I am a resident and fully support this idea. I hope everyone can get on board because the mainstreet needs some help. Columbia Heights has the Metro and a Mall to attract consumers. Adams Morgan has its bars. I think marketing ourselves as a quaint, histric, pedestrian friendly, alternative to those retail strips could go a long way to attracting some business and foot traffic. Hopefully the plan would allow for more restaurants to have outdoor seating as the example pictured above does. A few more cafes and services would really bring the neighborhood back to life. Mount Pleasant is a very unique neighborhood already. This will only add to its character.

by John on Dec 17, 2009 12:26 pm  

Also a resident here and in full support of this plan. Mt P can market itself as a true "village in the city" if these street-level improvements are made and attract the local attention needed to bring in viable independent businesses. As a cyclist, the motor vehicle traffic in MtP is extremely dangerous (double parking, K-turns and the like) and improvements are desperately in need on the neighborhood's only N-S artery.

by Justin on Dec 17, 2009 12:39 pm  

Not a resident, but fully support the idea! Mount P has great street activity and could be really nice pedestrian-zone adjacent to 16th. Hope this works. I wonder where other similar zones could exist? 18th Street Adams Morgan?

by Nick J on Dec 17, 2009 12:49 pm  

I'll add that when it comes to potential improvements that there really seems to be a baby boom going on in MTP. Yet MTPs corridor is not the most family friendly of places. Maybe a small fenced toddler park at one end of the triangle park with a couple swings and something to climb on? I have no kids myself but I think its vital the neighborhood keeps familys from fleeing to the burbs.

by John on Dec 17, 2009 12:58 pm  

Interesting idea, since it's wider than the cited example, how does that affect safety? It seems streets like this may not scale past 2-lane if there is traffic demand. Unless you ban parking (I'm sure all ggw readers would prefer that), it seems like parked cars will end up forming a separated car lane.

Mt. P is somewhat isolated and ideal for this, with the northern end not connecting to anything beyond immediate neighborhood and the 16th st alternative. Would the existing traffic on 18th make result in more of a mad max scenario rather than a quiet Parisian street.

by m on Dec 17, 2009 1:08 pm  

"Mount Pleasant Street is much wider, and would therefore be less restrictive for cars."

And that is why it will not work as well. Too easy to speed through.

by Omri on Dec 17, 2009 1:17 pm  

I live a block south of Mt P, and don't spend nearly enough time there. Turning it into a fun place to stroll and relax could change that. What about just blocking off the street to cars on Saturday, when the farmers' market is open?

by Matt W on Dec 17, 2009 1:24 pm  

i dont see the advantage. maybe im not seeing the big picture.
will there still be street parking?
that would be dangerous for pedestrians stepping out between cars.
if no street parking, just make the sidewalks and crosswalks wider.

make all intersections four ways stops to discourage drivers.

by a on Dec 17, 2009 1:32 pm  

The only concern I would have is the bus routing through the street. The upper end is the end/turnaround for the 42/43 lines, and other lines also cut through MtP St. Not an insurmountable obstacle, but one which should be addressed in any plan.

by Moose on Dec 17, 2009 1:42 pm  

Start with Belgian block. Sure you can go all woonerf out, but having the entire commercial district paved in Belgian block would make enough of a difference, one that would accomplish many of the desired benefits.

Interesting idea in any case.

by Richard Layman on Dec 17, 2009 2:03 pm  

I love this idea. Mt. Pleasant is very charming and could really use a lively open public street. The farmer's market feels a bit confined in the small triangular park. This could allow it to spread out and hopefully draw shoppers and vendors daily.

The issues of car speed and parking should be managed by placement of street vendors and extending restaurants out into the street (so that there is not a wide-open straightaway inviting cars to speed through), and so on. Likewise, parking would not look like a typical street since there would be no curb. The idea is to create one contiguous shared space without confining anyone to a particular spot.

by Matthias on Dec 17, 2009 2:09 pm  

Cumberland, Maryland's downtown is sort of like this. Cars can cross the pedestrian downtown on every block, but not drive straight through it.

by Ward 1 Guy on Dec 17, 2009 2:26 pm  

Mt Pleasant would be a good candidate for this sort of design. But a bigger obstacle will be attracting the types of shops that make people want to visit.. a fromagerie, boulangerie, fleuriste, boucherie (cheese shop, bakery, florist, butcher's) - at least there's already a pâtisserie, Heller's.

