Mount Pleasant - Greater Greater Washington

Can DC decouple growth and "parking pressures"?

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:40:00 EDT

Councilmember Tommy Wells re-introduced legislation this week to let a developer of a new building promise that tenants can't get stickers to park on neighborhood streets, if they choose to offer such a guarantee to neighbors. Would this alleviate the parking angst that erupts over nearly every development project, like ongoing controversies in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant?

Harvard Street in Columbia Heights. Photo by Kent Boese.

In Tenleytown, the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) supported a new building with no underground parking last year, on the condition that new residents not be able to get residential parking stickers. That was fine with developer Douglas Jemal, but government agencies may not enforce this provision, leaving it entirely to the private agreement between Douglas Development and the ANC.

Neighborhood opposition to growth often revolves around traffic and parking. Even if a developer wants to market a new building to car-free and car-lite new residents, people worry that residents will bring cars anyway and park them on the street.

Building underground parking isn't a solution, either, because some people will still park on the street to save the monthly garage fee, and that underground parking means a lot of cars which add to traffic.

Just look at this message on PoPville's forum, from a resident in Columbia Heights. Some people have been double parking on Harvard Street, stopping emergency vehicles from getting through. Clearly, people should not double park and ought to get tickets, but the resident then went on to use this case to argue against a parking-free condo project:

The reason I'm asking is that a developer is seeking to build an 8 unit apartment building on Harvard Street, NW and they are asking the board of zoning to waive the parking requirements to have parking for their building. We submitted over 70 signatures and 10 letters of opposition today, but apparently the planning department is planning on supporting this application.
It is my feeling that worsening the parking problem on Harvard street will effectively cut off access to local hospitals for residents in Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia Heights, and will make it impossible for the fire trucks in Adams Morgan to help out at fires east of 16th street.

It's not possible to solve a double parking problem by ensuring that there are 8 more parking spaces off street. The only solution, as many commenters pointed out, is to ensure that we enforce the double parking rules so that parked cars don't block emergency vehicles. Still, we know that the prospect of more residents makes people worry that parking on the street will get harder.

Meridian Hill Baptist Church. Photo by Mr. T in DC on Flickr.

Not far away, Mount Pleasant ANC Commissioner China Terrell worries about a development project at the former fire-ravaged Meridian Hill Baptist Church:

[The developers] want to build 75 condos in the church (mostly 1-bedroom units), with no on-site parking. Instead, homeowners would have the option of leasing parking spaces at DC USA in Columbia Heights. When this plan was introduced at the May 21 ANC meeting, residents were not supportive for obvious reasons. Increased parking and population pressures? The residents said no, thank you.

DC USA is just about 2 blocks from the church, so actually, parking off-street in that garage is probably a shorter walk than trying to find an on-street space in the neighborhood at busy times, where you might circle for a while and end up as far away.

It's bad policy to require parking in every new building, like the Harvard Street condos and this church, but it's also understandable that residents would worry about the impacts. There's an existing shared resource that's often scarce. People are used to consuming that resource.

One solution is to ensure that new growth doesn't impact the resource. We want new residents, but don't want parking pressure. Just like it doesn't affect neighbors whether a new building has a fitness center or not, or whether there are 2 bathrooms for 2 bedrooms versus just one, Wells' bill could let parking be another issue that's up to the building and its tenants rather than a neighborhood impact.

It ought to be a basic value we all share (though not everyone does) that we want to welcome new people into our neighborhoods. New residents mean more vitality for local businesses, more tax revenue to shore up our city's budget, more people on the street to make neighborhoods safe.

Some people are nervous about treating new residents differently from existing residents. Why should one group of people get to use the public space and not others, they ask? We already give existing residents a break on property taxes, for instance. On the other hand, we shouldn't say that new residents can't use a public park, or send kids to a school, even though sometimes people oppose adding neighbors because they fear those resources will get more crowded as well.

Unlike those, however, driving is just one of several methods of getting around. In a place like Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights, there are many other alternatives, like Metro, buses, bicycling, and more. Some people still need to drive, but it's very reasonable to internalize that cost. If you want to drive, you will have to rent a place with a parking space, or rent a separate space at DC USA, or otherwise provide for this just as you pay for your bathroom space.

