Trail – bikeSpecific

The Bike Estate – Southern Hills Apartment Redevelopment Includes Bikes in its Plan

Artist conceptual drawing of a redeveloped Southern Hill Apartments.
Image: Southern Hill Apartments

The Board of Zoning Adjustment has scheduled a hearing September 3, 2018 for the a special exemption to dramatically redevelop over 9 acres of the Southern Hills Apartments. As part of this redevelopment, the apartment complex plans to add a total 98 bike parking spaces and other amenities that will hopefully encourage bicycling in an area that has few secure bike parking options.

Current aerial view of Southern Hills Apartments and the adjacent Oxon Run park and amenities.
Image: Google

In a community that has few bike options, the Southern Hills Apartment Redevelopment plan includes an investment in bike infrastructure. Located less than a block from Oxon Run, which has a recently rebuilt trail and other amenities, the Southern Hills Apartments are located in the Washington Highlands neighborhood of Ward 8.

The $90 million project will demolish the existing seven-building apartment complex and construct 42 town homes, five multifamily buildings with a total of 213 units, and an approximately 25,000-square foot community service center which will include a learning center, job training, child daycare, and arts and music centers, as well as space for community-based start-ups, recreation, and community meetings. The resulting redevelopment will serve households earning an average of 15 percent of the Area Median Income.

While the project will add additional vehicular parking, increasing from 120 to 147 spaces, the applicant states that the increase is a requirement of zoning regulations and will only slightly increase vehicle trips. Pedestrian connectivity through the site will be improved, including an ADA-accessible route between 3rd Street and 4th Street SE that does not currently exist.

The Community Service Center contains showers and secure bike parking
Image: Southern Hill Apartments

According to Southern Hills applicant statement, the project include new 98 short and long-term parking for residents and visitors. Long-term bicycle parking will be located on the ground floor of each apartment building and in the basement of the community center. The project will create at least 82 long-term bicycle parking spaces, including 72 secure, long-term residential spaces and 10 long-term community center spaces. Bicycle storage for the townhouse units is expected to be accommodated within each individual home. The project will at minimum meet these requirements and the community center will also provide shower facilities and lockers for employees.

The project will also add eight short-term bicycle racks that will accommodate 16 bicycles. These short-term spaces will include inverted U-racks placed in high visibility areas along the perimeter of the site. is willing to work with the District Department of Transportation in selecting locations for the racks in public space.

The Southern Hills developers worked collaboratively with the Southern Hills Tenant Association over a 3-year period. The Tenant Association is made up of existing apartment residents achieve community and design elements. The result is the replacement of all apartment units, a better use of green space, a larger number of family units, and reorienting units and overall density to directly face the street.

DDOT and the NoMa BID Ask the MBT: What’s Your Sign?

DDOT asks how do people use the trail
Image: Author

Thursday, July 13, The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID) held a public meeting at the Wunder Garten to view potential wayfinding signage for the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT). DDOT and the BID want your ideas on how that signage should look and what it should say.

According to the BID, the purpose of this meeting was to engage trail users in developing a plan for additional wayfinding signage on and near the MBT between Union Station and Michigan Avenue. The team asked participants how they connected to the trail – using it to travel to and from work, for recreation, for errands, or all of the above.

Currently, the MBT and the First and M Street NE protected bike lanes contain several types of signage – some of it different from the run-of-the-mill bike lanes signs, some of it MBT-specific – to provide wayfinding information to its users. Early in the trail’s planning, DDOT adopted the familiar “mbt” white, burgundy-ish, green signs that dot the area. Later, DDOT and developers near the trail used different signs to show where users were on the trail and where they may want to go.

The BID and DDOT are considering streamlining the hodgepodge of signage or adding to it. Potentially, the signage could lead to a “branding” or designated the MBT route on maps and on connecting streets with bike infrastructure. This would allow current and new MBT users to easily identify the location of the trail and where it goes.

The images below show the variations in signage along the trail.