(And anyone who thinks a cheese shop can't be a destination, go visit Cheesetique in Del Ray.)

by michael on Dec 17, 2009 2:33 pm  

I don't see the width of MTP street as much of an obstacle as this is a street scape project. Changing it is the whole point. The Sidewalks could be widened to allow for more seating for restaurants or benches and trees. Reducing the street to a narrow, sidewalk level, 2 way with parking along 1 side only. (I personally don't own a car or care about parking but could see eliminating it all being an issue. One side parking would be a good compromise.) As for buses could they not just be be routed over to 16th street for that short stretch?

by John on Dec 17, 2009 2:42 pm  

I love this idea. I've thought for a long time that urban metro stops should have a 5 block area blocked off around them for pedestrian traffic only. This would be a good idea too for 5 blocks around a station.

by James on Dec 17, 2009 2:49 pm  

james,
closing off 5 blocks around a metro station is a bad idea if a person is very old or handicapped or carrying lots of packages. or if you're helping those people out.

sure, if you're young, healthy and using an urban area primarily as entertainment or an office job that's fine, but if you are rooted here you often require a diversity of options.
(now, if we could afford to dig tunnels and put all cars underground and leave the surface for bikes and walkers i would be all on that.)

by a on Dec 17, 2009 3:53 pm  

I think that it would be nice, but as I often have driven down MtP. St, I wonder how it would be possible to divert all of those cars and buses. Maybe you just make it 1 lane each way with no parking, adding to the width of the sidewalk, but absolutely no cars and buses seems illogical.

by arm on Dec 17, 2009 4:39 pm  

I've lived in Mt Pleasant for almost a decade and really want to like this idea. But I just don't see how the businesses that rely on out-of-neighborhood customers would retain their customer base (every day there are dozens of cars double parked on the street) and how we'd balance the H and 42/43 bus routes. Certainly, moving them would create massive problems but keeping them as is doesn't seem all that safe. Finally, those of us who've lived in the city for a long time remember when G street was closed off and turned a once-vibrant street into a wasteland.

What ultimately brings people to a neighborhood is interesting stores/restaurants and a vibrant streetscape. Simply making it inconvenient for cars won't do that -- it will just make a vacant street even worse. Instead, perhaps there should be more focus on the facade program, diversifying the business mix (no more laundromats, for example) by making rents more affordable for small business owners and making it easier for sidewalk cafes, etc. Rather than reshuffling the deck chairs, these steps would draw people to a too often dead street.

by Mt P'er on Dec 17, 2009 4:47 pm  

Mtp'er- I see your concerns but (And I have lived here just as long) I don't see MTP Street being as heavily traveled as people make it out to be. It has the appearance of a street built to be heavily traveled. The feel of an avenue. or blvd. but the cars are not there in mass. And in all my years there has never been anything even close to a traffic jam. It just isnt a through street. As for double parkers. Make it easy for them and they will do it. Eliminating this will not be the death of mount p street. double parkers are likely going in and out of the laundry mats you speak of or accessing other grab and go businesses, take outs and the like. which is not what we want to be about. And while we as residents have been waiting for years for better cafes and restaurants, they haven't arrived. Lets breath some new life into our neighborhood and give them a reason to locate here and a reason for people to patronize these establishments. Remember it is just being turned into a multiuse street. Not closed all together like g street.

by John on Dec 17, 2009 5:04 pm  

Although not really in the same category as this plan or the woonerfs of Europe, there is a precedent for such street design elements in the DC area - in Rockville Town Square.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greatphotographicon/2936150988/

Courtesy of The Great Photographicon on Flickr

by rkr on Dec 17, 2009 7:14 pm  

This is a nice sounding concept that won't make sense in practice. As a pedestrian environment, Mt P is only somewhat more diverse in its users than it was 10-15 years ago, when I often found myself to be the only Anglo on the sidewalk. I lived in Adams-Morgan at the time and lived there again when I returned to DC. The Mt P area already is an awkward place for auto traffic and this concept is likely to make things worse rather than better. It also has to accommodate the ambulance traffic to Washington Hospital center. Columbia Heights with its Metro stop and the established strip along Columbia Road in Adams-Morgan enjoy advantages for commercial development that don't exist in Mt P. Restaurants and entertainment seem drawn to U and to 14th. It would be nice if Mt P kept a mix of usable businesses rather than getting them gentrified away (as happened in Adams-Morgan) or simply attracting chains like Columbia Heights. Mt P should be responsive to the diverse population that lives there rather than trying to be a tourist attraction.

by Rich on Dec 17, 2009 11:38 pm  

finally Mount Pleasant is thinking about how to become a destination that can attract and retain people, rather than just facilitating the speeding cars that keep on going.