Wells' bill might not eliminate all opposition to growth. People will still also say they don't want to have to look at buildings, or don't want population in general. But trouble parking seems to be the biggest fear residents have from most projects. It doesn't need to be.

114 comments

And...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:35:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Higher speed limits come to the ICC this weekend, saving drivers a whopping 90 seconds. (Post) ... 10% of Mt. Pleasant homes have solar panels. (Grist) ... WMATA will run late service Thursday night for the NCAA Sweet 16. (NBC)

Comment

Successful speed cameras require fair speed limits

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:04:00 EDT

by Jack McKay

Underlying the current discussion of speed cameras is the assumption that speed limits are rationally set, presumably by expert traffic engineers and safety officials. This assumption isn't necessarily valid, and a speed camera set up in conjunction with an irrationally low speed limit will be a problem.

Porter Street. Photo by the author.

The principal guide for setting a rational speed limit is the 85th-percentile speed of traffic. On "the theory that the large majority of drivers are reasonable and prudent, [and] do not want to be involved in a crash," the speed limit is "generally set at the nearest 5-mph increment at or below the 85th percentile speed." (See the 2006 DDOT Speed Study.)

Are there exceptions to this guideline? Yes, "an agency may choose, on the basis of one or more of these data"—that is, accident or crash histories for the location—"to post a speed limit that is slightly lower than the 85th percentile." [emphasis added]

Now, an example, namely Porter Street/Klingle Road between Cleveland Park and Mount Pleasant. This looks like a bit of interstate highway plunked down in the middle of the city, evidence of a long-forgotten plan to make Piney Branch Parkway into an inner-city crosstown highway. It's a four-lane divided roadway, limited access, no residences, no businesses, no crosswalks, no cross traffic, and it's no wonder that drivers speed up at this point, not because they're crazy speedsters, but because the road is clearly built for higher speeds.

The 85th-percentile speed for this road is 41 mph, as indicated by the 2006 Speed Study Map. Hence, the speed limit should be 40 mph, or maybe, if we're being conservative, 35 mph. But in actual fact, the posted limit is 30 mph, which is more than "slightly lower" than the 85th percentile. It comes as no surprise that the speed camera placed at this location has been a bountiful source of speeding tickets.

The MPD belatedly argues that "there is a lot of pedestrian and bicycle traffic accessing the park" here. But there's no bike lane, no sidewalk on the north side ("Pedestrians Prohibited" is posted), and the sidewalk on the south side is virtually covered by vegetation. These are indications that pedestrian access is, to say the least, discouraged. As for bicyclists, as one of that tribe, I can say that this is one of the most bicycle-hostile locations in the city, and not because of traffic speed, but because of road design.

So, is the 30 mph speed limit appropriate? There's no apparent justification for such a large deviation from the 85th percentile speed. In fact, just to the west of this location there are apartment houses and parked cars and driveways, and traffic speed there might be expected to be a greater concern than down where this "highway" opens up. But that's not where the speed camera is pointed, suggesting that the MPD is not really interested in the safety of residents, but in issuing lots of $125 speeding tickets.

The speed camera wouldn't matter if the speed limit were reasonable. Nobody can complain about a ticket for going much over the 85th percentile speed. The problem is not the speed camera, but the unreasonable speed limit, such that that 85th-percentile driver would, in this case, be exceeding the posted limit by a solid 11 mph.

So one has to wonder about other speed-camera locations in the District. The question is not the speed camera, but the appropriateness of the speed limit where the camera is located. Anyone defending a speed camera at a certain location should begin by confirming that the speed limit at that location is reasonable.