The original sign scheme – labeled #1 – was one of the popular signs as it identifies the trail, shows direction and distance to points of interest, and looks appealing. Signs #2 and #3 are consistent with current DDOT standards for most on-street trails and provide direction and identify that users are on a bike route. One of the least picks signs was #4, located at the Elevation residential development that abuts the trail just south of New York Avenue NE. Participants noted that it was relatively low-standing and easily missed and doesn’t provide much in the way of information. Sign #5 acts as a trailhead or starting point while #6, which is similar in design to the traditional signage but provides distance travel from the start of the trail.

If you missed the meeting – and the beer – the NoMa BID created a survey to help the team determine the best approach. The short survey asks participants to rate the usefulness of signs along the MBT corridor. Further, it how people travel along the corridor and their starting and ending points. Please take a moment to take the survey and make sure to add your comments on potential directional improvements on it.

You’ll have to get your own beer…

New York Avenue Streetscape Project Meeting Shows Draft Concepts and A Lot of Potential

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) held a public meeting on Thursday, June 29, 2017, 6 pm through 8 pm to discuss the New York Avenue Streetscape and Trail Project draft final concepts. The ideas that DDOT proposes could be the catalyst need to create not only a transportation link to Ivy City and the Arboretum but, potentially a linear park in an area that has few public amenities.

Overview
The purpose of the meeting in the atrium of REI was to solicit public feedback regarding the development of design solutions for the proposed revitalization of New York Avenue and to comply with Vision Zero elements of safety enhancement and improved the aesthetic character along the corridor. The meeting was an open house format with a brief presentation given by DDOT staff or project contractors.

The presentation boards covered a lot of material, most of which is used only to illustrate what amenities and structures under consideration by DDOT. To be clear, not everything displayed on the boards will happen initially (or at all) but show what could be built if funding and community support materialize. When viewing this post, also view the recent post regarding the VRE Midday Train Storage Facility. To build its facility, VRE will acquire at least three properties along the New York Avenue Trail route and work with DDOT and its partners to create a trail and a barrier.

DDOT displayed about 10 presentation boards, with a couple over 10 feet long, showing the project’s length along New York Avenue from Florida to 16th Street NE. While I tried to get good photos of every board, I didn’t. DDOT stated that meeting documents, including the presentation boards, will be available the week of July 4 on the project website. Once they are, I may revisit some proposals not discussed in this post. As such, let’s discuss some of the major changes from prior meetings, of which there are quite a few.

Routing Highlights
While the previous public meeting held April 25, 2017 showed generalized conceptual drawings, the presentation boards at this meeting provided more detail regarding the proposed route along New York Avenue, streets that connect to it, and how DDOT envisions its aesthetics. Where the prior plans showed directions, the most recent meeting contain designations for bike trails, streetscape elements, some pedestrian elements, or shared use paths. The meeting was billed as a final design but the presentation boards were illustrative and not necessarily how the it will appear. Nevertheless, the illustrations provided a fair amount of detail regarding planting, lighting, and potential facilities.

The current trail travels from its east end at Bladensburg Road, NE; crosses the complicated West Virginia, Montana, and New York Avenue Circle; and turns in a southerly direction on West Virginia Avenue to 16th Street NE. The trail travels a couple block up 16th Street, reconnecting to New York Avenue where it crosses to the north side of the street until it reaches the Florida Avenue NE. Unless otherwise noted, all images are courtesy of DDOT.

In the segment above near the project’s endpoint at Bladensburg Avenue, NE, the proposal calls for the rebuilding of the sidewalks along both the north and south sides of the street. The northern side contains a typical sidewalk while the southern side contains a shared use trail. DDOT has stated that the southern side of the street will be a trail constructed as part of NewCityDC, a 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use project. In the lower right corner, 17th Street NW would have a bi-directional protected bike lane that connects Montana Avenue and a reconstructed T Place NE with West Virginia Avenue, perhaps to avoid the intersection below.

DDOT has provided more detail regarding how pedestrians and bicyclists will cross this complex circle at Montana, West Virginia, and New York Avenues. The image above shows that a bike path and sidewalk are on the southern side of the circle, which also contains trees, bushes, and other streetscape elements. Instead of using the 1600 block of New York Avenue as a trail, the design instead places a shared use path along West Virginia Avenue for about two blocks. The path then turns onto 16th Street NE, passing Okie Street and the shops along it, returning back to New York.

