Transit
Georgetown U needs to manage transportation demand
DDOT rejected Georgetown University's campus plan last week, citing its lack of an aggressive transportation demand management plan. While we are not in agreement about the Office of Planning's call for on-campus housing for 100% of undergraduates, we are in agreement that GU could make a much more aggressive investment in transit.
Photo by Drifty on Flickr.
We believe that Georgetown University could manage its growth while having a dramatically smaller impact on the environment and on pedestrians and drivers in the community than it currently does. The path described below outlines how this could be done.
GU is the city's largest private employer and GU Hospital (GUH) is the sixth largest. We all want GU and GUH to grow and create more jobs, but that requires an aggressive investment in transit by GU and the city.
There are three changes in direction that GU should take if it is serious about managing transportation demands to enable smart growth.
Charge market rates for on-campus parking. Georgetown University should not be subsidizing parking for its employees and visitors and should not be overbuilding parking spaces.
GU and its hospital offer massive subsidies to employees, patients and visitors to park on-site. Even with those subsidies, typical parking demand during peak periods is 88% of available spaces. If parking were not subsidized, it would be clear that the campus has too much of it.
The university and hospital only charge $135 and $68 per month, respectively, for employee parking (p. 14 of TDM report). That is significantly below market rates in Georgetown, where others who work there pay between $200 and $300 per month for parking. The lowest monthly rate for a Georgetown parking garage is $215.
GUH charges $6 per day for patients and their visitors. The least expensive daily parking for visitors to Georgetown, by comparison, is $25. Washington Hospital Center charges $12/day, and GWU Hospital charges $7 for the first hour, $6 for the second hour, and up to $17 per day.
Even with these heavy subsidies, Georgetown experiences "typical demand for 3591 spaces during peak times" out of a total of 4080 spaces (p. 17 of TDM report). That's 88% usage during typical peak times.
The city's largest employer should create more jobs, which can only happen by shifting commuters to transit. That's why DDOT also recommends that developers charge market rates for employee parking as part of their transportation demand management plans.
Oddly, GU thinks its prices disincentivize driving. The Campus Plan states that "the University will continue to manage its parking permits and rates to disincentivize driving to campus" and GU will "continue use of price to discourage single occupancy vehicles."
Subsidized parking rates induce driving, and nothing would increase transit use by employees, patients and visitors more than charging the same rates that employees and visitors in the rest of Georgetown have to pay. 46% of GU and GUH's 8,302 employees drive alone to work, and only 396 of them participate in SmartBenefits. Those numbers may be better than they were in 2000, but they are nowhere near what they could be if GU stopped massively subsidizing parking.
Lobby DDOT to help manage demand and bring the streetcar to campus. Typically, very large employers provide lots of jobs, and they expect transit routes to go where those jobs are; for example, National Harbor in Maryland, which receives a subsidized shuttle bus from the Green line paid for by the state.
But Georgetown has not lobbied DDOT to bring transit to its doors. When DDOT rolled out its Capital Bikeshare initiative, the agency had to take the initiative to place a CaBi station on campus and push to secure a deal with GU. It should have been the other way around.
The biggest benefit for GU from DDOT would be for the agency to bring the planned streetcar line along K and M Streets past Wisconsin Avenue to campus, either to the Car Barn (where the city's original streetcars turned) or up the Canal Road entrance into campus.
Residents and students have disagreed on the route of the GUTS Shuttle from campus to Dupont Circle, but the planned streetcar route would connect to several Red and Orange Line stations, making the Dupont and Rosslyn GUTS routes less important. DDOT would rather run the streetcar down M than along K, but will accept K if that's what the community wants. The community wants the streetcar, but many oppose overhead wires on M Street.
GU knows none of this because it was communicated to a meeting of the Georgetown BID, ANC and Citizens Association that the University wasn't even invited to. DDOT doesn't know what GU wants, and that has to change.
Support performance parking. The University should also support performance parking. Currently the Georgetown ANC, as well as BID and Citizens Association, are working with DDOT to place meters in high-demand residential blocks that would charge market rates for parking. This will increase parking turnover and availability.
The Georgetown ANC has pressed DDOT for years on this initiative, with the help of CAG and the BID, and has grown frustrated at times with DDOT's pace. GU, on the other hand, has been fine to be placed on a need-to-know basis. This is simply unacceptable.
Prioritize pedestrians over cars with car-free promenades and woonerfs. Library Walk connects the majority of student housing with the library, quad and several academic buildings and is the primary route used by students. One would expect that such a route would be an attractive footpath with park amenities like benches and tables.
Instead, Library Walk is a street, with narrow sidewalks for students. It doesn't even connect to other streets; it's a dead end.
This is a missed opportunity for creating an engaging, attractive space where students want to be. Spontaneous interactions on Library Walk don't result in lingering, because no one wants to congregate on a narrow sidewalk next to a street.
Car-free promenades in red, woonerfs in orangeCars should be banned on Library Walk, the asphalt and curbs should be replaced with an attractive park and footpath (just like the path south of the SQ Quad) and benches and tables should be added to encourage socializing.
Woonerf example. Photo by Joel Mann on Flickr.
In addition, streets that are heavily used by students but also required for certain car trips should be converted into woonerfs. The key features of woonerfs are that pedestrians have priority over cars and the distinction between the sidewalk and the street is blurred (short curbs, same brick/stone patterns used on street as on sidewalk).
GU needs to make a greater commitment to transit than it is today. Such a commitment would demonstrate GU's lip service to environmental issues and its consideration of the community's concerns, and enable it to create more jobs without overburdening its transportation infrastructure.
 | Ken Archer is CTO of a software firm in Tysons Corner. He commutes to Tysons by bus from his home in Georgetown, where he lives with his wife and son. Ken completed a Masters degree in Philosophy from The Catholic University of America.  |
| Kara Brandeisky is a student at Georgetown University majoring in government. She writes for the Georgetown Voice, recently as campus news and politics columnist and currently as its features editor. |
 | Topher Mathews has lived in the DC area since 1999. He created the Georgetown Metropolitan in 2008 to report on news and events for the neighborhood and to advocate for changes that will enhance its urban form and function. A native of Wilton, CT, he lives with his wife and new daughter in Georgetown.  |
Comments
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If DDOT can't or doesn't want to extend the streetcar to serve Georgetown, WMATA should look to provide better bus service to the university. Currently only the G2 and D6 directly serve the university and the hospital. While the GUTS shuttles are also available for use but they aren't always the most convenient.
by Jamie Scott on May 13, 2011 12:17 pm • link • report
Let's face it, GUH needs parking, because it's poorly served by transit. The D6 is all well and good, but it's not exactly analogous to the Foggy Bottom metro station, which is placed directly under GWU Hospital. That accessibility allows visitors and patients to use alternate transit modes - GUH doesn't have the same capacity or ability. As a result, I think a direct comparison of market rates is not particularly valid.
Similarly, a comparison of GUH parking rates to garages in Georgetown is not particularly revealing - GUH isn't even in Georgetown, it's in Burleith. M Street has higher demand and higher prices, no doubt about it. I don't know of any private garages near GUH so it's hard to draw direct comparisons. That said, $6 does seem like a deal.
by reader on May 13, 2011 12:18 pm • link • report
However, the footpaths were designed to accommodate the passage a few maintenance and delivery trucks each day. It worked just fine.
by andrew on May 13, 2011 12:24 pm • link • report
GW says that of itself as well.
