The NorThwesT CurreNT
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Vol. L, No. 19
Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
CAN’T STOP THE BEAT
Two parks due for new play surfaces ■ Accessibility: Lafayette,
Kalorama don’t meet ADA By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
The D.C. government is preparing to replace the playground surfaces in Lafayette and Kalorama playgrounds following months of complaints that the wood chip play areas don’t meet Americans With Disabilities Act standards for wheelchair accessibility. In Chevy Chase, the D.C. Department of General Services will soon replace Lafayette Park’s “engineered wood fiber” surface
with artificial turf, agency spokesperson Jackie Stanley told The Current. Work at Kalorama Park, 1875 Columbia Road NW, will begin after further community engagement, Stanley said. Chevy Chase resident Jamie Davis Smith, whose daughter uses a wheelchair, has been raising concerns about the Lafayette play surface since the playground’s $1.5 million renovation in early 2015. Her complaint about the park at 5900 33rd St. NW was bolstered by a January 2016 opinion by the D.C. Office of Disability Rights and a July 2016 legal challenge by the independent Disability Rights DC agency — both of which said the wood chips
Brian Kapur/The Current
The city plans to replace wood chips at Lafayette this spring.
failed to meet current ADA standards for playgrounds because wheelchairs can get bogged down in the loose pellets or even tip over on the uneven surface. See Playgrounds/Page 5
Traffic study in Palisades inches forward By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
Alice Deal Middle School presented “Hairspray Jr.” over the weekend. Set in 1962 Baltimore, the Tony-winning musical puts topics such as stardom, love, prejudice and integration in the context of a popular teen dance show.
A group of residents living near the intersection of Loughboro Road and Dalecarlia Parkway NW have complained for nearly three years about an onslaught of drivers using their quiet residential streets to avoid a stoplight at that corner. Now, after numerous delays and escalating frustrations, the D.C. Department of Transportation is promising that relief is close — though the agency hasn’t promised specific solutions. At last Wednesday’s meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D, the D.C. Department of Transportation distributed preliminary results of a traffic study of a small area around Loughboro, Dalecarlia and MacArthur Boulevard near Sibley Memorial Hospital. Officials promised more details at a community meeting next week, and more traffic
calming within six months. Still, neighbors hesitated to get excited, and in some cases, lamented that more progress hasn’t been made. “I think what we’re hearing quite clearly from the community is the time for studies is over,” ANC 3D’s Michael Gold said at the meeting. “If I were DDOT, I would come to that next meeting with immediate remedial actions.” (ANC 3D includes Foxhall, the Palisades, Spring Valley and Wesley Heights.) ANC 3D first requested a traffic study in July 2014, shortly after the Transportation Department installed the controversial Dalecarlia traffic light. Since then, issues of speeding drivers on residential streets have come up at numerous ANC 3D meetings and there have been conversations between commissioners and Sibley officials, but little progress has been made, stakeholders say. See Traffic/Page 3
Apple’s plans for Carnegie Library draw early support By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Plans to convert part of the Carnegie Library building downtown to an Apple Store drew enthusiastic support from neighbors and community leaders on Monday night, marking a win in the first step of a lengthy regulatory process for the ambitious project. Last fall, Apple Inc. announced plans to build its second D.C. facility within the 801 K St. NW building, while leaving ample room for the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., which currently occupies the second floor of the two-story, 63,000-square-
foot facility. Unlike the existing Apple Store in Georgetown, this location will offer more than customer service and product sales. On top of those offerings, developers envision the building as a refined community space for concerts, art exhibits, science workshops and workday hangouts. Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2C (downtown, Penn Quarter) voted 2-0 to support the plans from a preservation perspective in advance of the project’s May 25 consideration by the Historic Preservation Review Board. ANC 2C member Kevin Wilsey either consciously or accidentally invoked one of Apple’s buzzwords while praising the designs.
“I think it’s absolutely genius to bring the public and the private together like this,” Wilsey said. “I think a lot more people will visit the historical society than ever, and it’s going to bring in people who never would have dreamed of going to the historical society.” Apple real estate and development executive Aracibo Quintana attended Monday’s meeting to describe the project. Once work is complete, the first floor will serve as Apple’s main hub, with event space situated in the former reading room area and a Genius Grove assistance space and seating area occupying the area that formerly housed the library stacks. Quintana — an
Rendering courtesy of Apple
Apple plans minimal exterior changes to the historic Carnegie Library building at Mount Vernon Square.
Oyster Bilingual Elementary School graduate whose father Harry served on ANC 1C (Adams Morgan) in the 1980s — described the first floor as “a very serene place with nice beautiful natural trees.” He added that See Apple/Page 14
NEWS
SPORTS
SHERWOOD
INDEX
Walter Reed
Dynasty toppled
Disability parking
Calendar/15 Classifieds/22 District Digest/4 In Your Neighborhood/12 Opinion/6 Police Report/8
Long-awaited redevelopment formally breaks ground along upper Georgia Avenue / Page 3
St. John’s boys lacrosse ends Gonzaga’s seven-year run atop the WCAC with 7-5 win / Page 9
The city is at last enforcing ‘red top’ meters, but are the fines enough of a deterrent? / Page 6
Real Estate/11 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/20 Shopping & Dining/14 Sports/9 Week Ahead/3
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