WASHINGTON INFORMER: Bold Plans for Ward 8 in Transportation
By James Wright - WI Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The residents of Ward 8 had the chance to review plans made by the District of Columbia's transportation agency on Thursday, Dec. 10 at the United Planning Organization's Ralph Waldo Petey Green Community Service Center in
Southeast
. [Congress Heights]
Representatives from the District’s Department of Transportation held an open house for residents to weigh-in on transportation concerns in Ward 8. Transportation officials said that new modes of travel are coming to the area in the form of streetcars, new bridges and a grand gateway for commuters.
Although, less than 10 residents showed up to attend the two-hour open house, the presenters, employees of the District Department of Transportation promised sweeping changes in the way the ward's residents deal with transportation in the future.
"We are hear to listen to the residents," Jamie Henson, a transportation management specialist who is in charge of Ward 8, said. "I know that the residents of the ward know that change is coming and we are here to listen to what they think about what should be done."
The event was billed as "Sustainable Transportation in Ward 8." Similar events have been held in the other wards. City planners have designated Ward 8 for a strong push for economic and residential development. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is primed to take over choice real estate at the St. Elizabeth's site and there is an effort, through the Great Streets program, to develop Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
There are major transportation projects in the works for the ward. There is also an effort to replace the 11th Street Bridges. The 11th Street Bridges carry inbound and outbound traffic totaling 93,000 cars a day. Two new freeways will connect the Anacostia Freeway and the Southwest Freeway, providing missing traffic movements from the north to the east and the east to the north.
A third new bridge will be for local traffic and feature safe bicycle and pedestrian access along with streetcar tracks to allow for future connections. This is scheduled to be completed in 2013. There is the project underway to make South Capitol Street a grand gateway with lanes for walkers and bicyclists, transit riders and motorists. Construction on this project will begin in the spring of 2010.
A streetcar is set for the ward and it will go from Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue to M Street in Southeast. There will be other streetcar lines starting in the ward that will go to other quadrants of the city. Despite streetcars and an express bus service planned for the future, the primary mode of transportation for ward residents remains the basic bus service from the Metro stops.
Go HERE to continue reading.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The residents of Ward 8 had the chance to review plans made by the District of Columbia's transportation agency on Thursday, Dec. 10 at the United Planning Organization's Ralph Waldo Petey Green Community Service Center in
Representatives from the District’s Department of Transportation held an open house for residents to weigh-in on transportation concerns in Ward 8. Transportation officials said that new modes of travel are coming to the area in the form of streetcars, new bridges and a grand gateway for commuters.
Although, less than 10 residents showed up to attend the two-hour open house, the presenters, employees of the District Department of Transportation promised sweeping changes in the way the ward's residents deal with transportation in the future.
"We are hear to listen to the residents," Jamie Henson, a transportation management specialist who is in charge of Ward 8, said. "I know that the residents of the ward know that change is coming and we are here to listen to what they think about what should be done."
The event was billed as "Sustainable Transportation in Ward 8." Similar events have been held in the other wards. City planners have designated Ward 8 for a strong push for economic and residential development. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is primed to take over choice real estate at the St. Elizabeth's site and there is an effort, through the Great Streets program, to develop Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
There are major transportation projects in the works for the ward. There is also an effort to replace the 11th Street Bridges. The 11th Street Bridges carry inbound and outbound traffic totaling 93,000 cars a day. Two new freeways will connect the Anacostia Freeway and the Southwest Freeway, providing missing traffic movements from the north to the east and the east to the north.
A third new bridge will be for local traffic and feature safe bicycle and pedestrian access along with streetcar tracks to allow for future connections. This is scheduled to be completed in 2013. There is the project underway to make South Capitol Street a grand gateway with lanes for walkers and bicyclists, transit riders and motorists. Construction on this project will begin in the spring of 2010.
A streetcar is set for the ward and it will go from Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue to M Street in Southeast. There will be other streetcar lines starting in the ward that will go to other quadrants of the city. Despite streetcars and an express bus service planned for the future, the primary mode of transportation for ward residents remains the basic bus service from the Metro stops.
Go HERE to continue reading.