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Yes, we should discourage but not prohibit students bringing cars to DC. I agree we should offer many viable alternatives so that as few people as possible need their own cars. But that's the exact opposite of what the ANC is demanding. The new routes are much less efficient and much less convenient, and I worry that an alternative shuttle loop on campus wouldn’t be able to sustain high shuttle traffic. I’m encouraged by your characterization of the ANC and CAG as pro-transit, but I’d like to see it in action on this issue.

I also want to echo what Colleen said about GUTS not being an issue for students living in the neighborhood—a lot of people use GUTS buses for a lot of different reasons, not only to commute home from campus. Georgetown can be isolating for people without cars, and GUTS is an extremely reliable connection to the rest of the city. Last semester, I took the GUTS bus to Dupont then walked 10 minutes to my internship in Foggy Bottom. On Friday nights I frequently shuttle to Dupont and walk 15 minutes to Adams Morgan. And like I said, only 32 percent of riders are students. The rest are mostly University/hospital employees. So this issue affects a much wider group than just students, even though my (admittedly biased) sense is that opposition to GUTS buses reflects a larger opposition to students in general.

A quick tangent: I’m very interested in solutions to landlord problems, but just as a visceral reaction, requiring the homeowner to live in the building sounds absolutely awful. With little supply and little demand for such houses, that’d be a great way to collapse the rental industry in Georgetown—though I guess that’s the point. Food for thought.

@ Ken Archer

Recommendation #8 is titled "No student cars in the surrounding community." It says, "If GU students living on or off campus in zip code 20007 insist on bringing cars despite GU incentives and alternate transportation arrangements, those cars should be parked elsewhere" and "GU students who commute to campus by car from outside of zip code 20007 should not be permitted to park in the surrounding community." I still contend that my paraphrase is an accurate reflection of the ANC's recommendation.

http://anc2e.com/docs/ancguplan.pdf

What's insulting is that the ANC's recommendations actually worsen alternative transportation arrangements and remove incentives. The ANC is asking the University to undertake an on-campus construction project to make GUTS buses less efficient and less convenient, just so campus plan opponents don’t have to hear them drive by. And that's STILL not enough.

I don’t want my position to be mischaracterized—I am criticizing the University, I just don’t have the same criticisms as you. The University agreed to the north-south roadway to send shuttles out the Canal Road entrance during early meetings about the Campus Plan back in November 2009. The Dupont shuttle currently runs on the ridiculous Wisconsin Ave detour route. These are serious concessions that affect students, staff and hospital employees who rely on the buses.

The ANC can recommend all kinds of things. The University doesn’t have to put them in the plan. The University should have fought for us. At the very least, administrators didn’t have to concede so early.

by Kara Brandeisky on Mar 2, 2011 3:36 pm • link • report