Better Bus Service

The Ward 7 transportation advocates have been vocal over the last 2 years to get better bus service in Ward 7.  The Hillcrest Community Civic Association submitted testimony in April 2011 requesting WMATA to improve the 36, 39, M6, and W4. We are very happy to announce that effective June 17, 2012, WMATA will be making improvements to the 39, M6 and W4!!!! The changes for bus lines that service Hillcrest are below:

39 Pennsylvania Avenue MetroExtra
Additional trips will run every 15 minutes and the span of service will increase from two hours to three hours in the morning and evening rush hours. New scheduled travel times will reflect the current traffic conditions for improved on-time performance. 

M6 Fairfax Village
Recovery time between trips will increase to improve reliability and on-time performance.  

W4 Deanwood – Alabama Avenue
To reduce crowding, the time between buses during weekday middays will be reduced from 33 to 26 minutes. 

Although this blog is specific to Hillcrest, below are changes to other routes in Ward 7.

V7, V8, V9 Minnesota Avenue – M Street
Weekday and Saturday scheduled travel times will be adjusted to reflect current traffic conditions and improve on-time performance. Buses will run every 30 minutes on Saturdays and coordinate with U2 trips on Minnesota Avenue. 

Thank you WMATA!!!

#W7Moves

WMATA Proposed Improvements to the W4

One of the HCCA Transportation Committee's goals was to work with WMATA to study and implement recommended improvements to the W4.  Please come out to the meeting to express your concerns, thoughts, and ideas on the recommended improvements to the W4.

Recap September 2011 HCCA Meeting - DDOT

At the September HCCA Meeting Charles Thomas from District Department of Transportation (DDOT) presented recommendations from the Far SE II Livability Study completed in April 2011. Below is a summary of DDOT’s recommendations and community concerns.

32nd St/Alabama Ave 
Because of the road geometry and proximity to Branch Ave, DDOT does not recommend a traffic light installation at the intersection. For pedestrian safety, DDOT proposed to install a rapid flash beacon. When a pedestrian wants to cross Alabama Ave SE, they will press a button that will activate the beacon. Once activated a yellow flash will alert drivers a pedestrian is in the intersection.

Here is a video of how they work (disclaimer: it's a marketing video, but this is best video to explain how it works):


Concerns: Residents are concerned that the beacons won’t slow traffic. They requested DDOT proposed solutions to slow traffic on Alabama Ave.  DDOT suggests the community work with MPD to get more speed enforcement.


36th Pl/Alabama Ave 
Due to the number of children hit, DDOT recommends installing a traffic light at the eastern leg of 36th Place that will work in tandem with the existing light on the western leg of 36th Place. Therefore when the light is red, pedestrians will have 4 cross walks available to cross the road. DDOT has received preliminary approval from the Federal Highway Administration.

Concerns: Residents are concerned about the aesthetics of the lights. They want a solution that improves safety around Anne Beers Elementary and the Library while enhancing the community.  One resident asked if the signal at 36th Pl and 36th St can be unsynchronized so that people make the light at 36th St (St. Timonthy's) they have to stop at 36th Pl (Beers).  DDOT stated they can look into it.

Naylor Road/27th and Naylor/Altamont
DDOT recommends repainting the crosswalks. They also recommend adding short islands/medians at the intersections so pedestrians have a refuge versus standing in the middle of the street.

Table of Improvements
Far SE Livaibility Study

For photos and additional description, please visit the committee website hccatranspot.blogspot.com or contact the Transportation Committee Chair, Veronica O. Davis via cell (202) 695-2160 or via email vod2@cornell.edu

DDOT Circulator Meeting

Public Meeting for the DC Circulator Union Station–Navy Yard–East of the River Extension

When: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
7 pm to 8:30 pm

Where: Southeast Neighborhood Library
403 7th Street, SE

The Southeast Neighborhood Library can be accessed via rail and/ or bus:

Rail: Blue/Orange Line (Eastern Market Metro Station)
Bus Lines: 32, 34, 36, 39, 90, 92, 93, 96, 97, A42, A46, A48, V7, V9

For more information please contact:
Sandy Castor
202-671-3499
sandy.castor@dc.gov

Known for its convenient 10-minute headways, the Circulator costs one dollar a ride, with additional discounts for seniors and District students. More information about the routes and schedules is available at www.dccirculator.com.


At this meeting, DDOT will be presenting route alternatives and asking the residents that will be served by the east of the Anacosita River extension, and all interested stakeholders, to provide comment and indentify their preferred route alternative.