If parking were not subsidized, it would be clear that the campus has too much of it.
I thought there was a waiting list for parking for new faculty members.
GUH charges $6 per day for patients and their visitors.
I don't know about patients, but GUH visitors pay $25 a day, i.e. market rate. GU employees without a monthly permit pay $15 a day. If GUH charged $6/day, the GU incidental parking garage would be empty and all employees would pose as GUH visitors.
The city's largest employer should create more jobs
Which is kind of hard when the neighborhoods demands that the number of students goes down. Students are the main customers of GU.
which can only happen by shifting commuters to transit.
This is also an odd demand coming from people who live in a neighborhood that consistently complain about Georgetown's own transit system: GUTS. The same people that worried about noise and parking problems trouble near Georgetown U's CaBi station.
Georgetown has not lobbied DDOT to bring transit to its doors.
No, in fact, Georgetown has been responsible, not burdened the city and created its own transit system: The GUTS buses, with four or five routes. Oddly, the Georgetown ANC does nothing by whine about GUTS (and WMATA) buses. Other than helicopter service, I am not sure what kind of transit the writers are thinking of.
I also wonder why the writers think that Georgetown U should have any faith that "working with" DDOT or indeed any DC government agency would yield a positive result given the long history of total government opposition to anything Georgetown U wants or does.
GU knows none of this because it was communicated to a meeting of the Georgetown BID, ANC and Citizens Association that the University wasn't even invited to. DDOT doesn't know what GU wants, and that has to change.
So, let's summarize. You ask asking Georgetown U to lobby an organization that does not even have the decency of inviting it to its meetings?
The Georgetown ANC has pressed DDOT for years on this initiative, with the help of CAG and the BID, and has grown frustrated at times with DDOT's pace. GU, on the other hand, has been fine to be placed on a need-to-know basis. This is simply unacceptable.
Again, why would Georgetown have any faith that any communication with the BID, ANC or city would yield anything positive considering the consistent total opposition it faces? All I see is that Georgetown U has given up working with the neighborhood and city due to lack of willingness of the other parties toeven invite Georgetown U to meetings, as you indicated yourself above.
Meanwhile, Georgetown is just taking care of itself as best it can, by running it's own transit system - free to its users. What more incentive do you want? Any collaboration with DDOT would lead to a transit modus that GU employees would have to pay for. A deterioration from the status quo.
woonerfs
The proper plural of woonerf is woonerven.
Library Walk
Before you complain about Library Walk, perhaps you can take a look at the pedestrian and bike friendliness of the surrounding neighborhood. A neighborhood characterized by narrow uneven side-walks and poorly paved roads.
I wonder where the authors get the notion that they have any right to tell a local (very long-time) property owner what to do with its land.
As far as I know, Library walk is closed to traffic.
GU needs to make a greater commitment to transit than it is today.
Greater than operating its own system and providing that service to its employees for free? How is that possible? They're also giving away CaBi memberships for $37.
by Jasper on May 13, 2011 12:45 pm • link • report
Jasper, please note the links to sources for claims in the post, both this claim and the one about GU being the largest private employer in DC. Patients and visitors to patients pay $6/day. All other visitors pay $25.
Library walk is closed to traffic.
I can assure you it's not. Kara is a current student at GU.
by Ken Archer on May 13, 2011 12:59 pm • link • report
by snowpeas on May 13, 2011 1:02 pm • link • report
I don’t know how much money you think it is that we make, but I can tell you that parking on campus is absolutely cost-prohibitive for me as a University employee. And I’m probably somewhere in the middle, salary-wise. More importantly, it’s common knowledge that it is effectively impossible to get an on-campus parking permit if you’re not way up in the food chain. So upping the parking fees isn’t really going to do much, as the price-elastic people at the margins aren’t the ones parking anyway.
You want to know what would be some “aggressive” measures to promote transit use by employees? Let’s start with not having CAG and BCA force the GUTS bus routes to be turned into abstract art-like designs that greatly extend commute times (and thereby pollute more to boot). It shouldn’t take half an hour to go just a shade over 2 miles. I can walk faster than that!
Another one: allow the completion of the West Road so that Rosslyn GUTS can make its way up campus and stop near the Hospital/Medical School as well. As it stands now, those taking the Rosslyn (or Arlington Loop or Law Center) GUTS have to walk the equivalent of four or five Georgetown blocks up a pretty steep incline to reach the MedCenter. That might not bother you or me, but for those with a mobility impairment, it is a major issue. The time factor should also not be ignored. Ditto in the other direction – walking from the Dupont Circle stop down to the bottom of campus takes several minutes that could easily be shaved off with a Loop.
Not aggressive enough for you? Well, WMATA clearly still has a Georgetown University Metro station in its long-rane plans (see here and here [PDF, marked pages 14, 15, 19 in particular]). How about some advocacy for that? That would be pretty expensive though, and if I’ve learned anything from listening to NIMBY shill Jack Evans, it’s that even minor increases in taxes on the wealthy are off-limits.
How about some extensive no-parking hours on Wisconsin Avenue, which exacerbate the jams that catch the 30s, the Circulator, and GUTS alike?
Most aggressive of all would, of course, be to encourage University and Hospital employees to live within walking or very close commuting distance of their jobs. I’m sure the neighborhood associations would be fully supportive of various measures to promote that, right? Right?
by Dizzy on May 13, 2011 1:06 pm • link • report
by Dizzy on May 13, 2011 1:08 pm • link • report
by Michael Perkins on May 13, 2011 1:12 pm • link • report
by Dizzy on May 13, 2011 1:19 pm • link • report
Washington Hospital Center is no better served by transit than is GUH, and charges twice as much for visitors.
by Ken Archer on May 13, 2011 1:20 pm • link • report
I think he rest of the piece is just about as level-headed.
by Mythatwaswellargued on May 13, 2011 1:42 pm • link • report
Can you name me some major (multi-thousand employee and resident) companies and services that don't subsidize parking for visitors? Look at the GWU visitor parking rates: http://parking.gwu.edu/rates/rates-visitor.cfm More expensive, sure, but a very different location and set of circumstances.
Indeed, the difference in location and circumstances makes a comparison to parking in prime Georgetown commercial areas unfair. The Southwest Garage is convenient to campus only - it's at best a 10 minute walk, probably more for most people, to get to 34th and M. So you're making an apples and oranges comparison. Not every location "in Georgetown" is the same.
Who's to say what the market rate is for where the Southwest Garage is?
The city's largest employer should create more jobs, which can only happen by shifting commuters to transit.
The NIMBY Brigade is opposed to an increase in the employee headcount as well, for the stated reason that employees will lead to more noise and traffic. Beyond that, the whole point of Campus Plans and proposed university growth is to create more jobs... that's exactly what they're trying to do! Creating jobs is a pretty expensive proposition, though. Indeed, while OP, DDOT, the neighbors, and everyone else seems to be ignoring the costs of all of these proposals, the university does not have that luxury.