85 comments

Outrage against enforcement is unsafe at any speed (Sep 22, 2009)
Lower camera fines? Sure, once we have more cameras (Feb 22, 2012)
Speed limits don't match road designs (Mar 23, 2009)
Speed kills. Traffic cameras save lives. (Mar 27, 2012)
Lower speed limits, wider lanes won't fix the GW Parkway (Jul 2, 2008)

Residents stuck in limbo

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:42:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

A black hole in the ground awaits new construction to replace apartments lost in a 2008 fire. The city promised funds and is supporting the residents, but support will soon expire and the funds have not yet materialized. (Post)

Comment

A new West End Library is a good deal for DC (Jan 6, 2012)
DC Council: Don't choose parking meters over people (May 18, 2011)
Chapin Street rezoning requested for affordable housing (Nov 17, 2009)
Wheeler Terrace: a step in the right direction in River East (Jan 23, 2009)
More underutilized parking in Columbia Heights (Jun 20, 2008)

Neighborhood concrete problems get fixed

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:41:00 EDT

by David Alpert

The Republic of the Congo has begun removing its unauthorized paving at the insistence of DDOT and the State Department, and DDOT restored a pedestrian walkway on Irving Street after residents complained. Let's thank our public officials for getting these small but important neighborhood issues fixed.

Over at 16th and Corcoran, the Congo had a deadline of December 17, Saturday, to de-pave the front yard of the Toutorsky Mansion they made their embassy earlier this year. On that day, Dupont Conservancy member Rich Busch took the below right photo of crews removing the concrete.

Left: Front yard after paving. Right: Crews removing paving. Photos by Rick Busch.

DDOT sent the Congo and the State Department a letter a month ago, finding that the paving violated DC regulations. That was the basis for the State Department's follow-up letter telling the Congo to take the paving out.

Another successful fix comes from Mount Pleasant, where ANC commissioner Jack McKay alerted us recently to a change that had destroyed the pedestrian walkway along Irving Street. This section, where Irving climbs from Adams Mill Road along the edge of Rock Creek up into the neighborhood, has high-speed traffic and no sidewalk.

McKay wrote,

...that bit of road is also a vital pedestrian link between a bus stop and the Harvard Towers, a 193-unit DCHA structure housing mostly the aged and the disabled. Being aged and/or disabled, the residents mostly take the bus, and for years walked in the street, into oncoming traffic, to reach this bus stop.
But in 2006 the Mount Pleasant ANC persuaded DDOT to build a temporary barrier of jersey wall, creating a safe pedestrian passageway to that bus stop. (The ANC also purchased a bench for that bus stop, which DDOT installed so that those folks would no longer have to sit on an uncomfortable guard rail while awaiting the bus.)
Initially there was a series of posts in the street to guide drivers away from that jersey barrier and into the traffic lane. The posts gradually vanished, amputated by careless drivers. That left the jersey wall barrier exposed in the street, with only the post mounting hump remaining to direct cars away from it.

Recently, the jersey barrier was moved over, creating a less crash-prone arrangement for the speeding cars but blocking the path for pedestrians.

Left: Blocked pedestrian walkway. Right: Walkway restored. Photos by Jack McKay.

Was this a misguided DDOT crew thinking they were making the road "safer"? We don't know, but after being alerted to the situation, DDOT restored the jersey barriers to their correct spots and added one of the sand-filled crash barrels.

This stretch of road still feels like a highway, and crash barrels are more usually seen on high-speed highways than local streets, but making the roadways in and around Rock Creek Park more hospitable to all modes is a longer-term issue that will involve additional significant changes from both DDOT and the National Park Service. Meanwhile, it's great that residents can at least walk safely to their bus stop.

16 comments

Congo embassy paves over front yard, breaking promises (Sep 21, 2011)
State Dept. tells Congo to remove unauthorized paving (Dec 5, 2011)
Delegate Frick sees issue on GGW, writes letter to NPS (Mar 18, 2009)
Day pass program helps residents, protects businesses (May 11, 2009)
Klingle: Even more cars in Rock Creek? (Mar 25, 2008)

Everyone doesn't love a party

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:20:00 EDT

by Jamie Scott

Some Mount Pleasant neighbors are unhappy with Fiesta DC, the annual Latino cultural festival. One ANC commissioner says the organizers didn't communicate or organize well and weren't prepared to clean up afterward. (DCist)

Comment

Residents want ped and bike Mount Pleasant Street (Dec 17, 2009)
Day pass program helps residents, protects businesses (May 11, 2009)
Temporium does more for Mount Pleasant than years of VAs (May 9, 2011)
For ANC in Ward 1 (Oct 29, 2010)
For ANC in Ward 7 (Oct 26, 2010)