The proposed extension was developed during the DC Circulator’s 10-year planning process in 2010 and 2011 and was last presented at a public meeting that was held on June 6, 2011. To connect east of the Anacostia River the proposed extension will cross the 11th Street Bridge to serve the residents of Ward 8.

A summary of the feedback that was obtained from the community at the June 6 meeting and subsequent discussions will also be presented at this meeting.

DDOT will be making an online survey available for the community to indicate their preferences among the routing options and provide comment. The survey will be made available at http://1.usa.gov/nDaQ4B starting on July 12.

DDOT will also be presenting proposed changes to the Union Station terminus of the Union Station-Navy Yard Metro line, and proposed stop consolidations on other routes in the DC Circulator system.

HCCA Testimony - Confirmation of DDOT Director

BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION

RE: PR19-0246, the “Director of the District Department of Transportation Terry Bellamy Resolution of 2011”

Friday June 24, 2011

My name is Veronica O. Davis. I’m the Street, Traffic & Transportation Chair for the Hillcrest Community Civic Association (HCCA) and proud resident of Fairfax Village in Ward 7. Today I will be submitting testimony on behalf of HCCA.

We would like to thank Councilmember Tommy Wells and the honorable members of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation for the opportunity to submit testimony in support of PR19-0246, the “Director of the District Department of Transportation Terry Bellamy Resolution of 2011”.

The mission of (HCCA) is to work “to enhance the quality of life and prosperity of residents, families, community organizations and institutions located within the designated geographic boundaries.” We look forward to working with Mr. Bellamy to enhance transportation in our community.

Our testimony will focus on five key issues we would like to see Mr. Bellamy address during his tenure as Director:

1. Genuine Community Outreach: Between the Pennsylvania Ave Great Streets construction project, the 11th Street Bridge construction project, and the Far Southeast Livability Study, our community has had increased interactions with DDOT’s staff and consultants over the last year. The experience for each interaction has varied from collaborative to frustrating.

The 11th Street Bridge construction project has a citizen’s council comprised of community leaders from the affected communities that meets quarterly. This is a great model for receiving information about the project, asking questions, and tracking specific issues from the community with the respective response.

On other projects and studies, the communication between DDOT and the community has been less than ideal. Many of the frustrations come from lack of timely information, the inability of DDOT to effectively communicate technical terms to laypeople, and an overreliance on the Internet to advertise in a ward where lack of Internet access still exists.

Moving forward, we think DDOT should engage in genuine and proactive community outreach, which includes engaging in targeted outreach to affected areas and working more collaboratively with the ward planners from Office of Planning. We believe DDOT should spend more resources on messaging to help the community understand technical recommendations and transportation programs. In addition, DDOT should utilized community advocates and leaders to assist with engaging residents.

2. Implementation: We've had multiple transportation studies in the last decade. At this point, Branch Ave has to be the most studied corridor in the City. Some of the newer studies regurgitate information from previous studies. While we understand the importance of examining existing conditions, we are beginning to suffer from study fatigue. We want DDOT to move from studies to implementation of recommendations from those studies.

3. Pedestrian/Bicyclist Safety: In the last year we’ve had four pedestrians and one bicyclist hit by motorists in our community. All of these incidents occurred on Alabama Ave SE. We have a population of residents who are aging-in-place and a high percentage of young people. Our older population should be able to walk to the senior wellness center and children should be able to walk or bike to school safely. We would like to see DDOT place pedestrian and bicycle safety as a top priority.

4. Complete streets: There is an obvious link between pedestrian safety and sidewalks. Many streets in Hillcrest still lack a sidewalk on either side, so pedestrians are forced to walk in the middle the street such as Hillcrest Drive, Camden Street, Fort Baker Drive, while hoping to avoid speeding motorists. Bus riders traverse grass then stand in mud at bus stops along Branch Ave. This is an urban area and it should be treated as such. We would like DDOT to prioritize installation of sidewalks in areas where pedestrians need to access bus stops, along high volume corridors, and along routes to school and recreation.

5. Focus on public transportation planning: Since taking office, Mayor Gray has made the development of the Skyland Shopping Center a priority. A development of this magnitude in our community will become a transportation trip generator. Our road network cannot handle much more traffic without impacting our quality of life. While we wait for shovels to go in the ground, we believe DDOT and WMATA need to begin examining public transportation options to move people in and out of the shopping center.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. We support Mr. Bellamy’s confirmation and look forward to his leadership at DDOT.