The streetscape is quite wide on mount pleasant st... a woonerf would need to be about half as wide - it might be a good idea to create market stalls and outdoor lounge areas down the middle, served from the back by an alleyway, and make the otherside a woonerf with belgian block or brick and bollards. Narrow streets and pavers are very important - small lots, lots of bollards, reduce the use of lines, signs, and signals. A big thing that slows the traffic is just the feeling that you are closed-in by the tightly fitting buildings and many small lots. Remove as much parking spaces as possible - instead focus on really good dutch style bicycle infrastructure and pedestrian areas that are protected by bollards. lots of alleyays, tiny cut-thoughts etc. for pedestrians. If it comes out with a very old-world feel, that is great.

by lee.watkins on Dec 18, 2009 8:56 am  

Concerning the buses, those currently going south on Mount Pleasant Street would continue as before (slowly). On the northbound leg, buses could take 16th Street, left on Park Road, left onto Mount Pleasant.

This would make our little commercial strip into a pedestrian mall, with (slow) vehicular access. Because there's no need for traffic to use this as a through route to anywhere else, it's a good place to try this notion out.

by Jack on Dec 18, 2009 9:01 am  

I'm sorry to be the stick in the mud here, and I truly want this to work out as I am sad to see how far much of Mt Pleasant Street has fallen over the last decade, but I just don't understand how this is going to help our business district.

1. People don't speed up and down Mt Pleasant street to get places unless they are directionally challenged. It is 5 blocks from nowhere to nowhere. They speed on the cross-town streets like Irving and Park, but I don't think either of those would change from the proposed plan.

2. How does turning Mt Pleasant Street into a quasi-pedestrian mall help the existing businesses and discourage gentrification? Have proponents surveyed those businesses and customers? If so, and they are supportive, that's a really good step toward implementation. However, I find it hard to believe that these stores wouldn't be adversely impacted due to the number of MD and VA plates we see double-parked in front of the stores on weekends and anecdotal evidence of suburban customers coming back into the neighborhood to shop.

3. My understanding, talking to a number of independent business owners in the city is that our neighborhood is VERY small business unfriendly because:

A) it is tough to get to non-residents who don't have roots in the community to shop there because of a lack of a "destination" (restaurants, coffee house, whatever)

B) Most people don't know where it is -- even city residents -- because we're not ON a main arterial road.

C) If you've watched the fight over live music and liquor licenses, you know there's a perception if not reality that the neighborhood is deeply divided, very intrusive into business practices and not always willing to cooperate with business owners

D) Rents for many of the storefronts are apparently equivalent of Adams Morgan without the comparable patronage or quality of building

E) We have an entire apartment building that on Mt P streer tat was used as part of the set for a movie on the siege of Stalingrad.

While I love the neighborhood, its hard not to be cynical after 10 years here -- and watching many other neighborhoods flourish -- about efforts like this.

by Mt P'er on Dec 18, 2009 9:36 am  

Rich- Can you explain your comment about ambulances? I was not aware of MTP Street as an ambulance route. As for your other concerns I'm not sure changing the street scape of mount p will make it a tourist attraction. Maybe making it a full on pedestrian mall would, but not making it a shared blvd. This is a change aimed at making the neighborhood more live able for its residents and attracting consumer dollars from neighboring communities. For years our dollars have been flowing out of our community to Columbia heights and Adams Morgan and Cleveland park... This would help to draw some attention to our corridor and make it fun to stroll. And if it helps lure better restaurants and shops to fill in the vacancies then I'm all for it. The only business we added to our strip in the last five years is Angelico's pizza delivery. is there a slight element of risk involved with a change like this. Perhaps. But it has been MTPs way to infight and avoid change at all costs for years now and look where it's gotten us. If we keep at it MTP could very well end up a kind of commercial dead zone between Columbia heights and Adams Morgan. Id much rather my dollars stay here. As for the businesses that are here and worthwhile already I think this would only bring them more business. The owners of Haydees have been trying to bring more attention to our strip for awhile now. I'm sure Heller's and don Jamie's and pfeifers would all benefit as well. I don't think we can really afford to drag our feet much longer. That's my two cents. again.