The image above shows a straightforward connection to the 9th Street NE bridge in the form of a ramp and stair. This would replace the communal paths made by users attempting to reach New York Avenue without walking a extra half of a mile along the sidewalk on the street that connects the two. What the proposed improvements apparently do not do is widen the sidewalk on the south side of New York Avenue below 9th Street, which is only around three feet wide.

The presentation also made connections from the trail to the Arboretum. The plan calls for shared lanes from the rebuilt T Place NE, along 24th Street, and then to the R Street entrance.

Potential Future Connections
The plan proposes several connections to the trail that were not articulated in prior meetings. These additions should be considered alternatives and will not necessarily appear in the final design.

The most intriguing potential future addition listed in the proposal is the construction of a separate bike and pedestrian tunnel below New York Avenue near 4th Street NE. This would be a brand new tunnel, separate for the currently abandoned tunnel integral to the Virginia Railway Express’ (VRE) Midday Storage Yard plan. This new connection with the Union Market area would extend the trail along Penn and 4th Street NE to connect with the current 6th Street trail near Gallaudet University and proposed improvements on Florida Avenue, NE.

The tunnel would likely use the “cut and cover” method, which would dig a trench across New York Avenue, roughly parallel with the existing VRE tunnel. While costs were not included in the presentation, planners estimated that the total cost of the tunnel alone would exceed $13 million.

At the New York Avenue Bridge, which runs over the southern sections of the Ivy City Yard and Metro’s Red Line, the proposal calls for the widening of the sidewalks on the north side of the bridge. After narrowing some of the travel lanes, unidirectional protected bike lanes would be added in north and south of the bridge to include a protected bike lane in each direction and vantage point to see the tracks and potentially, once built, NoMa Green below.

On the north side of the bridge, a proposed ramp connection allows users to reach the Metropolitan Branch Trail. On the south side, there is a stair connection to the trail, different than the current stairs the lead to the Elevation apartments or the Washington Gateway project’s bike lobby proposal. The stairs would contain a bike ramp to help users carry their bikes.

What it’s missing
DDOT look is working to create a new trail that connects a long neglected area with the rest of the city. What’s missing is something for those who currently live their. This isn’t necessarily the new arrivals in the Hecht District but the people who have lived in Ivy City for decades and for the families in ad hoc homeless shelters in New York Avenue hotels. While the underused Arboretum and an adjacent recreation center are nearby, the trail should include something to draw area residents and visitors to it, not just through it.

This could include artwork similar to what was shown in the VRE Midday Trail Storage facility as well as exercise stations and children play areas. Bio-retention, solar arrays, and small shelter for events could be added, as well as the customary benches and bike parking. This would require coordination with other District agencies like the Department of Energy and the Environment and the Department of Parks and Recreation, and potentially an area business Improvement District to help maintain and produce programming for it, but it could be accomplished with not much more effort.

What do you think should be added? Post your thoughts in the comments section below or send a message at @BikeSpecific.

Below are additional images taken at the meeting.

VRE Storage Plans Along New York Avenue Corridor Provide Space for Bikes and Pedestrians

Project Location
Image: VRE

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) held a meeting Tuesday, June 27 to discuss preliminary plans for its Midday Storage Facility project. The VRE plans displayed at this meeting now include space for District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) proposal, which potentially allows for better bike and pedestrian infrastructure along the emerging New York Avenue corridor.

The meeting provided a project update and allowed the public to comment on the proposed plan, which is at 30 percent of design. It also was an opportunity to view new sample renderings of “urban design options”. Now in the preliminary design phase of the project, the planners use the information gathered at this meeting to work with DDOT, Amtrak, other stake holders and the community to complete an environmental analysis, develop a cost estimate, and adopt a prefered alternative.

Specifically, the project includes planning, designing, and constructing a permanent midday storage facility for VRE trains that travel to the District. The proposed facility will be used to store commuter trains on weekdays between the inbound morning commute and the outbound afternoon commute. The project would replace the current storage space leased from Amtrak at its Ivy City Yard, allowing for longer trains and eventually, an increase in service.

