If you missed the third round of public workshops for moveDC, the city’s long-term transportation planning initiative, there is still time to comment on the proposed draft. The draft proposes a blended approach (pdf) to address transportation needs in the city. The draft plan includes cycletracks along Riggs Road NE and South Dakota Avenue NE and an off-street path along Gallatin Street NE from Fort Totten to West Hyattsville. The map shows fairly high mobility around Fort Totten, but there are still holes in transportation access between neighborhoods. Take the survey to let DDOT know what you like about the draft plan and where there is room for improvement.
Tag Archives: moveDC
MoveDC public workshops end this week
This week is the final week of public workshops for this round of moveDC, the city’s long-term transportation planning initiative.
Chime in on transportation issues
In June, DDOT held a workshop on moveDC, the city’s long-term transportation planning initiative, at Lamond Riggs library. I covered that workshop in this post. Residents now have another opportunity to weigh in on the city’s transportation future.
Interactive Online Survey
Throughout the month of October, DDOT is giving residents an opportunity to chime in on moveDC with an interactive online survey. The survey asks residents to (1) choose their top three transportation values or priorities for the city: citywide mobility, neighborhood connectivity, preservation and maintenance, sustainability and health, public space, or safety and security; (2) learn about and select an approach: stay the course, get to the center, or connect neighborhoods; and (3) decide how to allocate resources to different priorities. All of these ideas are explained in the survey. Respondents can see how their responses compare to those of other respondents.
I wrote about neighborhood connectivity issues in this post, so I won’t repeat what I said there. Suffice to say this is a huge issue for this area of the city and we all need to weigh in on the future of transportation in the city. Be sure to complete the survey this month!
Final Round of Public Meetings
DDOT is hosting a third and final round of public meetings on moveDC. Review the draft transportation plan, help prioritize transportation options, and learn about the moveDC local bus study during one of the following meetings:
Monday, October 21
7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Union Station
625 First St NE
———-
Tuesday, October 22
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., presentation 7 p.m.
Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood Library
3935 Benning Road, NE
———-
Saturday, October 26
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
DCUSA Retail Center
(2nd Floor, between Target and Best Buy)
3100 14th St. NW
———–
Wednesday, October 30
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., presentation 7 p.m.
Petworth Neighborhood Library
4200 Kansas Ave., NW
———-
Web Meetings :
Thursday, October 24, 12 noon – 1:00 p.m.
and
Monday, October 28, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Visit http://www.wemoveDC. org for more details and to sign up.
Comment on MoveDC by July 5 + Tidbits from the Lamond Riggs Workshop
DDOT held a public workshop on moveDC, its initiative to develop a long-term transportation plan for the city, at Lamond Riggs library on June 6, 2013. The agency also held workshops online and at various locations around the city. The agency has spelled out three possible approaches to the plan: (1) Stay the Course (focus on incremental improvements); (2) Get to the Center (focus on easing ways to get and travel around downtown); and (3) Connect the Neighborhoods (focus on local streets and local connectivity). DDOT is offering one more chance to provide input on this initiative. Visit the online comment portal here to learn more about the three approaches and share or concur with policy suggestions by Friday, July 5.
Riggs Park and Surrounding Neighborhoods
With a chance to focus on the Riggs Park neighborhood at the Lamond Riggs library workshop, we learned a few things about what people are hoping for in terms of connectivity in the area. Connectivity in the area was also addressed in this post previously.
Pedestrian Safety and Metro Access
Several people identified specific streets with missing sidewalks or where passage is impeded, particularly around the Fort Totten metro station. Some of the metro access issues will be addressed by the 1st Place and Galloway Street NE transportation access plan.
Bikeshare
Lots of people have provided suggestions for bikeshare locations, which would fall under Approach #1, since bikeshare already exists and incrementally adding stations is consistent with the design of the system. Currently, the closest bikeshare stations are in Brookland. A few are available across Fort Totten Park some distance away in Petworth. JBG plans to fund a station at Fort Totten Square when the project is complete in 2015 and Walmart might pay for a station near Fort Totten metro station as well. Montgomery County officials are planning to roll out bikeshare in Takoma and Silver Spring in the near future. It makes sense for the city to fill in the gaps in Riggs Park and North Michigan Park to make the system function a bit better and give people options for getting downtown and to other neighborhoods.