by John on Dec 18, 2009 10:04 am  

This is a terrible idea that would massively accelerate the ongoing yuppification of Mount Pleasant. If people want to stroll around cute but not very practical stores, go to Georgetown instead.

by Seriously, Ugh on Dec 18, 2009 10:13 am  

seriously ugh,

non yuppies don't walk around?
why is Georgetown always the default?
the commercial strips in Georgetown are horrible to stroll through. narrow sidewalks. far too many people.

mtP ave is a perfect spot for a nice walk with shops up and down. sure, we still need practical stores, but throwing out the clearly divisive term Yuppie and telling people to go elsewhere is not the way. get in there and help some practical stores survive. help them advertise. help them buy the building. or maybe you just wanna bitch?

by a on Dec 18, 2009 10:23 am  

Mt. P'er, what is "gentrification?" Why is it bad that new people want to live somewhere? Why is it bad that new people want to invest in an old place?

Human settlements either change or they stagnate. Washington between 1968 and 2002 or so is what you get when there is no reinvestment. That is stagnation, or a lack of what you incorrectly derisively term "gentrification."

by Cavan on Dec 18, 2009 10:30 am  

Mt. P'er,

In point 2, you talk about preventing gentrification and the problems of out-of-state license plates parked on the street. Then, in point 3a, you talk about a lack of outside, non-resident customers patronizing the businesses.

So, which is it?

by Alex B. on Dec 18, 2009 10:34 am  

Ugh is clearly trolling. No need to engage him. If this plan was put into action local businesses that have been here all along could take advantage. Adams Express, Don Jaimes, Haydees, Pollo Sabrosa would be able to add outdoor seating. Where as now the sidewalks are too narrow to allow for it. Pfeifers could potentially utilize more sidewalk space for gardening goods. There is no need to hijack this thread about gentrification and yuppies. This is about MTP. and making it more livable and vibrant for all.

by John on Dec 18, 2009 10:37 am  

Alex

Personally, I am fine with what's derisively described as gentrification. In fact, even though I am a 3rd generation Washingtonian and my son and daughter 4th generation, we'd probably be called gentrifiers by a lot of the folks on this site (who, I'm betting are predominantly white, well-educated upper middle class 20-somethings who came to DC in the last 5 years, but I digress).

I've lived in or close to DC my entire life (since `72) and know what the city was like when it nosedived from its peak of 1 million people down to half that. New people bring in money, services, businesses, yada yada. But my point is that the neighborhood is getting it from both ends. Stores are leaving because poorer residents either don't have the money or just have chosen not to patronize local businesses and "gentrifiers" don't feel that they have services/goods they want to purchase.

by Mt P'er on Dec 18, 2009 10:43 am  

alex, cavan,

mtp's point is to retain the stores that do exist, in the hopes that they dont get pushed out.
theres nothing wrong with that. he's asking if there is buy-in from the existing storeowners.

by a on Dec 18, 2009 10:46 am  

As far as what the existing businesses want I would think it varies based on the business. I'm sure the laundry mats see no upside. But all the restaurants and markets I would think would be excited by the idea. I know Haydees has always looked for ways to attract people to the strip and make people more aware of where it is. Didn't they want to make an archway at Irving to direct people from the metro? Another idea that was shot down at the starting gate...

by John on Dec 18, 2009 11:03 am  

For a prototype of the street thats being described in the article, check out cady's alley, in georgetown.

by dcist on Dec 18, 2009 1:17 pm  

Indeed, Cady's Alley is the closest local example, though it is much, much narrower than Mt. Pleasant Street.

by Eric F. on Dec 18, 2009 1:30 pm  

I feel like the upper block of Mt.Pleasant Street is already somewhat like the proposal. People cross back and forth across the road a lot, especially on Saturdays to get to the farmers' market. Since Mt. Pleasant narrows and ceases to be a major through road at the Park Street stoplight, cars are moving more slowly and drivers don't have a "speed on through" mentality. So at least in this area, making the street a mixed pedestrian/vehicle zone would just extend and formalize an existing, natural tendency.