Jasper already capably handled the next two points: the various stakeholders you mention, including OP and DDOT to some extent, have demonstrated themselves to be hostile to the university. In the case of the CAG and ANC, it is downright antagonistic to the point where just about anything the university proposes is viewed through a zero-sum, "anything they're asking for must be bad" lens. Would the University even be welcomed as a party to these discussions? How do you know? Who have you talked to?
Prioritize pedestrians over cars with car-free promenades and woonerfs
I'm all for this. In fact, everything you propose in terms of landscaping and pedestrian amenities is already in the wish list and long-range plans. At least, that's what the University Architect, Alan Brangman told me. Unfortunately, he has since decamped for the University of Delaware.
However, it is important to state that Library Walk is extremely low traffic; as it is, the only vehicles using it are service vehicles (GERMS ambulances, vendor and other vehicles servicing Healy, Maguire, Gervase, Village C East, Dahlgren, Old and New North, Copley, and the DPAC) and the occasional parent looking to load/unload stuff from that level of Village A. You can't eliminate all service vehicle access entirely, so any result is going to look pretty much exactly like what it does now.
Not coincidentally, one change that would have a big effect on redirecting some traffic (specifically GUTS) from the residential core of campus around the Southwest Quad would be to build that loop road. Guess who is standing in the way of that?
Such a commitment would demonstrate GU's lip service to environmental issues and its consideration of the community's concerns
You can't really demonstrate lip service; by definition, lip service means talking the talk but not walking the walk. I think the university has walked the walk quite a ways, though there is plenty of room for improvement to be sure.
by Dizzy on May 13, 2011 1:43 pm • link • report
Topher and I are very involved in advocating for progressive transportation initiatives in Georgetown, and we can tell you that GU is not very involved. We were very involved with CaBi station locations, and DDOT was pushing GU for a deal and not the other way around. GU has not tried to advocate for the performance parking pilot that our ANC has pushed for, and has said to just give them updates from time to time. GU does not reach out to the ANC/CAG/BID to build coalitions on transportation issues - the ANC, CAG and BID (and Topher and I) do.
Furthermore, DDOT, in its rejection of the Campus Plan, said the GU hasn't consulted with DDOT at all on the DDOT-related initiatives GU discusses in their campus plan.
by Ken Archer on May 13, 2011 1:43 pm • link • report
by David Alpert on May 13, 2011 1:45 pm • link • report
You mean besides running its own buses that then get rerouted by the neighborhood? How much can the university do to promote transit if the neighbors (successfully) fight transit?
by EJ on May 13, 2011 1:45 pm • link • report
I read over the 2011-2020 transportation plan and agree that it doesn't read terribly much like a transit oriented plan. But really how much can they do? The solutions here never solve the underlying problem which is direct access to high volume transit. I'm sure georgetown would be happy to throw its support behind a heavy transit expansion into the neighborhood, but you fault them for not being involved in a meeting that they were expressly not invited to?
The best way to increase transit ridership without infrastructure improvement (by the city approved by neighborhood .. good luck) is to increase the efficiency and capacity of GUTS. re routing it to significantly increase travel time doesn't help, nor do neighbors that apparently are allergic to the sight/sound/smell of buses.
And while the on campus parking situation isn't optimal, they would never institute a prohibitive increase and i don't see the % of drivers effected by the marginal increase to be a terribly large % of the 3500 "peak time" parkers. And unfortunately GU is not overbuilding - their real peak of peak capacity needs come from move-ins, grads, and other events - the parking spaces are not going away.
Sorry for rambling, but it is a frustrating situation that I can't help but feel cynical about. If your argument is that Georgetown needs to aggressively flex political muscle above the heads of the ANC etc .. good .. i agree, but as evidenced from recent reports they don't have any pull right now. Basically i doubt the negative incentives of parking price increases to come any where near effecting a significant # of commuters without easier access to mass trans.
Also the mention of library walk ... i mean c'mon would you really say that a dead end 100m stretch of pavement significantly increases the amount of cars on campus. the only cars on that road now either will use it when its just an access road or are lost. Aesthetically absolutely it could be nicer (though as the previous poster said, im not much for hanging around on a 40% grade incline either) but that discussion is out of place here.
by paul s. on May 13, 2011 1:46 pm • link • report
Thanks for correcting me while ignoring my questions. I did look up the employment data though. I stand corrected. GW used to be DC's largest employer.
Largest employers in DC:
1: Georgetown, 2:GW, 5: Howard, 8: Fanny Mae, 13: GWHosp.
http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2011/02/14/News/Gw.Moves.Up.In.Employer.Rankings-3976792.shtml
Top 13 are all Unis their hospitals, and Fanny Mae.
Weird huh? ANCs all over DC are fighting with the largest non-government employers about student caps, invariably leading to less job growth at a time that DC unemployment is pretty high.
by Jasper on May 13, 2011 1:49 pm • link • report
GU does not reach out to the ANC/CAG/BID to build coalitions on transportation issues
Ken, the ANC and CAG view the university as the greatest threat to their neighborhoods since several dozen Soviet ICBMs were aimed at DC. They openly describe students in terms usually reserved for rodents and other pests. Do you really think the reason there's no relationship here is because the university is too lazy or disinclined to pursue dialogue?
by Dizzy on May 13, 2011 1:52 pm • link • report
by paul s. on May 13, 2011 1:53 pm • link • report
Having well-qualified staff who you can dedicate to spending all day working with neighborhood groups and DDOT to institute neighborhood performance parking - at best an extremely tangential task to a university's mission - is an expensive proposition. Given the current financial climate, with the university just now digging its endowment out from the 2008 collapse and still dealing with its status as one of the most expensive universities in the country, devoting a lot of resources to something like this would be a luxury. That doesn't mean its not worth pursuing - in an ideal world, I would love for the University to be leading the Charge of the Urbanist Brigade, but let's all remember that none of this takes place in a vacuum.
by Dizzy on May 13, 2011 1:57 pm • link • report
Is it possible that this is really about the authors' desire for the streetcar, and hope to get some help from the University on it, rather about than what really encourages employees not to drive?
Anyway, the University can't institute policies in its current plan which assume a street car which doesn't yet, and may never, exist. It's up to the city to build its streetcar, and then ask (or at that point, insist) that the university encourage its employees to take advantage of it.
by Paul on May 13, 2011 2:17 pm • link • report
When you factor in the free GUTS shuttle, it's not like the commercial district is super-accessible to transit and GU and GUH are out in the boonies.
Market-rate pricing for employees, or cash-outs for non-driving employees, are recommended by DDOT for employers in the District. Why does GU get a pass on this pretty fundamental principle of smart growth?
by Ken Archer on May 13, 2011 2:26 pm • link • report
What I really want is for GU Hospital to be able to serve many more patients than it does today, but it can't do that without more mode shift to transit.
by Ken Archer on May 13, 2011 2:30 pm • link • report
by Eric Weiss on May 13, 2011 2:37 pm • link • report
When you factor in the free GUTS shuttle, it's not like the commercial district is super-accessible to transit and GU and GUH are out in the boonies.
Market-rate pricing for employees, or cash-outs for non-driving employees, are recommended by DDOT for employers in the District. Why does GU get a pass on this pretty fundamental principle of smart growth?