One suggestion made by a transportation planner was to specifically identify possible locations for bikeshare. That means it is not enough to request a bikeshare station “at the metro” since the city will likely have trouble getting the requisite authority to place a bikeshare station “at the metro.” I was told it would be more helpful to work with Aventine Fort Totten, for example, to identify space on that property for a station. One other suggestion I have made is a bikeshare station by UDC-CC’s Backus campus.
Metropolitan Branch Trail
Many people have also advocated for completion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail between Brookland and Silver Spring, to include an off-road connection through Fort Totten and Takoma. The city has provided funding for this fiscal year and next to design the Fort Totten portion of the trail, which will include a cycle staircase requiring cyclists to dismount. Funding for construction of this portion of the trail is allocated for FY2016.
Cycletracks
As part of Approach #3, a suggestion has been made to install cycletracks along Riggs Road NE to provide an east-west connection to different neighborhoods and along South Dakota Avenue NE to provide a north-south connection.
These are just a few ideas presented by residents in the neighborhood. More ideas are welcome by July 5 on the online portal.
Connectivity around Fort Totten
This post is long overdue, but still timely because of a couple of events coming up. At the Ward 5 budget townhall meeting, I raised a question about connectivity around Fort Totten. Of course, Fort Totten metro station with its three lines and several bus bays is a huge plus for the neighborhood, but the neighborhood could benefit from a bit more connectivity. More specifically, I asked if funding would be made available to improve connectivity through completion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, installation of bikeshare stations in the neighborhood, and a study of the feasibility of a north-south streetcar route along South Dakota Avenue NE to Riggs Road NE.
Metropolitan Branch Trail
Currently, the northbound off-road portion of the MBT ends in Brookland. From there, an on-street route continues (partly up a steep hill) to Fort Totten. DDOT previously held workshops and planning sessions to determine the best route for completing the MBT north of Brookland. The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board’s (TPB) May meeting included proposed amendments to update DDOT’s section of the FY 2013-2018 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). One of the items is completion of the Fort Totten portion of the MBT in 2015.
Bikeshare
Residents have been asking for bikeshare stations in the neighborhood for a while. JBG/Lowe, developers of Fort Totten Square, have said they are committed to paying for installation of a bikeshare station at the corner of the FTS development on 3rd Street & Riggs Road NE. However, that station will not be installed until the development delivers in spring 2015. They also said Walmart, which will anchor the development, has promised to pay for installation of a bikeshare station at Fort Totten metro station, but it’s not clear if Walmart will pay for that station to be installed before the development is complete. In any event, the neighborhood will be getting at least one, maybe two, stations by spring 2015.
Opportunities for input
In the next couple of weeks, there will be two really good opportunities to speak directly to and hear from the agencies that are responsible for shaping the way residents connect and move around the city. The first is DDOT’s moveDC public workshop on Thursday, June 6, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. at Lamond Riggs Library. MoveDC is DDOT’s initiative to develop a strategic, multimodal long-range transportation plan for the city. The workshop will provide a chance to talk about how residents travel around the city and share ideas on projects and priorities and what residents hope to see in the future. Residents are strongly encouraged to participate. Visit the moveDC website for more information.
The second opportunity is a walking tour hosted by the Coalition for Smarter Growth called “Fort Totten: More than a Transfer Point,” on Saturday, June 15, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. This tour is more of an opportunity to learn about what is happening in the neighborhood. Plenty of agency officials will be on hand. CSG’s policy director Cheryl Cort will lead the tour. A representative from WMATA will discuss plans to develop the parking lot parcels at Fort Totten metro station. A representative from DDOT will discuss the streetscape improvements in the neighborhood and the reconfiguration of the South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road NE intersection. A representative from JBG will discuss the vision for Fort Totten Square as a placemaking development. A representative of the tenants of the Riggs Plaza apartments will discuss the Art Place at Fort Totten development. Finally, a representative from the Office of Planning familiar with the neighborhood will tie it all together. Hopefully residents were able to sign up because registration is now full.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 