will have access to the future Arboretum trail bridge and Anacostia trail network at times when the Arboretum is closed.
In addition, I request that DDOT use existing operational funds to deliver protected bike facilities on routes identified as bicycle priority in DDOT’s MoveDC mobility priority network.
<FN3>I am grateful that DDOT has committed to closing the 8th Street NE gap in the MBT and is moving forward with protected bike lanes on Mt. Olivet and 17th Streets NE and other Ward 5 projects. During our engagement process, Ward 5 residents emphasized the need for protected facilities on east-west routes that connect to the MBT as well as gaps in the protected network on Montana Avenue NE, Taylor and Harewood Streets NE, Florida Avenue NE/NW, and Lincoln Road NE.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 