Walk sign means walk with caution

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:05:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A DC resident takes special care crossing streets, especially after her family witnessed several driver-pedestrian collisions. (Atlantic Cities)

Comment

Pedestrian killed on Connecticut Avenue (Oct 2, 2008)
Pedestrian hit at Comet Square; driver "cited with a violation" (Feb 4, 2009)
Police report for Connecticut & Nebraska crash (Feb 4, 2009)
Bus driver hits jogger, maybe while turning (Sep 3, 2009)
MPD unsuccessfully pursued charges in October 2008 death (Mar 25, 2010)

How to draw ANC lines?

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:59:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Should H Street be united under one ANC? How far east should the ANC containing Shaw extend? Should the area southeast of the Capitol join 6D over the freeway or should Near Southeast unify with Barracks Row? Hill East become a new ANC? What about a new Park View/Howard/LeDroit ANC? Or Adding Mount Pleasant to Adams Morgan's?

Comment

And...

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 08:21:00 EDT

by Jamie Scott

Cities in the UK have a creative way to show how many bikes fit in a parking space (The City Fix) ... Maryland governor Martin O'Malley will introduce a bill legalizing gay marriage (Baltimore Sun) ... The National Building Museum is opening a photo exhibit that explores DC neighborhoods ... Arlington deciding what to do with last remaining dairy farm (WAMU).

Comment

Maryland creates "Clean Energy Center" in auto-dependent location (Apr 2, 2009)
Join GGW at Anacostia Community Museum & Art Gallery (Jun 15, 2011)
Lost Washington: Thompson's Dairy (Sep 7, 2010)
Midnight swim in the Flickr pool (Jul 16, 2010)
Martin O'Malley for Maryland Governor (Oct 22, 2010)

BZA might reread library plans

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:43:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment, with its new member, may block the expansion of the Mt. Pleasant Library. DCPL is expected to take the board to court if that happens. (City Paper)

Comment

A bicycle but no racks at Benning Library (Jun 3, 2008)
Library victory in Shaw, Brooklanders still fighting for trees (Aug 29, 2008)
Cheh, Brown ask to shelve Tenley library PPP (Oct 29, 2008)
Open DC's neighborhood libraries on Sundays (Dec 11, 2010)
Life, liberty and library parking (Jun 5, 2008)

Temporium does more for Mount Pleasant than years of VAs

Mon, 09 May 2011 11:02:00 EDT

by Natalie Avery

The success of the Mount Pleasant Temporium and the battles to clamp down on liquor licenses in Mount Pleasant illustrate two opposite approaches to community development and commercial revitalization: one positive and constructive, one negative and limiting.

Photo by mckone.jonna on Flickr.

During the month of March, nearly 6,800 people, mostly from Ward 1, visited the Mount Pleasant Temporium, a "pop-up shop" featuring local artisans and performers and funded with a small grant from the DC Office of Planning. Volunteers organized the shop, planned events and promoted it through marketing. The 24-day pop-up shop rang up a whopping $31,000 in sales.

During the same period, the city's ABC Board, the body that grants and revokes liquor licenses, announced three landmark decisions. They released three restaurants from their "voluntary agreements" with a small group of activists, ending a six-year legal battle.

Mount Pleasant has housed an array of artists, musicians, bands, and arts groups. Why for so long did it seem that revitalization has passed Mount Pleasant Street by? The activism behind the now terminated-VAs represents part of the problem, and the Temporium represents part of the solution.

In both cases, a small group of motivated residents turned their attention to the neighborhood's commercial corridor. And in both cases, the city intervened to help them, but with vastly different results.

During the Temporium's 23-day run, over 50 volunteers donated a total of 850 hours of time to the month-long pop-up shop and program of events. Local businesses offered space, free advertising and supplies worth thousands of dollars. The Temporium's success delivered what the best marketing campaign couldn't buy: living proof that creative daytime retail can be successful in this off-the-beaten-path neighborhood.

