Posts about Georgia Avenue

Let's fast-forward past the opening and imagine the streetscape after a concert ends. Hundreds of patrons spilling out onto Colesville, making their way to cars, Metro, or crossing the street to head into the downtown or hopefully, Fenton Village south of Wayne for an after-concert bite or beverage. (Yes, there is nightlife in Fenton Village—two of my favorites are Jackie's and the Quarry House.)

The concert-goers have two intersections they might cross: Colesville and Georgia or Colesville and Fenton. Both have recently been redone (one of them twice), and the result is the usual type of crosswalks.

But let's consider a different type of crosswalk. Something new (but actually old) that engages the pedestrian, giving him or her priority over the cars. Consider an intersection that actually makes the pedestrian feel secure. One that reduces apprehension about crossing a downtown street, where most of the cars are intent on just getting through the intersection to get somewhere else.

Should this be our priority? Helping cars move through our downtowns faster so they can get somewhere else? Or should we be focused on the people who want to stop, visit, patronize our businesses or enjoy our markets, events or meet friends? Can we do both?

Believe it or not, the Fenton/Colesville intersection was once just like the intersections that are all the rage in cities like London, where pedestrian traffic and motor car interactions are in constant conflict. This intersection was a "scramble intersection." When the light went red for cars, it went red in all directions. Then it was the people's turn to take priority to move through the intersection. You could walk in any direction in crossing. You could walk at 90 degrees, or even 45 degrees, to avoid crossing to the other side, then again to get to the opposite corner.

Implementing a scramble is about a shift in priority from autocentric to pedestrian- and bike-centric movement. It's a simple and very efficient way of moving people and cars, and we used to do it.

This approach can work in many places here. Think about Rockville Pike a few years from now when the White Flint plan begins to become reality. We could create a pedestrian environment shared equally with cars.

Consider the many intersections in MoCo where this approach could be beneficial for people walking, in wheelchairs, on bikes, as well as in cars.

We are working on some designs in downtown Silver Spring, close to our offices, like at Fenton and Colesville, where this approach makes a lot of sense. If we could transform one or two intersections into a great multi-use intersection, maybe we could resurrect the model that MoCo had at one intersection so many years ago.

Imagine that Live Nation event emptying out onto Colesville, where hundreds of patrons will safely move south into the downtown. Beyond the post-event traffic, the hundreds of people who cross this intersection every day could do so safely, without the apprehension of conflicts with turning vehicles, cars running red lights, or crossing the street twice to get to the opposing corner.

This solution doesn't cost a lot. In fact, it makes the curb design simpler and only requires some changes to signals. And it removes street clutter. As we complete these designs, we will try to build a constituency to implement these at strategic intersections around the county.

This intersection above is at one of the busiest intersections in downtown Toronto. Where not only motor cars, but the subway and streetcar lines all converge. Count the streetcars moving through the intersection. Watch the crowds crossing in all directions then the cars. Unseen is the subway below. At any point in the day there are huge crossings of people and all types of vehicles.

The County is moving forward with some exciting new strategies for infill growth. We can bring our infrastructure along to help us realize the visions expressed in our plans for major intersections in places like Takoma/Langley, Long Branch, White Flint, and in our busy downtown areas. It is time to rethink how we do pedestrian infrastructure to complement our planning visions.

Crossposted at the Director's Blog.

Many neighborhoods talk about how they want a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, or in many cases even any grocery store. But then, at the same time, they oppose new housing in the neighborhood because of fears of traffic (or crime, which makes absolutely no sense since more people being around reduces crime).

The Trader Joe's moved in to the West End while the West End was dramatically developing. Whole blocks of formerly light industrial uses were turned into fairly high density residential buildings (high density for DC, not for most other cities). In Logan Circle, the Whole Foods moved in knowing that substantial development was planned or already underway in the immediate vicinity.

In Cleveland Park, there are constant debates about the health of the commercial strip and the overlays that limit restaurants in an effort to attract more non-food establishments. But the real reason there aren't more non-food establishments is that there aren't enough people. If the long-ago proposal had gone forward to turn the Park and Shop strip mall into some tasteful larger buildings, similar in size to others on Connecticut Avenue, instead of landmarking the thing, Cleveland Park could have more of what it wants.

It's simple. Unless your neighborhood is in the process of growing rapidly, it's unlikely to get more retailers and probably not the kind you want. Most of the time, the retail market is close to an equilibrium where the number of retailers matches the demand for retail in that area. Only when a neighborhood is gaining population is the time ripe to add more.

Once upon a time, the commercial corridors thrived without this added housing, except for two factors. First, family sizes were substantially larger, and a typical single-family house might have parents, 3-4 kids and even some relatives living there. Now, family sizes are smaller, but many neighbors also fight proposals to allow basement or garage apartments, even though those would simply restore the numbers of people that the house used to hold.

