The Louis project at 14th and U has begun construction of a protected pedestrian walkway on the west side of 14th Street just south of U. We had hoped this protection would be up sooner, however the construction team was delayed by some ongoing work by PEPCO in the area.

Earlier this year, I testified before the DC Council Committee on Transportation asking for requirement that all construction projects in the District provide safe accommodation for pedestrians and bicyclists if sidewalks or bike lanes are interrupted. I specifically included protected and covered pedestrian walkways in my testimony.

According to JBG, the walkway will be about 2/3 complete by the end of the day and operational by the end of the week.

The Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2B) is seeking a new Executive Director (ED).  The ED is a part-time, salaried staff position with the ANC.  The ED serves as our chief administrator, assisting with our public meetings, agendas, minutes, letters, and outreach. To learn more about the ANC, please go to www.dupontcircleanc.net.

A description of the position is available here. 

We anticipate the position will require 20-25 hours of work per month, with a monthly gross salary of approximately $500. We would like to fill the position as soon as possible with a start date on or around July 15, 2013.

To apply: please contact ANC Commissioner Noah Smith ([email protected]) and provide a cover letter and resume by July 1, 2013. You may also contact Noah if you have recommendations or questions. We anticipate phone interviews to take place the first week of July and a final decision made by the full Commission on July 10, 2013.

Please also pass this announcement along to other lists and groups who may know of interested and qualified candidates.

I’m incredibly excited to announce that two year long endeavors of the ANC are finally coming to fruition.

First, at our public safety listening session last year, neighbors voiced concerns over the pedestrian signals at Dupont Circle that require people to stop in the middle of four lanes of moving traffic. After 8 months of poking and prodding, DDOT has found a solution that will allow pedestrians to move in and out of the circle without stopping in the median. Our public policy shouldn’t encourage our most vulnerable road users to be trapped among four lanes of moving traffic. Expect changes to the signaling by the end of the month. 

Second, my colleague Kishan Putta and I have been pushing DDOT to repave the 15th Street Cycle Track since November. After several exchanges between Jack Evans, Mary Cheh and DDOT, they finally got the message that the most used bike lanes in the city are in need of repair. Planners are finalizing the placement of new signage and markings and the lanes will be repaved by the end of the summer.

We are still pushing Mary Cheh and the Council's Transportation Committee to pass the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2013 that will include language crafted by ANC 2B to protect pedestrians and bikers against dangerous construction projects.

My fulltime job is working on national traffic safety policy, though I focus on emergency medical services. I ran for ANC, in part, to have a meaningful impact on the safety of pedestrians, bikers, and drivers in the neighborhood and I think we’re doing just that.

Stay safe! – Noah  

The Dupont ANC will meet tonight, Wednesday June 12, at 7pm at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Ave). Our monthly meeting always falls on the second wednesday of the month. 

Some highlights for 2B09 include: 

• Application by Policy Restaurant to terminate their liquor license settlement agreement 
• Application by Taqueria Nacional for use of their public space at 1409 T St 
• Application before the Historic Preservation Review Board for construction at 1451 S St 

The full agenda is available on the ANC website: here. Hope to see you there! 

PEPCO has been replacing several blocks worth of underground cables and lines over the past few months and while they wait for work to complete on 14th St, they've left a large trench at 15th and T. 

A neighbor who lives nearby emailed to say that as trucks and busses travel over the 2 foot wide trench, they make a terribly loud sound. She wondered if there was anything I could do. 

It took exactly one call to the folks at DDOT Public Space to figure out what the problem was and how to fix it. Once the rain stopped, contractors were out to temporarily fill the trench while work is done elsewhere for another month or two. You can see the results below: 

The public space manager, Matthew Marcou, has to be one of the friendliest and hardest working DC employees and he and his inspectors had this taken care of in just two days. (It would have been sooner without the rain). Thanks to DDOT for their quick work on this. What else needs improvement? 

Our neighborhood once again is hosting the Capital Pride festival and parade. There are events all weekend starting today, culminating in a massive parade on Saturday afternoon. Looks like more than 100 organizations are participating this year.

The parade is always a great time and this year I'm ecstatic to be participating in it with the Dupont ANC. I'm told this is the best perk of the job and I'm really looking forward to it.
 

I hope to see you out this weekend at the parade - pray that the rain stops on Friday!