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Changes to Signal Timing at Dupont Circle will Help Keep Pedestrians Safe

8/20/2013

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Today, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) made changes to the pedestrians signals at Dupont Circle that will help protect folks as they cross in and out of the circle. This is an enormous safety improvement for pedestrians that the Dupont ANC has been working on for almost 9 months! 

The new signals allow pedestrians to cross the entirety of the four lane intersection at once instead of being trapped in the median as the picture shows.

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Pedestrians trapped among moving traffic at Dupont Circle

Last year, we held several public safety meetings and the idea came directly from a Dupont resident. My colleague, Kishan Putta and I contacted the city and asked for the changes to be made. To DDOT's credit, we were never turned away or told 'no'. They did say it would take a while to program new signals and make sure vehicular traffic could still flow relatively easily (maybe just not make it worse?). The signaling folks at DDOT did a fantastic job, though it took almost weekly calls from me to make sure the project remained on track. 

My full time job is in federal traffic safety policy and this type of work is exactly why I ran for ANC. I knew there was great work to be done to help keep our pedestrians and bicyclists safe on the roads.

Please let me know if the new signal timing is an improvement or if there are any small changes that need to be made. 

Thanks so much to DDOT, especially Bill McGuirk, for their diligent work on this and many other projects.

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Dupont ANC to Vote on 17th Street Liquor Moratorium

8/11/2013

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Since 1990, a limit has been in effect on the number of liquor licenses on 17th St NW between P and R streets. This includes liquor stores, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The East Dupont Liquor Moratorium is up for renewal this year and ANC2B will vote on Wednesday on whether to recommend its extension.

The ANC has hosted three listening sessions and published a draft resolution and report that outlines one option the ANC and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has to extend the moratorium with significant changes.

The draft resolution and report, as well as minutes from those sessions are available HERE.

Liquor licenses and moratoria are divisive issues in our neighborhood. We have heard passionate pleas from supporters of the limit as well as those who believe the moratorium should expire. The draft resolution attempts to find a compromise as it recommends that the moratorium continue on bars and clubs, but lifted on restaurants. This would likely result in the addition of new restaurants in the neighborhood, that could provide more competition to the existing ones on 17th St.

As I stated several times during the discussion on a moratorium at 14th and U, I am sympathetic to the concerns of neighbors negatively impacted by noise, but I do not think a moratorium is an appropriate solution. In this case, the limit has been in effect for over 20 years and its relative success or failure has been debated extensively without consensus.

Though I do not favor this type of market-distorting policy, I may be willing to vote to extend a moratorium only on bars and nightclubs, which folks at the listening sessions tended to support. I've also received emails from neighbors who think any moratorium will negatively impact the area. We must seriously consider the impact of a temporary solution that has been in place for almost a generation and that forces our neighborhood to rehash the same divisive discussion year after year. 

I would love to hear from any of you about how you think 17th St has benefited or been harmed by the moratorium and how you think I should vote on Wednesday. 

The meeting is Wednesday August 14th at 7:00 p.m. at the Brookings Institution. 

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DDOT Announces New City-wide Visitor Parking Program

8/8/2013

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The Dupont Circle ANC has been closely following city action on parking options for residents and visitors. I've been working with neighbors on Caroline Street to test new resident-only parking restrictions and see what impacts, positive or negative, they may have.

Today, DDOT released information on a new city-wide visitor parking program coming this fall. I wanted to share it and let you know that we will be following up to make sure that the neighborhood is aware of any further changes or instructions for obtaining a visitor parking pass.

Visitor parking is one of several general parking concerns in the area and we intend to discuss our neighborhood-wide options in the fall.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, August 8, 2013

New Visitor Parking Pass Program Will Be Available District Wide          

(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced today that the Visitor Parking Pass (VPP) program will be available District wide to all Residential Parking Permit (RPP) eligible households and those in ANCs 1A, 1B and 1C.

The VPP program is designed to allow guests of District residents to park for more than two hours on RPP blocks.  To see the list of RPP designated street blocks visit http://ddotfiles.com/db/RPP/rpp.php.

The current pass expires September 30, 2013 and unlike previous years DDOT is no longer automatically mailing the pass to residents.  Instead, residents will be required to apply for the pass through a simplified, user-friendly method made available through DDOT.  In the coming weeks DDOT will be providing details on when and how residents will be able to apply for a VPP.

The new pass will be provided free of charge and will be valid for one-year; effective October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014.  The VPP is only valid during the hours of RPP enforcement and only one pass will be available per household or specified unit. VPP remains valid only in the same ANC boundary as the residence.

Please Note: District residents cannot use a VPP in lieu of registering their vehicles with the District Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  If residents who receive a pass have guests that stay overnight regularly, then the visitor must register their vehicle through the Registration of Out of State Automobile (ROSA) program once a Warning Citation is issued by DPW parking enforcement personnel. Residents will also continue to be able to obtain Temporary Parking Passes from Metropolitan Police Department stations for eligible vehicles.
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    Welcome! This site serves as a resource for residents of ANC 2B09 in U Street and Dupont Circle. I provide updates with information on upcoming meetings, events in the neighborhood, and discussion topics. 

    You can learn more about me by clicking here. If you have any questions or comments or have an idea for a post, please reach out to me anytime. 

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