Second, people shop more online and more in suburban big box centers. That's not going to change. Bringing big box retail into DC, as these Wal-Marts do, might keep more of the tax dollars from big box shopping in DC, but won't create healthy neighborhood shopping corridors.

Neighborhoods can either stay the same size, and see local retail gradually decline as online shopping grows and DC adds big box stores. Or, they can add enough new residents to support new retail options. Most of us prefer the latter. Some people, though, want to stop new residents but also have the retail. That's completely unrealistic.

Lydia also reports that the last act of the lame-duck ANC 5C, which includes Bloomingdale, was to oppose Big Bear Cafe's request to change its zoning to commercial. Since several new, more retail-friendly commissioners are joining in the new year, there's a good chance they will quickly reverse course, and even so, the Zoning Commission is unlikely to heed this last gasp stance against change.

I live near Mt. Vernon Square and take the 70 line with some regularity and offer the following observations.

One of the reasons for poor on-time performance is the sheer length of the line. If a local bus leaves Buzzard Point or Half & O SW, it takes well over an hour to reach Silver Spring. It hits a number of different traffic choke points en route, compounding delays and causing bus bunching.

The local bus base service is scheduled every 12 minutes between Archives & Silver Spring and about every 24 minutes on the stretch from SW to Archives. There is slightly more frequent service during peak periods. In addition, a Circulator route parallels the line from SW to 7th & P NW from 7 am to 9 pm with 10 minute service.

Why not retain route 79 in its present Metro Extra form so those traveling longer distances don't have to transfer, but break up local route 70/71 into two segments: one from SW to Georgia Ave/Petworth (under 50 minutes) and the other from Petworth to Silver Spring (under 30 minutes)?

Instead of trying to run a schedule, dispatch the buses every 10 minutes on the local lines. Meanwhile, maintain the scheduled operation on the Metro Extra service and for the local service during the early morning, very late night, and Sunday service when it runs less frequently. Eliminate this relatively lightly used Circulator route in favor of 10-minute frequency Metrobus service on a longer stretch from SW to Petworth.

General Manager Sarles had proposed using some bus restructuring savings to pay for improvements throughout the system. One place that was slated to get improvements was Route 79, which was to get two dedicated line supervisors to help with maintaining schedules.

Why not implement this and equip the supervisors with GPS tracking equipment and direct radio contact with the bus operators to maintain spacing on both local and Metro Extra service? Why not use the current strategic buses at Silver Spring, Georgia Ave/Petworth & Archives to help maintain spacing when delays occur? Why not experiment with a reduced fare on the newly split Metrobus lines to see if ridership increases?

The line already has some signal priority intersections designated for Route 79 and a decent bus lane northbound on 7th Street in the downtown area. The TIGER grant will add more signal priority and a short bus lane near Florida Avenue.

Service reliability could be further improved by adding a flow directional bus lane between Florida Avenue & M Street NW during peak periods, eliminating parking on one side of the street during the rush. Also, buses should be allowed to drive on 7th Street instead of detouring with other traffic during Verizon Center events, perhaps at a 5 mph speed to keep the road comfortable for pedestrians.

Another choke point occurs during the pm peak northbound between the Walter Reed site and the District line. Perhaps a northbound peak period bus lane would help on that stretch as well.

The 7th Street line originated as a streetcar line and retained its productivity when converted to buses. Before the inner Green Line segment opened, the Georgia Avenue/7th Street line was recovering nearly 90% of its operating costs during the weekdays. A little creativity, some good analysis, a little paint, some cooperation between DDOT and WMATA, and a will to try some changes could go a long way toward returning this corridor to a model for other major arterial bus lines.

The bio-retention ponds are not permanent water features. They will collect some of the stormwater runoff to lessen the volume of water entering the city's treatment system. In times of low precipitation, the areas will serve as green space.

In examining the plans, in addition to the textured crosswalks, intersections will have the pedestrian area bumped out making the roadway narrower and giving walkers a less obstructed view of traffic. Corners will also get curb ramps.

Depending on location, sidewalks will consist of either brick, concrete pavers, permeable pavers, or concrete. The park areas will largely consist of brick walkways, whereas the high traffic area around the Metro station at Georgia and New Hampshire Avenues will use two types of concrete pavers laid down in a decorative pattern. The Metro site, as well as the space on the northeast corner of New Hampshire and Rock Creek Church Road, is also one of several areas scheduled to get additional trees.

The project will consist of roughly three phases starting at Webster Street and working south. The first phase now underway is the conduit work. This is estimated to reach the southern end of the project in about three to four weeks. When it is completed, work will move to the east side of Georgia, starting again at Webster and moving south to Otis Place, constructing curbs, landscaping, street lights, and other enhancements. Then, the process will be repeated on the west side of Georgia Avenue once again at Webster. According to DDOT, working in this manner is the most efficient and the least disruptive to the community.

