Category: Anacostia Freeway

Public Meeting on the Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Project

People Bicycling on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue
Image: Author
Greater Southeast traditionally has few bicycling amenities, some lanes, some trails but few lanes that get people to the downtown core or across Wards 7 or 8. The Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Revitalization project doesn’t fix this but it adds a few hundred more feet of infrastructure to an area that’s lacking it. The bigger question is what does it mean?

At the Wednesday, May 31, 2017, District Department of Transportation (DDOT) public meeting on the revitalization of MLK Avenue SE at the R.I.S.E Demonstration Center, DDOT planners were introduced to the Congress Heights community.

This section of MLK in Congress Heights is one of the few stretches of commercial and social activity in Ward 8. Congress Heights Day is celebrated near it, four schools are adjacent to it, the check cash, Martin’s Cafe, Pro Cut Family Barber Shop, and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen are on it. People walk, bike, and drive to its business and schools; they catch the A or W series of Metrobuses to work or services; some just sit with others or by themselves to watch the world. For what it is, this is what some people love about MLK. Naturally, change of almost any type is sometimes met with uncertainty, skepticism, and resistance.

Presentation at R.I.S.E Center
Image: Author

Connecting needs of current residents with the thoughts about future development, Council member Trayon White Sr. spoke about the potential of new projects planned or underway at the of the sprawling east campus of St. Elizabeths. He noted the need for protected and signaled crosswalks as shown in the plans as more people will be attending events and crossing the neighboring streets as well as how DDOT would meet the basic services of the people he represents, pothole filling, adding speed bumps to streets where children were struck, and other basic street repairs.

Project Background
According to DDOT, the first meeting to discuss the rehabilitation of MLK began as a Corridor Traffic Study that analyzed current conditions for all transportation modes to support the Vision Zero Initiatives, which aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths by 2024.

While the project states that all mode were considered, the corridor improvements listed by DDOT focus mainly on improving pedestrian infrastructure. This includes intersection realignments, installation of street furniture, roadway resurfacing, and the reconstruction of sidewalks, curbs, and landscaping.

Bicycling Improvements
There is a common misconception shared by many that African Americans do not ride bikes. Uniquely, this idea is strongly held by African Americans, although the reasons why are many. The League of American Bicyclists and the Sierra Club stated in their report, The New Majority: Pedaling Towards Equality, that the fastest growth in bicycling is among people of color – Latino, African American and Asian American populations. According to their analysis, between 2001 and 2009, those three groups grew from 16 to 23 percent of all bike trips, with African American bicycling growing by 100 percent.

While DDOT spoke of creating a complete street, one that accommodates multiple users, they did not include much with regard to bicycling. The plan proposed connect lanes from 4th street, with the current bike lanes along the southern sections of the project. The plans does add sharrows, improvement to pick up and drop off for schools. Planners did indicate a potential for a new capital Bike Share station at what would be open space due to the elimination of high speed right at Alabama and 5th Streets.

The segment above represents the lower portion of the of the study corridor from about South Capitol Street to 1st Street / Upsal Street S.E. The plan creates a shared bike / vehicle lane which would include rush hour parking restrictions.

This segment includes currently existing bike lanes. It will replace current sidewalks and new crossing markings. The segment from 4th Street to Alabama Avenue contains no bike lanes.

General Roadway Improvements
The planners discussed changes to the site plan as a result of the initial meeting held in 2015 and a subsequent meeting in 2016. This planned presented DDOT’s 30 percent conceptual design for the project. This includes the addition of pedestrian safety features including the elimination of a higher speed turn lane off of MLK to 4th Street, the elimination installation of a median and pedestrian bump outs to shorten the distance pedestrians need to travel across the street and reduce U-turns and other vehicle actions that could injure pedestrians.

The presentation highlighted that desire to slow down vehicular traffic with the proposed use of up to six traffic signals: a combination of standard signals and pedestrian-activated High-intencity Activated Crosswalk  signals. DDOT also included making Randle Street SE one-way, creating queue space for Democracy Prep.

Public Feedback

Many, many signals
Image: Author

With about 10-15 people in attendance, the discussion focused on concerns raise mainly by a few, who stated that their positions reflected those of residents. Early on, a member of the District Bicycle Advisory Council spoke about the inclusion of  bicycle lanes to this corridor as he was a frequent bicyclist. A few commented with regard to bicycling that as speeding is problematic and because African Americans wouldn’t bike on MLK, lanes should not only be excluding from the project but removed from where it currently exists.