The Temporium capitalized on a key quality of urban living and created an outlet for some of the more scrappy and local forms of culture and entertainment that happens in the city. Its organizers understood that people love living in cities not only because of the convenience of living close to downtown or because of bike lanes, green space, and transit, but because of the rich and multilayered social opportunities and cultural venues available close to home.

A 2008 Knight Foundation study found that most of its 46,000 respondents chose the availability of spaces for socialization and entertainment venues as the most significant qualities connecting them to their urban neighborhoods.

The Temporium organizers tapped into people's hopes for Mount Pleasant. It brought not only the kind of business mix they want to see, but the kind of community and local culture they want to foster. They partnered with restaurants to publicize and cross-promote the project and the neighborhood. Local DJs, performers and musicians were included and valued.

This approach to community economic development on Mount Pleasant Street stands in stark contrast to the activism behind the now-terminated VAs. Instead of building on their hopes for the neighborhoods, the small group of activists behind the VAs focused on what they most feared: "becoming another Adams Morgan."

Among their chief targets were business models that blurred the boundaries between restaurant, bar, and nightclub. The liquor license protest process provided a powerful tool, not so much to manage issues like noise and trash, but to preclude this allegedly "community unfriendly" hybrid business model.

The liquor license protest process enabled a few neighbors to impose rules through "voluntary" agreements which made it very difficult for most local establishments to operate legally outside the rubric of a traditional sit-down restaurant.

For example, some of the Mount Pleasant VAs strictly prohibited happy hours, even though few people find them disruptive. All Mount Pleasnt VA's also forbade places from offering live music and dancing. VA activists put these restrictions in place, they said, to protect "quality of life" and to keep Mount Pleasant Street from becoming a nightclub district.

But for many Mount Pleasant residents, neighborhood restaurants were much more than places to purchase meals or grab drinks. They were gathering places and cultural venues. The fact that these places blurred the lines between restaurant, bar, and club was what made them so valuable and what fostered such a strong sense of community in what was once DC's most economically and culturally diverse neighborhoods.

Therefore, a large number of people felt the VA restrictions, especially the ban on live music and dancing, cut them off from a unique aspect of Mount Pleasant community life they once treasured: evenings spent at little restaurants listening to mariachi bands and other local musicians.

Lilo Gonzalez performs at a Don Juan's family night, April 26th, 2011.

The VA terminations didn't just happen. It took a grueling seven-year grassroots campaign to reconcile businesses with a few skeptical, but vocal, neighbors.

It's important to note that the whole effort was as much about creating more venues for music and culture as it was about building capacity among local operators to better manage potential negative impacts. Residents seeking to overturn the live music ban worked with businesses to help them plan proactively to minimize potential negative impacts, especially around noise and crowds. Those licensees who wanted out of their VAs conducted noise assessments and implemented sound management plans. Their staff attended extensive trainings in security and responsible alcohol service.

This is just one reason why there was poetic justice when the VA terminations and the Mount Pleasant Temporium coincided. Both show that there is a willingness to work on a civic agenda that's built on hopes for a neighborhood commercial strip as well as one that values, rather than fears, what "entertainment" and communities more traditionally associated with nightlife can bring to the table. The Temporium organizers tapped into this energy. The activists behind the VAs rejected it.

Moving forward, other agencies should follow the Office of Planning's lead and invest political capital into helping neighborhoods attract the kind of community-friendly investment and foster the civic energy that will make DC neighborhood's both more vibrant and livable. Instead of codifying the fears of self-selected neighborhood gatekeepers into the law, we need city leaders to invest in better ways to manage, plan and police mixed-use neighborhoods so they can be both vibrant and livable.