The experience in Portland where they installed a similar system with 55 intersections on a single route may provide some insight. They not only added signal priority, but included special lanes, curb extensions and stop relocation. The Portland pilot routes experienced a 10% reduction in travel time in the peak period, peak direction and an 8-10% improvement in on time performance.

They found that they had to analyze mounds of data and do an intersection by intersection analysis to determine the correct signal phasing and stop location. They found that similar appearing intersections are not similar at all. They found that close cooperation between the staffs of traffic and transit agencies was an absolute necessity and found that the process is incremental and takes time to reach the final objective.

The 7th Street and 9th Street bus lanes also provide lessons. The lanes are not well designed. It is not clearly marked where cars are permitted to enter the lane to make right turns. Bus lane signage prohibiting autos could also be improved.

Enforcement has also been poor to nonexistent. The District needs to pass a specific ordinance to prohibit cars from bus lanes and it needs to settle on enforcement mechanism(s), such as cameras mounted on bus shelters similar to speed and red light cameras, or assigning of ticket writers specifically to enforce the lanes.

The 9th Street lane has been largely a failure due to very few buses using the lane, poor lane design and no enforcement. In contrast, the proposed ¾-mile stretch on I Street from 13th to 19th St NW has an average of 30 buses per hour and the time savings per bus would be close to 3 minutes per bus. With good enforcement and design, an I Street lane could make bus travel much more pleasant and speedy while saving money at the same time.

In 2005, the D.C. Preservation League (DCPL) Landmarks committee was advised that the theater building had been sold, but that its historic features would be incorporated into a condominium project. Yet, in 2007 a demolition permit application had been filed. At that point the Georgia had seen better days. A truck had rebounded from a collision earlier that spring damaging the corner of the building and causing the developer to opt for demolition rather that incorporating the theater into the project.

DCPL negotiated an agreement in 2007 with the developer to "carefully dismantle the façade of the building and move it to a secure location for storage during construction. Before dismantling, it [was to] be documented through measured drawings and/or photographs sufficient to accurately reconstruct it. Elements of the façade to be restored for reinstallation include[d] the sign; the brick piers, front wall, and parapet; and the metal frieze, cornice, coping and all decorative elements. In addition, the missing finials, seen in the original permit drawings [were to] be reinstalled in cast stone or a similar material. All materials removed [were to] be repaired and reused, not replaced."

As 2010 began the new structure appeared to be complete with the exception of the façade. Should the community fight to have this historically significant façade returned to Georgia Avenue? What do you think?

This station would lie about halfway between Takoma and Fort Totten, which are just under two miles apart. It would directly serve the Blair Road retail corridor, and if placed on the southeast side of Kansas Avenue, the New Hampshire Avenue corridor would be directly served as well.

What makes this site particularly amenable to a transit station is the plethora of suitable approaches. Peabody Street heads west and in less than a mile hits Georgia Avenue in the Vinegar Hill/Fort Stevens area. New Hampshire and Kansas Avenues head southwest into the heart of Petworth, an important neighborhood in the heart of northwest, densely populated and undergoing a true renaissance. New Hampshire Avenue also heads north through Takoma Park towards Langley Park, and this new station could serve as a hub for bus lines along New Hampshire.

Blair Road already connects this area to the Takoma station area, and linking transit-oriented developments can have a synergistic effect on the areas, like along the Orange Line in Arlington or the downtown areas in DC. To the south, Blair Road becomes North Capitol Street and crosses Riggs Road/Missouri Avenue near Fort Totten, another area which is rapidly growing.

As Takoma and Fort Totten grow with more walkable, transit accessible developments, a station placed in between them could induce a string-of-pearls transit-oriented development environment that could become the focus of the northern part of the District, improving transit accessibility and the potential for growth and development. And it could be done without spending a single dime laying more track.

I imagine the first criticism of this station would be that it increases the time it takes to get downtown. For some, yes. However, there is an express train from Silver Spring to Union Station known as the MARC Brunswick Line. For many residents in Lamond Riggs, Manor Park, Takoma, Brightwood, and Petworth, it will most certainly shorten the amount of time it takes for them to get downtown.

However, considering the benefits of added growth and increased economic viability, adding one or two minutes to get downtown might be worth it. It certainly was at the New York Avenue station, which opened just six years ago and has induced billions in economic investment, even during troubled economic times.

What would this station be called? Track Twenty-Nine suggested "Kansas Avenue" some time ago, however I am partial to naming it after the neighborhood, Lamond-Riggs, or perhaps Fort Slocum after the nearby park and Civil War fortification. Though perhaps not well known right now, Lamond-Riggs has the potential to become a keystone for development along the northern edge of the District.

Crossposted on Imagine, DC.