Some attendees suggested that bike lanes are not for the community, not what the community wants. Some said that lanes, along with a proposed median would hurt local business.  A woman stated that a median on Malcolm X  or anywhere in the project area would block the entrance to Popeye’s. Later, an ANC commissioner stated that her constituents viewed shared lanes or bike lanes in general were ‘not welcomed in the area’, that the lanes ‘should not impede vehicles’, as they ‘have no motors’. An man stated that bike lanes should be disregarded as they could potentially cause more accidents.

How to proceed
While a few others stated that they bike regularly and wanted more bike infrastructure privately, they did not speak publicly. The ANC commissioner who was publicly opposed to bikes stated while she personally enjoys biking with her son, she felt obligated to voice her opposition based on her constituent requests, who also wanted speed bumps installed, potholes filled, and better delivery of basic services.

It’s not that people in this community hate bikes, they bike there all the time and have done so for decades. What they want is the power to decide for themselves. While bicycle advocates can vigorously discuss reports and necessity, they sometimes fail to consider that no one wants a government entity and perceived carpetbaggers telling them what to do or want to want. For those who lifvee there, perhaps they need to be sold on the idea that bikes, cars, and people can coexist.

The Bike Estate – December 19, 2016

Poplar Point development
Image: Redbrick Partners 

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 Zoning Commission.

Poplar Point
Poplar Point will finally see development after years of false starts, speculation, and legislative or environmental issues.

A five-building mixed-use development was submitted by Redbrick Partners at Poplar Point along Howard Road SE and in between Interstate 295, South Capitol Street SE and just south of the Anacostia River in Ward 8.  As reported by Urban Turf, the project will include five buildings totaling 680 to 700 residential units, 1.6 million square feet of office space, 45,300 square feet of of retail and over 600 bicycle parking spaces.

Poplar Point was considered as a location for as a potential location for a new FBI headquarters and an early location for the new DC United Soccer stadium, which eventually ended up near Buzzard Point. According to the Washington Business Journal and the National Park Service (NPS), many entities have owned pieces of Poplar Point and include the District’s Lanham Tree Nursery, NPS, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Navy and Army Corps of Engineers.

Much of Poplar Point, especially the area to the southwest, was badly contaminated with toxic waist that includes metals, pesticides, and other harmful items in the soil, sediment and groundwater, limiting the opportunity for development. While much of the area is still in limbo, the portion closest to Howard Road is presumably clean and was acquired for $8.5 million in 2013 by District-based Redbrick Partners.

A protected 2-way bike lane appears in initial plans
Image: Redbrick Partners  

According to Redbrick’s application, bicycle usage will also be integrated into the design of the project and include bicycle lanes on streets which connect into the overall District bike network.

The project will provide 541 long-term and 90 short-term bicycle parking spaces. The short-term spaces will be allocated mostly along Howard Road, with a few allocated along the service drive near the rear of the buildings near loading docks. The plan allocates a total of 930 underground vehicle parking spaces, a potentially high amount given the project’s proximity to the Green line and several bus routes.

Protected bike lanes on Howard Road SE
Image: Redbrick Partners

Howard Road will be a bicycle focal point as plans suggest bicycle-related street scape improvements and include bicycle lanes along this street. While the project’s Planned Unit Development (PUD) statement saying lanes, the proposed Howard Road cross section appears to include an approximately 9-foot-wide protected bike lane. The protected lane appears to also contain a 3-foot raised buffer to protect riders from being doored by vehicle passengers and a 4-foot tree box to separate cyclists from pedestrians.

Artist interpretation of Howard Road and protected bike lane.
Image: Redbrick Partners

The project plan also states that it will build a better integrated bike and pedestrian connection to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and the South Capitol / Fredrick Douglass bridge as well as make improvements to Anacostia Metrorail station entrance nearest the project. The current PUD does not address pedestrian or bicycle connections along the “rear” of the two buildings that abut Suitland Parkway or addresses connections along Howard Road below Interstate 295. Redbrick has contacted Wells+Associates to conduct a Comprehensive Transportation Review, which will project transportation use by residents and visitors.

The Far Southeast Livability Study Community Workshop Hopes to Bridge the Ward 7 Divide

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host the second of three public workshops for the Far Southeast III Livability Study.  The workshop is Saturday, November 19, 2016, 10:00am to 12:00pm at the Plummer Elementary School, 4601 Texas Avenue SE, Washington DC 20019.

According to the project website, livability refers to the creation or maintenance of a community’s quality of life as experienced by the people who live, work, and recreate there.