50 comments

The Temporium: An experiment in urbanism (Mar 4, 2011)
Where to put the noise? (Mar 27, 2008)
The plight of the blight: River East liquor stores (Jul 10, 2009)
Balancing 17th Street's retail: a moratorium, parking policy, or something else? (Feb 3, 2009)
The neighborhood retail conundrum (Jul 1, 2008)

The Mount Pleasant riots

Fri, 06 May 2011 08:46:00 EDT

by David Alpert

20 years ago, Mount Pleasant erupted in riots after an African-American police officer shot a drunk 30-year-old Latino man. Latinos in DC continue to struggle with relations with police to this day. (WAMU)

Comment

Residents want ped and bike Mount Pleasant Street (Dec 17, 2009)
Temporium does more for Mount Pleasant than years of VAs (May 9, 2011)
Can Mt. Pleasant parking be pleasant but fair? (Sep 18, 2009)
What could fix Mount Pleasant's commercial street? (Aug 12, 2009)
Where should the Latino museum go? (Jul 16, 2010)

Scenes of Washington: Mount Pleasant storefronts

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 11:56:00 EDT

by M.V. Jantzen

1 comment

Residents want ped and bike Mount Pleasant Street (Dec 17, 2009)
Scenes of Washington: Georgetown corner stores (Feb 20, 2011)
What could fix Mount Pleasant's commercial street? (Aug 12, 2009)
Can Mt. Pleasant parking be pleasant but fair? (Sep 18, 2009)
Scenes of Washington: Protests (May 9, 2010)

The Temporium: An experiment in urbanism

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:16:00 EDT

by Dan Malouff

Have you ever looked at a storefront that's been empty a long time and wondered why it couldn't be filled, at least temporarily, by a small local business?

Photo by Kevin H. on Flickr.

After all, nobody benefits when a storefront sits empty too long. The property owner isn't making any money, potential businesspeople aren't operating their business, and neighborhood residents have fewer shopping options and have to travel farther for them.

Unfortunately, it's common practice for property owners to charge such high rents that it can take a long time to find a tenant. Months, even years sometimes. This is especially true for new buildings, and for buildings developed by large-scale corporations (which can eat the losses from an empty lease if they need to).

Amidst all those empty storefronts, however, are hundreds of small local businesses that would love to occupy a retail space, but can't afford the asking prices for a lease in a good location.

Why not let small businesses use some of these spaces on a short-term basis at reduced rent, while deals with longer-term, higher-paying tenants are being sought?

DC rowhouse print for sale at the Temporium.

Actually, there's no real reason why not. That's exactly the premise behind the Mount Pleasant Temporium, a pop-up retail store selling goods from 30-some local businesses that don't have stores of their own.

The Temporium is a project by the DC Temporary Urbanism Initiative, which seeks to promote economic development, incubate local businesses, and activate underused commercial properties. It's an absolutely fabulous idea that benefits just about everyone, and should be emulated across the city.

The Temporium is at 3068 Mt. Pleasant Street and is open 2-7 pm, Monday through Friday, until March 13.

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

21 comments

Some restaurant limitations aren't all bad (Apr 8, 2010)
What could fix Mount Pleasant's commercial street? (Aug 12, 2009)
14th and T heading toward big-box furniture (Oct 25, 2008)
Balancing neighborhood retail, part 2: Incentives and supply (Apr 30, 2009)
Day pass program helps residents, protects businesses (May 11, 2009)

And...

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:42:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

Metro's PIDs are having some major issues these days. (TBD On Foot) ... Mount Pleasant will get some pop-up urbanism in the form of a Temporium opening on Friday. (We Love DC) ... The proliferation of chain stores continues in Columbia Heights. (TBD)

Comment

Metro will open an hour early on "Black Friday" (Nov 24, 2008)
Entire level of DC USA garage has never been used (May 29, 2008)
Mid-city renaissance thanks to Metro (Apr 7, 2008)
Will Columbia Heights inevitably subdivide? (Apr 17, 2009)
Jim Graham's northern Circulator (Sep 11, 2008)

And...

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:13:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Mt. Pleasant will get a "temporium," or temporary retail space for local artisans occupying a vacant storefront. (Prince Of Petworth) ... Rogue States has reached a deal to reopen under its smell-related injunction (DCist) ... NASA envisions small "pocket airports" linked by low-noise, low-emission "Suburban Air Vehicles" (Gizmag via Planetizen) ... A physicist devised mathematical equations to model cities. (NYT)

Comment

For ANC in Ward 1

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:21:00 EDT

Ward 1 is DC's densest, and gentrifying row house neighborhoods make up the majority of the ward. Retail, parking, and transit are all key issues in its numerous commercial corridors, and local ANCs play a big role.