Err, Ken, the free GUTS shuttle is a giant transit subsidy. GU and GUH are made accessible through this service, in a way that the rest of Georgetown is not.
Again, please tell me how you are calculating what you think should be the market-rate charge for parking in the Southwest Garage.
What I really want is for GU Hospital to be able to serve many more patients than it does today, but it can't do that without more mode shift to transit.
Plenty of room in those GUTS buses; the Dupont one drops you off right near the hospital, the Rosslyn one would drop you off there if that loop road could get built. However, there are many hospital patients for whom utilizing transit would constitute a significant hardship. Let's not be insensitive to that.
by Dizzy on May 13, 2011 2:37 pm • link • report
Many patients will have a hard time physically w/ transit options. For patients only (not visitors or staff) I think subsidized parking is appropriate. These folks are not in the hood to linger at Cafe Milano.
I do think these suggestions need to take into account the vastly different populations GU and GUH serve.
by Janice D'Arcy on May 13, 2011 2:48 pm • link • report
GUH patients will often have a hard time physically w/transit. For patients only, I think subsidized parking is appropriate.
Thanks for a thoughtful, thorough piece.
by Janice on May 13, 2011 2:56 pm • link • report
>>>many more patients than it does today, but it can't do
>>>that without more mode shift to transit.
You give no evidence that this is true, nor that any expansion the hospital would need to undertake in order to serve many more patients would be allowed. Can you ask the neighborhoods to signal their endorsement of many more patients?
I don't see why people don't approve of subsidies for visitors to patients. When I had to visit my son and my sister in the hospital, I would have been unable to manage the rest of my life (job, family) if I couldn't drive to see them and back in the early morning or evening. And in one case, market rates would have amounted to hundreds and hundreds of dollars over the course of treatment. The kindness that comes from this subsidy outweighs the harm to markets and the sensibilities of Georgetown residents, in my opinion.
You may say that other hospitals charge more, but that doesn't prove it is the right choice.
by Mythatwaswellargued on May 13, 2011 3:40 pm • link • report
Given the ANC's attitude to GU, I would think the best thing they can do politically is to oppose everything you suggest, if for no other reason than the ANC will then want it to happen.
@paul s.
That 300 number does seem fantastically low, though I imagine a good chunk of the 7500 GUTS ridership is students who wouldn't be eligible for Smart Benefits.
by Steven Yates on May 13, 2011 3:55 pm • link • report
Actually, here's an option that would probably both make GUTS more appealing to the neighborhood and increase transit access to the area -- let the public ride. If GUTS installed smartrip machines and charged $1, they might be able both bring in revenue to support the service and improve town-gown relations.
by reader on May 13, 2011 6:20 pm • link • report
Pretty sad commentary on DC when you look at the list of top 10 private employers. Fannie Mae isn't private.
I suspect the parking debate has nothing to do with efficiency. When I have to visit the hospital, I used street parking in Burleith and I suspect a lot of visitors do as well. The real agenda is more about getting rid of those visitors.
So, GU is guilty of NOT lobbying DDOT to get a streetcar down M St. Color me purple. That project is exactly how real?
by charlie on May 13, 2011 6:42 pm • link • report
I have an old proposal for what I call the University streetcar line, which on the western end extends the proposed crosstown line between Woodley Park and Brookland with legs to GU and to AU, but that doesn't provide the kind of service to the CBD area that the university may need.
Some day I will have to look at the campus plan zoning requirements. In Maryland, campus plans have to be updated eery 5 or 6 years, but they don't have to interface that much with the local jurisdiction, and the planning framework isn't particularly robust when it comes to transpo.
My experience in Baltimore County was that Towson did a great job and UMBC didn't. But it was luck more than anything, Towson is very committed to sustainability, which led them to do a lot wrt transpo, and as part of their planning team, they hired a good landscape arch. firm with a good approach to transpo, and the firm reached out to me. At UMBC, which isn't really by a town like TU is, they did their own thing, and the transpo consulting firm on the project--while capable of great work--only did what the client wanted, and didn't push them, and the institution didn't reach out to the county planning office during the process.
Probably DC needs to rethink the campus planning process, make the framework clearer, and build in requirements for TDM with a bunch of structure, to make it work better.
wrt reader's comment, I agree that private shuttle services like GUTS ought to be open access, but they can't be, because then they would have to be "common carriers." The alternative is that these services should be run by the local govt. or transit authority on behalf of the U, and in turn could then be open.
by Richard Layman on May 13, 2011 6:45 pm • link • report
by Paul on May 13, 2011 6:56 pm • link • report
by Recent Alum on May 13, 2011 7:45 pm • link • report
by David C on May 13, 2011 11:47 pm • link • report
by Synonymous Coward on May 14, 2011 12:14 am • link • report
As far as I know GUTS is only open to people with a GUID. This may also have to do with unfair competition with WMATA buses. However, GUIDs are only checked when there is a security situation. The days after 9/11. Or when an occasional VIP shows up on campus. Or when a particularly nasty crime has happened. Generally, if you say you forgot your pass, you get in anyway.
by Jasper on May 14, 2011 11:38 am • link • report
GU is always invited by the BID/ANC/CAG to all of their meetings. Residents renting to students are not an issue since it's actually illegal to discriminate. Unfortunately students do not have a choice and are basically forced to live in disgusting conditions. Homeowners cannot invest into keeping those houses up since students keep destroying them. And since when is the landlord responsible for picking up the trash?
No one in their right state of mind would ever even get near those student rentals. Those "homes" are health hazards and should actually be closed by the city. They effectively ceased to be part of the so-called housing stock and continue to grow, like a disease. The trend is the destruction of a neighborhood. All the talk about business, growth, employment is besides the point.
It's not the students fault. GU is trying to blame the students by trying to force them to behave like grown ups with sanctions, arrests, patrols, and the like. It's entirely GU's fault for not providing a decent housing choice and for enrolling more students than they are capable of managing. It's cheaper to put the burden on others and the whine that the neighbors are unfair. Please...
by StartMakingSense on May 14, 2011 1:52 pm • link • report
This also applies to other schools like GW and Howard.
by kk on May 14, 2011 3:38 pm • link • report
"GU is trying to blame the students by trying to force them to behave like grown ups with sanctions, arrests, patrols, and the like."
The students are grownups with the exception of the 17 year olds who enter as freshmen and the occasional 16 years old a college/university may have. Anyone that is 18 and older is a grown up and should act like one so why should they not be forced to act like one ?
by kk on May 14, 2011 3:44 pm • link • report
by Dizzy on May 14, 2011 4:41 pm • link • report
Yet the alphabet soups tries as hard they get around this "evil" legislation by enforcing student caps and mandating mandatory on-campus housing for all students.
Unfortunately students do not have a choice and are basically forced to live in disgusting conditions.
Students aren't forced to do anything. They are free people. They choose to live near campus. They choose to live in those "disgusting" conditions. They could also choose to live elsewhere. Many do. Plenty of students live elsewhere in DC or along the orange line.
Homeowners cannot invest into keeping those houses up since students keep destroying them.
Apparently, renting to students is still a profitable business, otherwise the landlords would stop renting.