by Erica on Dec 19, 2009 10:26 am  

MTP street is one of the only safe streets for pedestrians in the District. Step into a crosswalk and odds are that oncoming traffic will yield. Why? For one reason, there are already lots of pedestrians on the street. For another reason, vehicle speeds are lower due to MTP not being a thru street. But the preponderance of Latino drivers is the real reason MTP street is great for pedestrians. Latinos actually yield to pedestrians whether someone is crossing mid block, at the intersection, or wherever.
When I hear a car horn or I'm nearly runover in a crosswalk it's almost always a white person in a luxury car or one of those jackasses in a Zipcar. The street needs some love from the City, but you bring in too many cheese boutiques and you're going to ruin what makes the street magical.

by bikermark on Dec 20, 2009 12:27 pm  

I thought of this article as I was walking up the middle of 15th St. NW last night in the snow, sharing the road with many other pedestrians and a few stray cars!

by David T on Dec 20, 2009 2:17 pm  

Bikermark,

What an insightful, valuable post!

If it's a Latino in a luxury car or Zipcar, are they more likely to stop, or just is it just white people who nearly run you over? Or could people be more prone to run you over because they know you don't like them?

Can we seriously refrain from the ignorant generalizations?

Most of the businesses on the street that have closed catered to the Latino population. They weren't sustainable either because Latinos have been hit harder by the recession, there's an oversaturation of the same types of businesses or Latinos get out of the poorly maintained buildings (when they cannot take them over and rehab them as coops -- which is something DC should help them do more of!) and move to the suburbs.

As for the evil spectre of white people -- or upper middle class people of ANY race with wealth, you need to get over it. This neighborhood has changed a dozen times in its life and is going to change a dozen more if it has any chance of surviving and thriving. Why don't you make some REALISTIC suggestions of how to get new businesses into the vacant storefronts and help those already there survive? Making it harder to drive up and down the street -- without any reason to actually go to Mt Pleasant Street -- is not going to do it.

by DC Fred on Dec 20, 2009 8:08 pm  

Dear DC Fred:
I am FOR whatever you are AGAINST. See you at the ANC meeting.

-bikermark
ps. When was the last time you strolled down MTP street? Other than the one vacant grocery store, I don't see many vacant storefronts or a neighborhood struggling to survive.

by bikermark on Dec 20, 2009 8:51 pm  

bikermark,

since you asked, the last time i strolled down Mt Pleasant Street was this afternoon. before that? yesterday. at my last count --and this is from memory, so i might be off by one or two -- there were 8 vacant store fronts, including 2 on west side of Mt Pleasant btn Irving and Hobart, 1 on the east side of Mt Pleasant btn Irving and Kenyon and 1 on west side, 2 vacant grocery stores on east side of Mt Pleasant near Lamont, and 2 on Mt Pleasant just south of Park.

so, we know you hate Zipcar, white people, luxury vehicles and cheese boutiques (how could anyone hate any place that sold cheese?), what do you want on Mt Pleasant Street?

by DC Fred on Dec 20, 2009 9:43 pm  

Mount Pleasant Street should be appreciated and discussed as a main street in a residential neighborhood not a tourist attraction/ Cady's Alley. The concern should be to encourage independent businesses that are relevant to the diverse residents of the surrounding blocks. Turning Mount Pleasant Street into the new U Street of recent years, 18th Street or Cady's Alley would be a disaster. The sidewalks are already paved with brick and appear to be wide enough for some limited outdoor seating. We do not need to remake the street and cut down trees for no reason (like 17th street). By the way, laundromats are a must for some residents. If you find the sight of a laundromat offensive than I suggest that you seek to invest in residential real estate elsewhere. If you want to put an "attraction" on the street then drop in a good book or record store. With the school on 16th street we could make reading cool again, it might help the community and the school system. As for the bit of Stalingrad, whatever came of that very brief arson investigation? People made less of a fuss over that than the Avalon fire on Adams Mill a few years ago. There were a few charitable events for the victims of the Avalon fire and not one for the low income resident victims of the fire on Mount Pleasant. At least as far as I can recall.

by jps on Dec 22, 2009 4:37 am