ANC 1B will be losing one of the city's best ANC commissioners, Brianne Nadeau, who turned a commission that faced financial irregularities into a solid neighborhood organization. Plus, she pushed hard to extend the 15th Street bike lane northward into her Meridian Hill Park district of 1B05, one of many great examples of how an ANC can be a very positive force in its community instead of either obstructing or doing nothing.

1B02 covers the east side of 14th Street above and below U. Incumbent Peter Raia has worked very hard for the neighborhood, but has been too obstructionist on business growth in the area. While Aaron Spencer seems like a good candidate, we prefer Tucker Gallagher, who lives car-free and talked about promoting a neighborhood that's lively 18 hours a day.

Incumbent Deborah Thomas has strong respect from her constituents in 1B04, centered around 14th and W. She has worked hard to represent the many residents of her district, including families, seniors, and lower income people, who are able to stay in the community despite the economic pressures toward displacement.

She is a single mother, and gives a voice to groups who are underrepresented in traditional community structures. ANC 1B and the residents of the neighborhood benefit from participation. Her opponent, William Girardo, would probably also make a fine commissioner but has few neighborhood accomplishments on his resume.

We support Brittany Kademian in her challenge to Juan Lopez for 1B07 northeast of Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park. Residents and even the manager of a condo building association in the district say they were unfamiliar with Lopez. His partner also filed a challenge to Kademian's nominating petition.

Meanwhile, Kademian herself wants to raise the accessibility of the ANC in the area, tutors local students, bicycles and supports a bike lane on 14th north of U, wants improved lighting to reduce crime, is passionate about the environment, and more. Plus, she has gotten the greatest number of commenters to vouch for her in our discussion threads.

To the east, RT Akinmboni (1B08) has been a positive influence on the ANC; her opponent, Ahnna Smith, is a Teach for America alum new to the neighborhood who we hope to see get more involved in local advocacy.

We support Lauren McKenzie in the open seat in Pleasant Plains' 1B09; the other candidate, Shahrzad Rastegar, does not seem to have any email address listed or any information online.

Bill Brown, the commissioner of 1A06 east of the Columbia Heights Metro, is excellent, serving on the DC Pedestrian Advisory Council and bringing his strong passion for pedestrian issues as well as his expert grasp of other topics to his role on the staff of presumptive Council Chairman Kwame Brown.

We are very excited that contributor Kent Boese is running (unopposed) in northern Park View's 1A08. In the central Park View 1A09, Sam Moore is challenging incumbent LaKeisha Thomas. While Thomas is not ANC 1A's best most thoughtful commissioner, her experience going to school in and living in the neighborhood is valuable, and she wants what's best for the neighborhood.

Moore seems very promising and supports transit and smart growth, but we're a little nervous about the way he said he'd fight a Starbucks on Georgia Avenue when Georgia needs whatever successful coffee shops it can attract and ANC commissioners need to avoid the temptation to micromanage their commercial corridors too much. We hope Moore stays involved as well.

In Park View's southernmost district, 1A10, Howard student Jonathan Madison deserves the seat over longtime incumbent Lenwood "Lenny" Johnson. Madison has shown a tremendous amount of energy in this race by attending block parties and knocking on doors. Johnson, meanwhile, has often been divisive and is seen as something of a loose cannon. He forwards private disputes to the Columbia Heights listserv and long refused to register a firearm.

We've heard good things about both Jose Sueiro and Olivier Kamanda, vying to succeed Bryan Weaver in the central Adams Morgan district 1C03. Kamanda, a former Hillary Clinton speechwriter and journalist, has Weaver and ally Mindy Moretti's support, while some other 1C Comissioners are behind Sueiro. Sueiro has been a good problem solver in his role as head of the Association of Park Road Businesses, but made some troublesome comments about parking at a Columbia Heights performance parking meeting. Therefore, we give the edge to Kamanda.