The reason why some of these homes are a bit run down is because of the race-to-the-bottom that happens sometimes in the free market. Students want cheap rent, which gives competing landlords little money to maintain the houses properly.
No one in their right state of mind would ever even get near those student rentals. Those "homes" are health hazards and should actually be closed by the city. They effectively ceased to be part of the so-called housing stock and continue to grow, like a disease.
Aahhh, there we go again. You are effectively calling Georgetown students out of their right state of mind, and student houses a disease. So respectful and friendly. I can't imagine where the sour relations between students, the University and the neighborhood come from... It StartsMakingSense to me.
The trend is the destruction of a neighborhood. All the talk about business, growth, employment is besides the point.
I showed around some tourists from across the Atlantic last weekend, and they loved Georgetown. They skipped seeing part of the Mall for staying longer in Georgetown. I can not rhyme that with an image of a destroyed neighborhood.
It's entirely GU's fault for not providing a decent housing choice and for enrolling more students than they are capable of managing. It's cheaper to put the burden on others and the whine that the neighbors are unfair. Please...
I fail to see why universities are somehow required to provide for housing for all of their students. And I also fail to see why students should all choose to live on campus. Why do Americans want to lock students on campuses? Isn't college the time where you learn to stand on your own feet? How can you do that on a highly regulated campus?
In European cities students live in the city like all other free people. In fact, student neighborhoods are often highlighted in tourist guides are being vibrant and full of activity. Actually, very much like Georgetown is.
by Jasper on May 14, 2011 6:32 pm • link • report
I used to see many ANCs and Citizens Associations, including my own in Georgetown, as NIMBY strongholds that are obstacles to smart growth. I told David Alpert that engaging them, as he was doing, was a waste of time and we should be trying to discredit them instead.
David disagreed and argued that we should try to advocate via these organizations. I changed my mind and I (and Topher) are now on CAG's Historic Preservation and Zoning Committee (which used to consist of only Barbara Zartman) and attend every Georgetown ANC meeting lobbying commissioners on issues.
It's easy to reduce Georgetown ANC and CAG leaders to caricatures when you haven't seriously engaged them with an open mind and tried to understand their concerns and the history behind their concerns.
Here's the reality when it comes to transportation and the campus plan: Georgetown ANC/CAG has passionately advocated for the expansion of Circulator and CaBi, whereas GU has let DDOT come to them on transit. ANC/CAG opposed the creation of 1,000 more parking spaces in GU's campus plan because they said it would simply induce more driving instead of transit use. Georgetown ANC/CAG has pushed DDOT for a performance parking pilot for 2 years, and GU has said to simply keep them informed when things change.
Those facts don't fit the caricature of Georgetown ANC/CAG that many GGW commenters have. And citing positions that ANC/CAG have taken (like rerouting GUTS) with which we disagree doesn't suddenly make the caricature fit again.
Let's give credit where credit is due and critique where critique is due. If we reduce our opponents to caricatures instead of engaging them, then our influence and the size of our tent will be smaller than they could be.
by Ken Archer on May 14, 2011 8:14 pm • link • report
Or you could say that Georgetown solved its transit problem by creating its own transit system, in stead of bothering DDOT with it. A system that is consistently harassed by the ANC.
ANC/CAG opposed the creation of 1,000 more parking spaces in GU's campus plan because they said it would simply induce more driving instead of transit use.
Yet the ANC opposed higher fees for parking permits, going booboo that it would be too expensive.
Georgetown ANC/CAG has pushed DDOT for a performance parking pilot for 2 years, and GU has said to simply keep them informed when things change.
I am sure Georgetown U does not care much whether the neighborhood has performance parking or not, just like the neighborhood would not appreciate it if Georgetown U started meddling with the parking registration fees. As a long-time property owner, it is more than justified that Georgetown U is somewhat bothered by the fact that its neighbors tell it what to do on its property. Georgetown does not tell its neighbors what to do either.
It's easy to reduce Georgetown ANC and CAG leaders to caricatures when you haven't seriously engaged them with an open mind and tried to understand their concerns and the history behind their concerns.
Does their history go back before 1789? If not, their history gets trumped by Georgetown U's presence. Secondly, it is hard to take people serious when they say things like: There have been bricks through windows, cars keyed, you know many of them are single women and they're afraid. We're talking Georgetown here. The most prestigious neighborhood of DC. Not Ward 7 & 8.
I also wonder why people assume that students belong in dorms. What exactly distinguishes students from "normal" people"? Is there a difference between single women and single students?
by Jasper on May 14, 2011 9:04 pm • link • report
Based on the extensive coverage here on GGW, there is no other conclusion that ANCs and Citizens Associations around campuses, be it GU, GW, AU, UMD or GMU (did I miss anyone?) are NIMBY strongholds, despite the fact that the members of those organizations knew about the existence of the universities when they bought their backyards.
Some of the other ANCs may be functioning properly. But none of the ones near universities do. All of them flat-out ignore the interests of many of their residents. 30% of 'm in Georgetown, I hear in the clip above.
by Jasper on May 14, 2011 9:08 pm • link • report
Advocacy and dialogue are all well and good, but they're only useful if there is the possibility of progress or productive emerging from them. That is not the case here.
Believe me, I know all about their concerns and the history of their concerns. And it is clear that the totality of these has led them to conclude that they will no longer be negotiating in good faith. None of the compromises the University has put forward have been met with anything resembling compromise on the other side; if anything, the rhetoric has only gotten more vitriolic and the demands more unhinged from reality.
I'm glad that you and Topher are out there carrying the banner of transit and urbanism, but y'all are both smart enough to know that the Big Decisions are made above your paygrade.
You cite the support for the performance parking pilot: that's all well and good (though it is just a small trial program), but where do you think Jack Evans got the idea that all these parking measures should be torpedoed? The people and organizations with real money, power, and influence in Georgetown have Jack's ear, and they make sure he knows where they stand. A resolution of support is nice, but do you think the ANC or CAG are going to go to bat for this? I'm not holding my breath.
As for CaBi... hmm, let's take a look, shall we? http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/8300/georgetown-anc-debates-additional-cabi-stations-tonight/
Even though none of the homeowners felt strongly enough to subsequently attend an ANC meeting to oppose the Car Barn location, and I showed up and spoke in support of it, all but the GU student commissioner voted down the location.
That's some real fine work there
LouKen. It's true that they were later convinced (by you and others) to pass a resolution supporting some CaBi stations, but again, this is pretty small potatoes, not anything they're going to prioritize in any way.The fact of the matter is, it isn't me who is being selective here, but the ANC and CAG. They are all about appearing pro-transit and super concerned about traffic when it can be used as a cudgel against the University (e.g. the parking spaces). But it's not that they're opposed to parking spaces in general, or parking being made cheaper and easier (again, look at the message Jack's getting), it's that they're opposed to University growth period.
When being pro-transit does not serve that agenda, then it suddenly falls by the wayside (GUTS rerouting; opposition to Metrobus on any streets that aren't considered to be major thoroughfares like Wisconsin, K, and M; the reflexive opposition to CaBi in front of a University building). I'm happy for any pro-transit bones that they deign to throw - supporting the Circulators has certainly been welcome - but I know where their real priorities lie.
