NEWS · 5

Proposed Bike Lanes, N Street One-Way Animate ANC Meeting

BY PEGGY SANDS

Two informal proposals to install marked contra-traffic-flow bike lanes on busy residential Georgetown streets intersecting Wisconsin Avenue produced animated conversation during and after the Aug. 30 meeting of the Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission. According to ANC 2E Chair, Rick Murphy, the proposals generated a historic number of attendees at the virtual meeting.

As conceptualized, the D.C. Department of Transportation plan would add two-way bike lanes to both Dumbarton Street NW (between 31st and 28th Streets) and N Street NW (between 28th Street and Wisconsin Avenue). Vehicular traffic flow on Dumbarton Street would continue to flow east on the one-way street, while N Street would be converted to a one-way street, allowing only westernflowing auto traffic and the two-way bike lane. The design concept is intended not only to cut down on side-swiping auto accidents on N Street, but to reduce automobile speeding while increasing the city’s bicycle pathway infrastructure.

Georgetown residents expressed heated pros and cons to the ideas as well as heard moderating opinions by a number of former advisory neighborhood commissioners and community leaders, many of whom had lived through similar proposals by DDOT in years past.

This is only a preliminary proposal, an idea, not a done deal, DDOT official Will Hansfield who presented the concept said repeatedly. Formerly the transportation development planner with Georgetown’s Business Improvement District, Hansfield is well acquainted with the views of many of Georgetown’s outspoken residents and seemed eager to let them be expressed.

Most commentators seemed to believe that encouraging biking on the mostly one-way Dumbarton Street was natural. There is plenty Vehicular traffic narrows at N Street.and Wisconsin Avenue. Georgetowner photo.

of room even with parking on both sides of the street for bikes to travel safely with or without an official lane. A well-marked bike path could perhaps make it more orderly if there were more bikers, but right now it’s not a problem, several noted.

No parking for residents would be lost in the bike lane proposal. Photos of other areas in the District showed ample room for parking on both sides of the street, a marked bike land and one lane of traffic.

However, making several blocks of N Street one-way was met with more questions. Most agreed that the 3100 block of N Street with drivers turning onto or off Wisconsin Avenue or trying to cross the avenue from a jammed N Street narrowed further with a streatery serving Café Georgetown, was probably a good idea. But many longtime residents questioned the sudden proposal to make the entire eastwide street one-way going west.

“This surprise idea is typical of the increasing non-transparency of the Department of Transportation,” said commissioner Lisa Palmer, seconded by former Citizens Association of Georgetown president Pamla Moore.

Commissioners did not entertain any resolution about the bike lanes or N Street one-way proposal at this time.

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ANC 2E Notes

BY STEVE HOLTON

The Mayor’s Office announced the Test Yourself DC program has been expanded to 11 new sites where free Covid-19 testing kits are offered. The program’s goal is to give residents the option to take the test at home without waiting in line and to have every citizen within a 20-minute walk of a cityprovided test kit. The 11 new site locations and the existing 16 D.C. public libraries, which offer the kits, are listed at testyourself.dc.gov.

Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto’s

office discussed budget funding priorities for next year. Funding will modernize a Georgetown recreation center and place an electric vehicle charging station at the site of the former Exxon gas station located across from the Key Bridge on 3607 M St. NW. A potential Welcome Center along the C&O Canal as well as funding for the Glover Park Clean Team were discussed. Putting unhoused residents into homes will be addressed, and public safety will be bolstered by enrolling more MPD cadets.

A DC Water representative of the DC Clean Rivers Project attended the ANC 2E’s meeting to discuss the different work phases to occur throughout the project’s duration. Currently, phases one through three are ongoing at 31st and Water Streets NW and are expected to be completed in late September. Phases four through seven will start in October on 31st Street which will have traffic flow one-way in the southbound direction with sidewalk closures. Access to businesses and residential properties will be maintained and project closure is expected in January of 2022.

Covid safety masks will be required to be worn by all D.C. Public School students and staff. Students will be enrolled in Covid testing programs and can choose to opt out. Virtual school will be offered to those with qualifying health reasons.

Since the summer of 2019, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has announced proposals that aim to lessen the overcrowded burden of the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines. A cost-benefit analysis is currently underway to create a feasible solution that could be implemented over the next 10 to 20 years.

Six options have been discussed but the one gaining the most momentum is a Blue Line route that will travel from a new and second station in Rosslyn before arriving into a new Georgetown stop most likely underground on M Street NW via a Potomac River tunnel. The route will then move riders to Union Station, Waterfront, Navy Yard, a new National Harbor station, and cross back over into Virginia on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge heading northbound to Pentagon Station.

The proprietor of Brasserie Liberte, located at 3152 Prospect St. NW, requested support for an increase in inside seating of 64 to a total of 280. The restaurant’s representative said that the nearby parking garage can accommodate the extra diners and also noted that a significant portion of the current traffic walk-in locally or use Uber so residential parking shouldn’t be impacted. The commission passed a motion to support the increased seating.

The owner of the restaurant Afghania requested support for a stipulated Class D liquor license so that his establishment can serve beer, wine, and cocktails. The new establishment will occupy a vacant parcel on 2811 M St. NW and serve Afghani cuisine. Afghania will only operate Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and is discussing offering lunch on the weekend. It is a women-run business, and the owner expressed the importance of this in the current context of Afghanistan where women’s rights are severely restricted. A motion passed to communicate support of the Class D license in writing to ABRA.

The commission motioned support for a Public Space Application offered by the

Kesher Israel Congregation of Georgetown

for the installation of four bollards required for impact resistance. The bollards will be located at 2801 N St. NW and will not take up public space.

The commission motioned support for a Board of Zoning Adjustment application to construct a two-story rear addition to an existing two-story commercial use building located at 1218 31st St. NW. The BZA applicant noted that the design has the neighbor’s approval.

It is estimated that cities and counties in the path of this new line could project 37 percent more people, 30 percent more jobs, and roughly 180,000 weekday trips by 2040, according to a two-year study conducted by WMATA. With development flourishing, other new stops are expected to be implemented at Buzzard Point and near St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

It will cost between $20 to 25 billion to build with an estimated $175 to $200 million in annual operation costs. A cheaper alternative is to increase bus line activity to eliminate the option of building onto the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines. An analysis was presented to the Metro Board this week and later open to public comments throughout the fall. In the winter of 2022, the board will vote on the preferred new route.

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