Posts about Minnesota-Benning Project

Roads

Ask Kwame Brown to maintain public access in downtown Ward 7

by David Alpert   •   October 1, 2009 10:31 am

This afternoon, the DC Council Committee on Economic Development will decide whether to give Donatelli Development an entire large parcel at the corner of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road for free, or whether to give them almost all of the parcel while maintaining a public right-of-way around the perimeter for a future road connection and a reasonable Community Benefits Agreement.

In the last few years, DC acquired this prominent parcel at the intersection often called "downtown Ward 7." The DC government originally planned to construct municipal offices on the site, but then decided to offer the parcel for private development. The 2006 Comprehensive Plan recommends focusing development in Ward 7 at this corner to create a large-scale "regional center," the only one east of the Anacostia River. As such, projects in this area need good urban design, good quality, and community benefits. They should also comply with the longer-term plans for the area, including the Minnesota Avenue Great Streets Plan, which calls for a future road connection adjacent to the railroad tracks, connecting the Metro station to the Benning Road viaduct.

This road connection would reduce conflicts between cars and pedestrians, bicycles, or a future streetcar at this heavily used corner, and make it possible for the intersection to become a great "neighborhood gateway." ANC 7D passed a resolution calling for the project to move forward, but with the right-of-way reserved and a community benefits agreement. Unfortunately, Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander has decided to put the developer's pressure ahead of the neighborhood's longer-term interest, and won't push for the road.

Kwame Brown, the Chairman of the Economic Development Committee and an at-large Councilmember with possible Mayoral aspirations, has the opportunity to block the land disposition agreement today and ask for a public right-of-way to be added. Reserving the land won't stop development here. It'll just make it better, and ensure that Ward 7 residents can enjoy a vibrant and safe local center once this and other projects come to the area.

Please contact Brown at (202) 724-8174 or Twitter him @KwameBrownDC.

Roads

Minnesota-Benning road connection would substantially cut traffic

by David Alpert   •   August 19, 2009 2:41 pm

DC economic development rep Ayris Scales claims that a planned road connection around the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road is a "road to nowhere." But according to a traffic study prepared for DDOT, the connection will meaningfully relieve traffic congestion in the area. It'll also make the main intersection safer by lowering the numbers of cars competing with pedestrians, bicycles, and buses.

Road connection from DDOT's Great Streets plan.

DC Councilmember Mary Cheh, who chairs the committee responsible for selling or giving away public land that DC doesn't need, raised questions at a July hearing based on testimony from local residents, citywide groups and a Greater Greater Washington article. DC purchased parcels at the northwest corner of Ward 7's main crossroads, originally for a government building, then decided to give the land to private developers for housing and office space.

DDOT's Great Streets plan included a recommendation to run a street around the back, from the Metro garage to the Benning Road viaduct over the railroad. The CityInterests plan, one of two finalists, included the road, while the other, from Donatelli development, did not. DMPED chose Donatelli, and has now been lobbying against the connection.

According to the traffic study (large PDF), cars today experience 101 seconds of delay at the intersection in the morning peak. Without changes, the study estimates that will rise to 136 seconds by 2025 with the new development, but the road connection would cut that to 84 seconds. That means the connection would save about 17% today and 32% in the future. The difference is even starker in the afternoon peak: delay is 94 seconds now and will rise to 124 by 2025, but would decline all the way to 48 if DC built the connection. In other words, traffic would be 2½ times worse at the Minnesota-Benning intersection without the road than with.

Of course, vehicular LOS is not the only factor on which to base transportation decisions. The study also computed pedestrian level of service, and the road improves that as well. Unfortunately, the scanned copy I have does not show the pedestrian chart with enough detail to make it out clearly. It is clear that some areas do change from E or F (red) to other letters (black), however. Update: Pedestrian LOS, like vehicular LOS, also doesn't measure the most important factors. Ped LOS just determines how crowded the sidewalk is, not the safety of the intersections or whether pedestrians have to walk long distances out of the way. The apartments could have an entrance facing the back road, allowing pedestrians and bicyclists to walk or ride from the development across the Benning viaduct without going all the way around.

If the main intersection is too harrowing, bicyclists trying to head north or going to the Minnesota Avenue Metro could take the back road. Giving cars an alternative could make it easier to give the many buses that traverse the main intersection a little more space. And as some suggested in the comments on the earlier post, the new connection might also be helpful for streetcars, depending on how DDOT ends up designing the eastern end of the H Street-Benning Road line and its connection to the Minnesota Avenue Metro.