Last thing I'll say is about GU and performance parking: like I said, it would be great if the University could devote a full-time staff person to these sorts of causes, but given scarce resources and the fact that this wouldn't really affect the University directly, I can understand why it's not exactly a top priority. The ANC and CAG, by contrast, are supposed to be highly involved in such matters; after all, their jurisdiction is neighborhood wide, and this is exactly the sort of stuff they are supposed to weigh in on.
This whole conversation feels like it's taking place in some sort of alternate universe where the University is the bad apple that is causing all of this traffic and congestion and opposing sensible transit policies, while the neighbors are urbanist stalwarts. The reality is really the opposite. Not the exact opposite, perhaps, but enough so that it's really quite dissonant to spend all this time anguishing over the specks in the University's eyes while ignoring the planks in the eyes of the Pitchfork Brigade and their well-heeled benefactors and enablers.
by Dizzy on May 14, 2011 9:57 pm • link • report
by Richard Layman on May 15, 2011 9:08 am • link • report
by Jasper on May 15, 2011 1:11 pm • link • report
BTW: Where's Kara in all of this?
by Jasper on May 15, 2011 1:11 pm • link • report
You make many good and helpful points and I appreciate the kind words, as advocacy is time-consuming and generally thankless. Where I differ is in the characterization of the ANC and CAG leaders as simply closed to all reasonable dissent ("utter contempt for students", "unhinged from reality", "Pitchfork Brigade").
Here's what I have found - most people don't think of themselves as being for or against smart growth because they have never formulated any set of principles to guide their planning positions. This is in many ways a failure of DDOT in not educating local communities on transportation options, but simply pushing a plan and then folding when an ANC opposes it.
That's why our ANC and CAG are inconsistent in the positions they take, not because they are throwing bones to urbanists while advancing an anti-urbanist agenda. They have no agenda, because they just take issues as they come.
The truth is that there is no other ANC in the city that has passed a resolution asking for CaBi stations (and 4 at that) and no other ANC that has asked for performance parking that would increase meter rates and place meters on residential streets (including those around GU, which does make it something GU should advocate for). The ANC has taken some heat on the former and is definitely anticipating heat on the latter when it starts to happen.
Yes, they want buses out of the neighborhood, when transit has run in our neighborhood for over 100 years. Yes, the BID is pushing Jack Evans to reduce meter fees (though I plan for Evans to hear about that when he visits CAG this week). And yes the ANC pushes for Circulator stops at every block because there's at least one resident who wants it on every block.
How to explain the inconsistency? Again, no principles guiding their decisions on transportation. They take issues as they come, in my experience, just as most leaders of ANCs and Citizens Associations in this city.
Here's what I think is possible in the next 5 years in Georgetown.
If the ANC and CAG eventually made these 3 things happen in the next 5 years, yet didn't change their mind on any other transportation issues, would that be enough to merit your support of the Georgetown ANC and CAG? It would for me.
Why do I think these 3 things could possibly happen? First, because there is a boom in young families in Georgetown who are more progressive. They just haven't gotten engaged yet. Second, while no ANC/CAG leader supports all 3 of these things, support for any 1 of them can be found from some ANC/CAG leaders. (Again, inconsistency resulting from taking issues one at a time with no overarching principles or agenda.) Third, the students are planning a big voter registration push this Fall. If we can work with the students to broaden their agenda beyond defending Campus Plans (and in turn learn more about their on-campus priorities, as I have), they will be a major force in the city.
by Ken Archer on May 15, 2011 2:04 pm • link • report
Afterparty celebration at The Tombs, featuring catering by Philly Pizza.
by Fritz on May 15, 2011 2:06 pm • link • report
One last thought: It's because I see GU and the CAG/ANC as trying to do the right thing, but in an ad hoc manner having never been educated about smart growth principles, that I think they should be praised when they do deserve it and critiqued when they deserve it.
I've critiqued ANC/CAG at GGW on their streetcar and zoning positions multiple times, and commenters agree with me and pile on. Here I'm critiquing GU with Topher and Kara, and commenters are pushing back.
I just don't understand why GU gets a pass when GUH employees pay $68/month for parking and they have free bus service from 2 metro lines to work (GUH parking rates were part of the Campus Plan). Does 46% of employees driving alone to the largest private employer in the District sound like a major success in TDM, or would you say there is a lot more that GU could do?
by Ken Archer on May 15, 2011 2:21 pm • link • report
And why exactly would Georgetown U argue for performance parking off of their campus. How is that their business? Georgetown U is an education and research institution, in case you forgot. That's what they're focusing on. They're also focusing on getting their students and employees to and from campus in a geographically challenging area with cliffs, a river, steeps hills and neighbors that ... well, you know. So, again why the hell would Georgetown try to pay attention to what happens off campus, while they're getting nothing but resistance for what they're trying to get done on campus. Shouldn't they be focusing on campus first, before meddling in their neighbor's business?
If the ANC and CAG eventually made these 3 things happen in the next 5 years, yet didn't change their mind on any other transportation issues, would that be enough to merit your support of the Georgetown ANC and CAG?
You're writing a long critique of Georgetown U and now you're touting freakin' bulb outs that might happen in the future as an accomplishment of the ANC? Really, that's like Tim Geithner showing up on Capitol Hill being happy he found a fifty pence coin in the street, and has put it towards the British deficit. Utterly irrelevant.
Third, the students are planning a big voter registration push this Fall. If we can work with the students to broaden their agenda
To dilute their agenda, you mean. How about you let democracy do its work and let students have their rightful say as residents of Georgetown in stead of treating them as a special kind of people who need to be locked up on campus. I hope they succeed in their registration push, and blow away the old core of the ANC.
I just don't understand why GU gets a pass when GUH employees pay $68/month for parking and they have free bus service from 2 metro lines to work (GUH parking rates were part of the Campus Plan).
You do realize that a lot of GUH personnel does not work on regular 9-5 shifts, right? You do realize that a lot of them can only come to work by car because transit shuts down during the night. How would you like your 2 am emergency call be answered with "Sorry, the doctor can't come right now because metro is closed for the night"? And how do you imagine car pooling with emergency staff working? Do they have to wait under there are three emergencies?
There is a lot of GU personnel as well that works "odd" hours. Scientists that have over-night experiments. Technical personnel that needs to be on stand-by. Teachers that teach late night classes.
by Jasper on May 15, 2011 2:42 pm • link • report
;-) Good idea. But let's make sure the neighbors know that we're not students when we leave the Tombs singing loudly.
by Jasper on May 15, 2011 2:46 pm • link • report
Where I differ is in the characterization of the ANC and CAG leaders as simply closed to all reasonable dissent ("utter contempt for students", "unhinged from reality", "Pitchfork Brigade").
Then, respectfully, you haven’t been paying very close attention. I suspect that if these folks were making statements to the effect that you and people like you were destroying the neighborhood and the only solution was to evict you en masse from your homes, you would feel a little different.
That's why our ANC and CAG are inconsistent in the positions they take, not because they are throwing bones to urbanists while advancing an anti-urbanist agenda. They have no agenda, because they just take issues as they come.