Last year, the initial proposal was unclear with regard to how it would impact plans proposed by DDOT, which had proposed a bike and pedestrian trail adjacent to the yard. VRE plan appeared to use of the entire Amtrak-right-of-way for train storage, leaving little room for pedestrian and bike improvements.

A DDOT alternative for the rehabilitation of New York Avenue, from an urban freeway to a city street. Plans call for creating a bike and pedestrian amenities along this section of the street with alternatives on the “southern” side that runs along the new Hecht Company Warehouse development and the “northern” side, which is adjacent to the proposed VRE yard. A trail on the northern side would allow for a continuous bike route from the West Virginia Avenue circle to 4th Street NE, where DDOT’s early plans proposed connecting the trail with an abandoned 1500-foot tunnel that empties near Union Market.

While VRE still plans to use the Union Market tunnel to connect to the yard, VRE clarified its preliminary design regarding the relationship between the yard and New York Avenue by apparently reducing the required space. The image below shows what would likely be a wall or fence separating the yard from the street in areas where the yard is at ground level to the street, generally between Fairview Avenue NE (just east of 9th Street) and the Quality Inn hotel (near 16th Street NE).

The area available for a multi-use trail is listed nominally at 30 feet wide from the curb to Amtrak’s property. This could be reduced as it approaches the 9th Street Bridge. Below are artistic renderings of how the yard wall could appear along New York Avenue.

Image: VRE

VRE also provided examples of buffering along the New York Avenue corridor, which could include vegetation fencing, artwork or other decorative barrier. A wall was suggested as both a safety measure to reduce the potential for vandalism or attempts trespass, and a way to reduce sound and pollution from rail operations.

Image: VRE

For the area west of the Ninth Street Bridge, the grade of New York Avenue begins to gradually increase. In this section, the wall is eliminated.

While the total costs of this proposal was not specified, the VRE System Plan 2040 allocates $3 million (in 2013 dollars) for near term improvements (those made between 2014 to 2020), and do not include land acquisition costs. These costs do not include improvements to be made by DDOT as it relates to its project. Long-term improvements (made between 2031-2040) could total over $40 million and include a deck to allow for the construction of buildings over the area west of 9th street.

The Bike Estate – Strand Residences in Deanwood Adds 86 Units of Affordable Housing and 38 Bike Parking Spaces

The Stand Residences hopes to revitalize Nannie Helen Burrow Burroughs Avenue
Rendering: The Warrenton Group

The Bike Estate scours local blogs and government websites for information about bike facilities in new, recently opened, or planned residential or commercial buildings. The following is recently-filed development applications with the D.C. Zoning Commission.

According to Urban Turf, the replacement of the Lincoln Heights / Richardson Dwellings communities in Ward 7 will contain an 86-unit mixed-use development near the Strand Theater at 5129 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue in Deanwood.

The Strand Residences, a long-planned development, includes approximately 17,000 sqft of buildings along Nannie Helen Burroughs and Division Avenues. One six-floor building contains one and two-bedroom units. Plans also call for new ground-floor commercial space and the renovation of the decades-vacant historic Strand Theater, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, adjacent to the project site.

26 Bike parking spaces are along the wall closest to the Theater
Rendering: The Warrenton Group

With regard to bicycling, the project appears to have adopted a more progressive position. Located less than 500 feet from Marvin Gaye Park; the 1.6 mile Watts Branch; Washington Parks and People’s Riverside Center, HD Woodson High School and its Aquatic Center; and the Marvin Gaye Trail; the current plans call for a total of 38 indoor bicycle parking spaces, with 29 for long-term and 5 short-term spaces for residents. The site plan has four indoor short-and-long term spaces for community and retail use.

While the plan suggests that bike parking is secure, it does not provide details on controlled entrances, lighting or other amenities like a repair station. Also, the plan does not appear to include outdoor bike parking or bikeshare. The bicycle parking is located on the ground floor and shares that space with 17 vehicle spaces.