DMPED is arguing that the land is "surplus." Of course, they also argued that it had been "blighted" and "long abandoned," yet the African Heritage Dance Center had happily operated there until the DC government evicted them to clear the land for the development. This doesn't sound like surplus land.

Fortunately, keeping the land isn't incompatible with letting the project go forward. At a July 31 community meeting, Donatelli told the community they could work the street into the plan, "to Scales' vocal disagreement." The Council is only permitted to approve or deny the land transfer, but DMPED should stop fighting against their own city's interests and resubmit the land disposition request with a right-of-way or easement reserved for the road connection.

Development

Reserve public land for a street connection at Minnesota and Benning

by David Alpert   •   July 7, 2009 1:20 pm

The DC government is getting ready to sell give Donatelli Development a large parcel of land, at the corner of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road, for a mixed-use project at the site. This project will help revitalize Downtown Ward 7, moving the area one step closer to a lively, walkable, mixed-income neighborhood center next to the Minnesota Avenue Metro station. DC should move forward with the sale, but should also reserve some land at the edge for the future street connection recommended by the Minnesota Avenue Great Streets plan.

Aerial view of the Minnesota Ave-Benning Road intersection. Image from bing.

The parcel is on the northeast corner (top center in the above image), with a large surface parking lot and several low buildings. DC originally bought the land from multiple individual landowners to construct a "Government Center" with buildings for the Department of Employment Services (DOES) and Department of Human Services. They are moving ahead with the DOES building, between the Metro garage and Minnesota Avenue (the tan parcel in the upper right of the photo), but decided not to build Phase 2, the Human Services facility at the corner of Minnesota and Benning, and bid it out for development instead.

Donatelli and Blue Skye Development won the RFP, which includes retail, community space, affordable housing, and some market-rate housing. A "retail incubator" will help retail businesses get started.

However, the current plans do not leave room for a road behind the project, adjacent to the Metro tracks. The Minnesota Avenue Great Streets plan suggests extending the current road from Minnesota to the Metro garage around to the Benning Road viaduct, creating a new intersection, and then down again on the other side.

This project would relieve traffic at the busy intersection of Minnesota and Benning, and make it easier to add pedestrian amenities and longer crossing times at the city's most dangerous intersection for pedestrians. For those concerned with vehicular Level of Service, the connection would also improve traffic congestion, reducing the Minnesota/Benning intersection from LOS F to D, which is the difference between jammed and moving.

Proposed new road connections to the Benning Road Viaduct.
Image from DDOT's Minnesota Avenue Great Streets plan.

DC doesn't have the money to construct this connection right now, but they will one day. DC needs to reserve the ability to build the connection in the future. Unfortunately, ODMPED has not pushed for this. According to ODMPED Project Manager Ayris Scales, the connection was "merely an option" in the RFP and "not a requirement" of the Great Streets plan.

Tomorrow evening, the DC Council will hold a hearing on the formal land disposition for this project. They should agree to the sale, but retain a public right-of-way at the edge of the site for this connection. Since it should become a road, they could certainly let Donatelli use that right-of-way for access to parking or loading docks.

The DC government bought the land from private owners for the purpose of making public use of the property. Selling it back Giving it away to one private owner with a provision that ensures public access to the small piece we'll need one day helps to justify the public's role in buying and selling the land. Furthermore, the site already has a public alley, which Donatelli will need to close. Taking away one public right-of-way in the middle of the property while reserving another at the back benefits the overall project while maintaining the public access we need.

Councilmembers Kwame Brown (At-Large) and Mary Cheh (Ward 3) chair the two committees holding tomorrow's hearing. Email kbrown@dccouncil.us and mcheh@dccouncil.us to ask them to approve this sale but reserve a public right-of-way at the edge of the site for this future connection. This is the best way to maximize the future potential of Downtown Ward 7, reduce congestion, and improve pedestrian safety at the same time.

Update: The original version erroneously said that DC was going to sell the land. Instead, they are giving it away for free and receiving more affordable housing in exchange. That means that DC is not foregoing any potential revenue, except possibly some small amount of future tax receipts, by slightly narrowing the disposition.