I never said that they have an anti-urbanist agenda, just that claiming the pro-transit/pro-urbanist mantle is something that they do for show. Their real agenda is pro-themselves. That makes sense, of course (how could it be otherwise?), but in this instance they have defined their self-interest as categorically opposing University growth and student presence in the neighborhood. Any related issues have to be understood in this context.
The truth is that there is no other ANC in the city that has passed a resolution asking for CaBi stations (and 4 at that) and no other ANC that has asked for performance parking that would increase meter rates and place meters on residential streets
Not true. For CaBi, see http://anc3b.org/wp-content/uploads/7_2010-Capital-Bikeshare.pdf and for Performance Parking see http://www.anc6b.org/Res-Performance%20Parking%20Plan.html and http://www.dupontcircleanc.net/pdf/minutes/2009/june2009minutes.pdf (scroll down to “Resolution to ask DDOT to allow metered parking on the north side of the 2100 block of M Street.”)
I also can’t seem to find an ANC2E resolution in favor of performance parking. Could you send me the link?
including those around GU, which does make it something GU should advocate for
It’s hard for me to comment on this without knowing what streets we’re talking about here. Citation please? In any case, the effect on the University would likely be pretty small, given that almost all University vehicle traffic ends up in its on-campus garages and lots (as the neighbors insisted, since they didn’t want that traffic taking up their parking spots).
How to explain the inconsistency? Again, no principles guiding their decisions on transportation. They take issues as they come, in my experience, just as most leaders of ANCs and Citizens Associations in this city.
Right. They take issues as they come and see whether they will benefit or detract from their way of living. Performance parking? Well, that’s a wash, since it doesn’t affect residents with RPPs. So that one is left for the community activists and business interests to fight over (guess which side I see winning that one). Increased price for RPPs? Oh hell no! CaBi? Well, once they were convinced it wouldn’t lead to increased “noise,” they dropped their objections (after initially raising the specter of our of control student biker hooligans). Buses? Keep those things on the commercially zoned streets where they belong! Etc.
So while bulbouts and brick crosswalks won’t impinge on them too much, I don’t foresee your first two possibilities happening any time soon. Especially since, as I’ve said before, the big ticket decisions aren’t made by you or “young families in Georgetown who are more progressive” or students who will remain largely outside of the DC electorate (and the current Georgetown powers that be have every reason to keep them that way). They’re made by those with major financial stakes and their allies.
I just don't understand why GU gets a pass when GUH employees pay $68/month for parking and they have free bus service from 2 metro lines to work (GUH parking rates were part of the Campus Plan). Does 46% of employees driving alone to the largest private employer in the District sound like a major success in TDM, or would you say there is a lot more that GU could do?
There certainly is more than the University could do, and there are discussions to be had about what the University can/should be do to further encourage transit use or can/should do to discourage/effectively prevent employees from driving to work. However, this is an odd time to have those discussions, given that they’re not part of the Campus Plan, not part of the neighbors’ objections to the campus plan, not really part of DDOTs recommendations on the campus plan (Topher noted that DDOTs comments in this regard were either vague, weak or illogical), and the measures in question are internal administrative policies that do not have to involve the Campus Plan or any outside body or agency.
Furthermore, Jasper already noted why those numbers can be misleading. This is particularly true in the case of the Hospital, but it applies more broadly: the University is a 24/7 operation, and transit share during normal commuter/rush hours is far higher than those numbers imply. I should also point out that the measure that would have the greatest immediate effect on this figure – greatly expanded weekend GUTS service – is violently opposed by the neighbors on noise/traffic grounds.
One last thought: It's because I see GU and the CAG/ANC as trying to do the right thing, but in an ad hoc manner having never been educated about smart growth principles, that I think they should be praised when they do deserve it and critiqued when they deserve it.
That’s fine in theory, but in practice it’s a little strange in the context of the Campus Plan battles. What we’ve ended up with here is:
- GU submits Campus Plan
- Neighbors submit a variety of outrageous demands
- OP and DDOT submit incredibly illogical and problematic reports on the Campus Plan
- Ken, Kara, and Topher post an article that is basically a wish list of on-campus parking and road design items that the authors want the university to adopt
There’s a discontinuity here. Your “student ghetto” piece, as deeply misguided as it was, at least addressed a (nay, THE) core concern of the Campus Plan debate that is the dominant issue at hand. The recommendations in this post are basically irrelevant to that debate: if the University adopted every single recommendation in here, would the ANC, CAG, or BCA change their minds about the Campus Plan? Absolutely not. Would they compromise in any way? Given their past reaction to University compromises, it is evident that they would not.
So what we’re left with is, at best, a rather oddly timed piece that is completely tangential to the real decisions being made and, at worst, a red herring that piles criticism on the University at a time when it and its dependents are under a strident assault from forces that are far less progressive and are happy to use any and all ammunition against the University to their advantage.
by Dizzy on May 15, 2011 8:12 pm • link • report
Debate points awarded to Dizzy and Jasper on the topic for throughly refuting the proposition put forward by Archer et al.
Afterparty celebration at The Tombs, featuring catering by Philly Pizza.
I do have many fond (albeit rather hazy...) memories of Philly P, back in the days before they made their fateful move and were quickly drawn and quartered. For a Tombs celebration, though, I'd probably go with the calamari. I'm partial to the Southwest Chicken Salad, but that's too hard to share. They have Star Hill on tap now - so exciting!
by Dizzy on May 15, 2011 8:21 pm • link • report
So while bulbouts and brick crosswalks won’t impinge on them too much, I don’t foresee your first two possibilities happening any time soon. Especially since, as I’ve said before, the big ticket decisions aren’t made by you or “young families in Georgetown who are more progressive” or students who will remain largely outside of the DC electorate (and the current Georgetown powers that be have every reason to keep them that way). They’re made by those with major financial stakes and their allies.
Your comments are helpful and challenging, but I simply disagree with them. I believe we can get market-rate meters in the neighborhood and dedicated transit lanes on M Street in the next 5 years. And when it happens I'll expect a meal from you at a far better restaurant than The Tombs.
The performance parking pilot talks have been behind the scenes (thus no links for you) between ANC and DDOT, with the support of BID. The ANC commissioners are committed to it.
As for dedicated transit lanes, it will happen precisely by leveraging the attitude you describe ("Buses? Keep those things on the commercially zoned streets where they belong") along with the specter of repeating the Georgetown Metro disaster again by placing Streetcar on K Street where it would be used less instead of M Street (wireless streetcar on M would require dedicated lanes).
if the University adopted every single recommendation in here, would the ANC, CAG, or BCA change their minds about the Campus Plan?
No they wouldn't, but as Topher has pointed out the audience all year has been OP, ZC and DDOT, not the community organizations. DDOT agreement is required to get your Campus Plan passed, and I think that DDOT should be asking GU to consider the measures we propose (particularly employee parking rates).
What Topher, Kara and I are also doing here is trying to enlist GU's help in advocating for smart growth in Georgetown so as to shift the fundamental balance of power that you are pointing to. Wouldn't that be a good thing? As it is a couple dozen employers that are a tiny fraction of the size of GU and GUH have more influence and engagement with DDOT than do GU and GUH.
