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.