You Can’t Get There From Here

Study would hopes to make river accessible
Image: Google

Unique factors in this areas separate it from the rest of the District, particularly in terms of bicycling and walking. These include topography, arterial roads, freeways, and other aspects of the built environment. Historically, the ability to bike, walk or play safely in the community or enjoy amenities such as the Anacostia River and the rest of the District have been limited.

For many, the Anacostia Freeway and the CSX Benning Yard create a barrier along the west side of the study area. The map to the right shows that if someone wanted to access the Anacostia River Park and lived adjacent to it at D Street SE, about a few hundred feet from it, they would need to travel at least 2.3 miles to access the park and its amenities.

The East Capitol Street, from approximately 40th Street to the Whitney Young Bridge has virtually no pedestrian access. A primary artery for motorists, who can traverse the distance in seconds at highway speeds, pedestrians and bicyclists must travel miles to reach the Bridge to reach a narrow sidewalk to cross the Anacostia River.
  
The Purpose of the Workshops – So Far

Focused in Ward 7, this workshop allows community residents and visitors to discuss potential improvements to the infrastructure within and out of the area. The study areas is roughly bound by East Capitol Street to the north Southern Avenue to the southeast and Massachusetts Avenue to the southwest.

SE Livability Study Area
Image: DDOT

At the initial meeting of this phase, held June 26, 2016, DDOT staff along with public participants identified opportunities for improving the quality of life in the neighborhoods within the study area. The DDOT study team also presented an overview of the project goals, process, to help residents understand the importance of low-impact development, green infrastructure, and potentially fix long-standing issues.

According workshop summary documents, attendees at the June meeting focused on traffic calming and transportation infrastructure safety improvements that increase pedestrian safety; greater access to bicycle sharing and improved bicycle infrastructure; limitations regarding resident’s ability to cross major streets that focus more on moving cars than on moving people; and the mitigation of sewer overflow due to poor drainage. Many of the transportation concerns may be also addressed in Mayor Bowser’s Vision Zero initiative.

The second meeting will discuss and review the potential concepts, using information gathered to draft final recommendations for the final meeting in this series, scheduled for winter of 2017.

We’ve Been Here Before

This is not the first study for this area that relates to livability. In 2011, DDOT held similar meetings to address issues pedestrian and bicycle accessibility. Preliminary plans incorporated many ideas associated with MoveDC, a long-term, multifaceted transportation planning process initiated by former Mayor Vincent Gray. The DC Bicycle Advisory Council also held a “rolling meeting” in that same year near and within the study area to determine bike-specific concerns.

Prior to that, DDOT proposed several plans that attempted to provide greater connectivity an included pedestrian improvements at the Benning Road, East Capitol, Texas Avenue SE intersection and the extension of Massachusetts Avenue SE over the Anacostia to connect it with Reservation 13. Given the structural, economic and environmental changes in the study area, DDOT reopened the process to allow additional community input.

Pin the Tale on the Problem

To help determine where livability improvements should be made, the study website includes an interactive map that allows the public to label areas of potential improvements. If you are unable to attend the meeting and are familiar with some of the area’s challenges, using this map is an alternative.

Community suggestions within and near the Livability study area.
Image: DDOT

Map users have suggested several improvements that include additional Bikeshare docks, particularly along the East Capitol Street corridor as well as making the street more bicycle and pedestrian friendly by adding protected lanes and providing better access to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail at the East Capitol / Whitney Young Bridge. 

Anacostia Freeway at South Capitol Street Rehabilitation Meeting

South Capitol Under Anacostia Freeway. Photo: Google

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will hold a public meeting on the rehabilitation of the Anacostia Freeway Bridges over South Capitol Street. This is your opportunity to discuss potential bicycling and pedestrian access beneath these bridges and along the I-295 corridor. 

The meeting is Wednesday, October 5, 2016 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Bellevue (William O. Lockridge) Neighborhood Library, 115 Atlantic Street SW.

While the meeting likely focuses on the I-295 Freeway, DDOT has a Draft Concept Plan for a South Capitol Street Trail, issued December 2010. According to the plan, the trail run along the corridor connecting Shepherd Parkway and the Oxon Run trail on Overlook Avenue, which runs parallel to I-295, along South Capitol street to the end of the existing trail at Firth Sterling Avenue. The proposed trail would be at least 10 feet wide and could potentially remove or reduce vehicle travel lane width.

The current trail plan does not contain access to South Capitol Street under the freeway bridge. The news bridge may offer this alternative, allowing residents of Washington Highlands, Bellview and Congress Heights potential access to a future pedestrian or bicycle trail.

Below is the current draft plan published December 2016.