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My, that Union Market mock-up is quite thrilling. I also hope that the smaller vendors don't get pushed out, and would love to see some concessions made to help make the market area a little more cohesive, pedestrian-friendly, and inviting.

As it stands, I could walk to this market. It's kind of a long walk, but not bad for a casual Saturday morning excursion (it would be an ideal bike trip, but I ain't trying to bike on Brentwood Rd./9th St./Brentwood Parkway/6th St. as they currently exist). But I rarely do. Brentwood Rd./9th St. is about as uninviting as a road can be for pedestrians...narrow sidewalks right up on the road with nothing much to look at. The Brentwood Parkway and 6th Street aren't much better, currently. This could be vastly improved by just making the Brentwood Parkway and 6th Street section more inviting: widen the sidewalks, get some more trees in there, and slow the traffic down. Also make people stop before turning right onto Penn. People got used to that detour while the 9th St. bridge and NYA ramps were under construction, and lots of people still use that route to access NYA. There was a mock-up of the area fully built-out in the City Paper a few days ago, and these things are going to be necessary to accommodate new residents and businesses. For example, A while back WCP reported that they're re-doing the awful Comfort Inn at Penn/NYA into a much nicer tourist-class hotel, so making this area walkable would go miles to providing a better experience for travelers staying in that location, which is, ultimately, walkable to the NYA Metro. It would also push those tourists through what could be a real "local gem." If we want tourists to appreciate DC's neighborhoods, it would behoove us to start with ones they will be exposed to by default, and the improvements wouldn't be half bad for locals, either.

by Ms. D on May 25, 2012 12:32 pm • link • report