In Mount Pleasant, a number of commissioners are not running for reelection. Phil Lepanto, an excellent commissioner who is very supportive of non-automobile options, is sadly not running again, but supports Ben West as a write-in in his district, 1D01. China Terrell, a staffer for Tommy Wells, also will be a promising addition to the commission, replacing outgoing Commissioner Dave Bosserman in 1D05.

Laura Phelan is the only name on the ballot in 1D02, a small district at the northeast corner of the neighborhood. Phelan is well-liked and will make a good commissioner to replace Oliver Tunda, who is also not running again. Phelan faces a write-in from Adam Hoey of Mount Pleasant Main Street, but we think Hoey can best serve the neighborhood by continuing in that role.

In 1D06, along the neighborhood's southeastern edge, John Craig is running as a write-in against incumbent Angelia Scott, who rarely attends meetings and is not often reachable. She served briefly as chair but gave up because it was too much of a time commitment. Craig, who wants to reform the ANC's transparency and work better with business, would do better.

Gregg Edwards (1D04) is an extremely smart person who has a number of very clever ideas to address neighborhood problems. However, sometimes he lets the value of his particular idea interfere with the pragmatic need to build consensus and community. He and fellow Commissioner Jack McKay promoted a great "pedestrian encounter zone" plan for Mount Pleasant Street, but which in practice mostly served to threaten progress on other street improvements for which Mount Pleasant Main Street had already secured grant money.

Edwards also stands up strongly for the proper role of the ANC, which by law deserves "great weight" from city agencies. That is usually interpreted to mean that, at the very least, agencies must respond in writing to points made by the ANC, though often they do not. Edwards is right about the proper role, but his zeal to push this process often again interferes with moving issues forward in the neighborhood, and has often led to tension when other groups take the initiative.

Phil Grenier, who has worked with Mount Pleasant Main Street, would be more pragmatic and we support him. It's too bad this race has gotten framed as businesses versus residents and especially lower income residents, since a thriving business corridor in Mount Pleasant would benefit all residents.

35 comments

For ANC in Ward 5 (Oct 27, 2010)
For ANC in northern Ward 6 (Oct 28, 2010)
For ANC in Ward 7 (Oct 26, 2010)
For ANC in Ward 2 (Oct 25, 2010)
For ANC in Ward 3 (Oct 26, 2010)

Both exits are pleasant

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:13:07 EDT

by David Alpert

Metro has added signage in Columbia Heights Metro pointing to Mount Pleasant and Pleasant Plains, at Jim Graham's request. It's better than renaming the station "Columbia Heights-Mount Pleasant/Pleasant Plains," though DCist wonders if it could confuse some visitors by not including both street information and neighborhoods in one sign. Should Petworth get a sign pointing to Park View? (DCist)

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Business cuts tree

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:58:42 EDT

by David Alpert

Haydee's Restaurant in Mount Pleasant cut down a tree on the sidewalk without permits, possibly to make room for a sidewalk cafe. On the Mt. Pleasant forum, some have called for a boycott of Haydee's, while Jack McKay suggests better lighting and a cafe would be better than the somewhat anemic tree. (Prince of Petworth)

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Fishing from the Flickr pool

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:35:00 EDT

by David Alpert and Laura DeSantis

Now that we have a Greater and Lesser Washington Flickr pool, we'll be featuring photos entered in the pool on a weekly basis.

Here are some of our favorites from our first week:

Mount Pleasant Street. Photo by abuelo_jack.

Soccer in the Circle. Photo by thisisbossi.

Park Road bike lane. Photo by abuelo_jack.

Convention Center Metro. Photo by urbandispute.

If you use Flickr, please join the group and submit photos to the pool. Photos should show off any great feature of a place in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, or show off a not-so-great aspect (such as the Park Road bike lane photo.)

We'll look to pool photos to illustrate posts, and the Coalition for Smarter Growth may use some in flyers, presentations, and other materials.

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Natural beauty in the Flickr pool (Oct 29, 2010)
Midnight swim in the Flickr pool (Jul 16, 2010)
Family fun in the Flickr pool (Jul 2, 2010)
A penny-farthing for your thoughts in the Flickr Pool (Nov 19, 2010)
Tracks in the Flickr pool (Feb 4, 2011)