I would love to have the support of the city's largest employer, as well as 1,000 registered student voters, when advocating for dedicated Streetcar lanes on M Street to at least the Car Barn. And that is in GU's interest, as it will reduce the transportation burden they have to bear. As it is now, Jack Evans and DDOT have no clue where GU and their students stand on such issues.
So what we’re left with is, at best, a rather oddly timed piece that is completely tangential to the real decisions being made and, at worst, a red herring that piles criticism on the University at a time when it and its dependents are under a strident assault from forces that are far less progressive and are happy to use any and all ammunition against the University to their advantage.
I can understand that one's feelings about the on-campus housing issue can shape one feelings on all other issues. I can understand this from GU's supporters and from the residents.
The reality is that these are separate issues and GU should be doing more to promote transit amongst its employees, as you concede. I don't see the fact that GU may be more progressive than the community on transportation as giving them a pass on $68 monthly parking on 46% employees driving alone. Our timing in writing this post is unrelated to OP's report on housing (this post was written before the report came out) and is more focused on what happens over the next 5-10 years than what happens in the next month.
by Ken Archer on May 15, 2011 9:29 pm • link • report
by KevinM on May 16, 2011 9:17 am • link • report
Hmm. When said employer is in an area not served well by the local subway system, I'd say that is a big success.
by charlie on May 16, 2011 10:08 am • link • report
Philly P! I loved that place when I was a student. Too bad Phil Storrels and the ANC buried it (holding a little celebratory press conference to boot).
@Ken/Topher:
If you want students to consider the ANC as receptive to concerns of the whole community, you have to recognize how acivities like this undermine your relationship.
As it is, it's impossible for a lot of students to take you seriously as pro-transit when their ilk forced GU to re-route its Dupont GUTS shuttle by the cathedral (making a 10 minute trip into a 40 minutes during rush hour). This is a huge burden on student trying to get to internships in between classes. I read this article with the ANC's anti-GUTS history as context in mind, so this all just came across as opposing GU for the sake of opposing GU. Are you really pro-transit AND anti-GUTS?
It's entirely possible that the Kens and Tophers really believe that they want what's best for students, and that they want they want to work in good faith with the univesrity. But the decennial, predictable blanket opposition to campus plans, the history of anti-GUTS efforts, and gloating of Starrels after killing a favorite student hangout, and the frankly offensive rhetoric against any and all students living outside of a convent all reek of bitter hatred for the school for which their neighborhood exists. And all those activities only make life harder for students, whether intentionally or not. Don't want students to think you hate them? Stop giving them reasons to believe you do.
by Ronald on May 16, 2011 10:14 am • link • report
The performance parking pilot talks have been behind the scenes (thus no links for you) between ANC and DDOT, with the support of BID. The ANC commissioners are committed to it.
So, to be clear, when you said "there is... no other ANC that has asked for performance parking that would increase meter rates and place meters on residential streets," you were referring to invisible, behind-the-scenes asking, rather than an actual resolution or public statement of support.
I'm seeking clarification because just today, Topher describes the effort to bring performance parking to DC as "stalled."
No they wouldn't, but as Topher has pointed out the audience all year has been OP, ZC and DDOT, not the community organizations. DDOT agreement is required to get your Campus Plan passed, and I think that DDOT should be asking GU to consider the measures we propose (particularly employee parking rates).
If you're referring to this post ( http://georgetownmetropolitan.com/2011/04/07/whats-really-going-on-with-gus-campus-plan-changes/ ) Topher doesn't mention DDOT. In fact, neither DDOT nor OP approval is required, although they can "greatly influence" the Zoning Commission.
More to the point, if you think DDOT should be asking GU for something as part of the Campus Plan process, shouldn't you be directing your proposals to DDOT and not Georgetown? I think OP and DDOT have, with their shoddy reports on the matter, proven themselves to be ill-equipped for serious discussion on this topic, but that would seem to be the way to go if you're trying to actually effect change instead of merely air criticisms or throw out wish lists.
What Topher, Kara and I are also doing here is trying to enlist GU's help in advocating for smart growth in Georgetown so as to shift the fundamental balance of power that you are pointing to. Wouldn't that be a good thing? As it is a couple dozen employers that are a tiny fraction of the size of GU and GUH have more influence and engagement with DDOT than do GU and GUH.
In the current climate and for the foreseeable future, the fastest way to sink pro-transit urbanism (or just about any issue) in Georgetown is to have the University be seen as a vocal proponent of it. That fundamental balance (I would say imbalance) of power is not going to change overnight if the University finds the money to create a couple of staff positions dealing with neighborhood transportation issues. Unless you think the University should start funneling campaign contributions and cutting deals and favors with politicians, that dynamic will not be changing.
As it is now, Jack Evans and DDOT have no clue where GU and their students stand on such issues.
Nor do they particularly care. As has been said over and over again, "it's not like the university can pick up and leave." Because it can't leave, can't downsize and relocate DC operations to any meaningful degree, and can't lobby in the same manner that others can, GU's influence is and will remain much smaller than its footprint would suggest.
I should add here that the ANC et. al. objected to students being allowed to testify at the Zoning Commission hearing last week. So I think it's pretty safe to say that they give not one whit about where students stand on such issues.
I don't see the fact that GU may be more progressive than the community on transportation as giving them a pass on $68 monthly parking on 46% employees driving alone.
You haven't addressed any of my or Jasper's substantive points on parking rates or that 46% figure, so it's impossible for me to engage on what constitutes "giving them a pass" here.
Our timing in writing this post is unrelated to OP's report on housing (this post was written before the report came out) and is more focused on what happens over the next 5-10 years than what happens in the next month.
Well, this post cites and links to the OP report in its introduction - in the second sentence, no less - which rather strongly implies that it is written with the OP report in mind.
I stand by my point: this is very odd timing for a "what happens over the next 5-10 years" post, considering that events over the next few months may render all of it moot.
What do you think the University's capacity and inclination for transit promotion is going to look like if it is suddenly forced to build over a thousand spaces' worth of housing in the span of a couple of years or else see its enrollment slashed? How focused can the University be on bringing improved transit to Georgetown if it finds itself (per the neighbors proposal) barred from acquiring any new property in 20007, meaning that any growth would have to take place elsewhere?
It's hard to engage in smart growth if your proposals for growth of any sort are met with uncompromising resistance, and even the previous accepted and agreed to status quo is now declared unacceptable and calamitous. And it's even harder to then turn around and engage with the people behind that resistance to convince them that they should support measures that will interfere with their comfortable status quo.
by Dizzy on May 16, 2011 11:28 am • link • report
Be careful not to point out Ken's inconsistencies too much, or he might start ignoring you as well.
by Jasper on May 16, 2011 12:53 pm • link • report
by tom veil on May 17, 2011 10:25 am • link • report
by David Alpert on May 20, 2011 9:16 am • link • report
"Personal attacks?" There are several glaring inaccuracies in this post, and I simply requested that actually fact check your posts before your run them. Your answer? Censorship. Clearly you have no interest in editorial integrity. If you want people to take this blog seriously, you need to improve its standards. Until then, it will simply be the ignored musings of irrelevant people. Now remove this comment, too.
by Asuka on May 21, 2011 1:29 am • link • report
by D on Jun 6, 2011 6:14 pm • link • report
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