Submitted by

Veronica O. Davis, PE
Street, Traffic and Transportation Committee Chair

Testimony - FY12 Budget WMATA

BEFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION

RE: Public Testimony for Fiscal Year 2012 Budget for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Monday April 18, 2011

We would like to thank Councilmember Wells and the honorable members of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation for the opportunity to submit testimony on the Fiscal Year 2012 budget for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

The Hillcrest community is comprised of single-family homes, and two large medium-density communities (Fairfax Village and Naylor Gardens). The closest Metro station to our community is Naylor Road in Maryland, which is as far as 1.5-miles for some of our residents. This makes us a bus-dependent community.

At the Ward 7 Transportation Summit and Listening Tour Jim Hamre, Director of Bus Planning, presented a list of bus enhancement recommendations to improve bus service in Ward 7. The Street, Traffic, and Transportation Committee went through those recommendations to identify the lines that serve the Hillcrest Community. We attempted to rank the recommendations in order of priority to the community should the funding become available.

• 35: New limited stop route between Southern Ave Metro Station and Archives via Naylor Road and Penn Ave SE. 20-min frequency during AM and PM peak WMATA estimates this improvement costs $800K. This would provide our community with an express bus to Capitol Hill and Penn Quarter.
• 36: Increasing the evening frequency to every 30 minutes for weekdays and weekends. Currently the headways are every 60 minutes. WMATA estimates $700K for the subsidy, but that number also includes improvements to the 32 line.
• W4: Increase weekday midday frequency to every 22 minutes and increase Saturday frequency to every 25 minutes. This is the only North-South route that connects Wards 7 and 8 on the eastern side. WMATA estimates $500k for this subsidy
• 39: Limited stop one-way rush hour bus. WMATA recommends increasing rush hour span from two the three hours and improving frequency from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. WMATA estimates $300K span, $500K frequency.
• V5: Limited stop one-way rush hour bus. Extend route to Metro Center. WMATA estimates $300K for this subsidy.

Even during tight budget times, we believe there are some actions WMATA can implement to improve reliability and safety of the existing systems. For example:

• Alternative SmartTrip Locations: Many times buses are delayed because people load their SmartTrip cards on the bus. We recommend WMATA consider SmartTrip kiosks in prominent locations in Ward 7, such as grocery stores, CVS, and high transfer bus stops such as L’enfant Square (Minnesota-Benning). This action needs to be coupled with informing people of these locations.
• Transit Police presence on Bus Lines: Some residents do not feel comfortable riding in the late evening and the hours when school lets out. We recommend for certain lines, such as the W4 to have transit police ride on the buses in the evening. Another option would be partnering with non-profit or community organization that has volunteers willing to ride the buses to improve safety.
• Communication Strategy (Incident Management): During predictable incidents such as snowstorms and unpredictable one such as accidents, WMATA buses are detoured with little to no communication to residents. As a phased approach, WMATA can start with developing a communication strategy for predictable incidents. During snowstorms, our community members should not be standing at a bus stop waiting for a bus that isn’t coming.
  

While the City and WMATA face a budget crisis, let’s not forget that many families in Ward 7 are facing that same crisis. As gas prices continue to rise, more people are opting to use public transportation.

Submitted by
Veronica O. Davis
Street, Traffic and Transportation Committee Chair

Transportation Budget Hearings

The Mayor's proposed FY 2012 budget is currently online. Budget hearings have already started. As of April 6, 2011 here is the information on the transportation related budget hearings.


April 18, 2011
Department of Motor Vehicles: 10am-2pm Room 500
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: 2pm-end, Room 500

April 21, 2011
District Department of Transportation: 10am-end, Room 123

Persons wishing to testify about the performance of any of the foregoing agencies may contact Tawanna Shuford, Committee on Public Works and Transportation, at 724-8195 or e-mail tshuford@dccouncil.us. Written testimony needs to be submitted 2 business days after hearing.

Ward 7 Transportation Summit & Listening Tour Summary Report

The planning committee has officially released the summary report of the Ward 7 Transportation Summit and Listening Tour held on March 12, 2011

Ward 7 Transportation Summit Summary

Ward 7 Transportation Summit & Listening Tour

UPDATED 3/11/2011 @ 11:00AM

Budget hearings are around the corner. In these tough economic times the City's leadership is tasked with making hard decisions. It is no secret that Ward 7 needs better bus service. We have three metro stations that are located in close proximity leaving bus as the only public transportation option for most of the Ward.

Councilmember Tommy Wells, Chairman of the Council Committee on Public Works & Transportation, and Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander want to hear from you!!! How can bus service be better? What are our priorities for enhancement?

Saturday, March 12th, 2011
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Department of Employment Services
4058 Minnesota Ave NE
Large conference room on the 5th floor.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO HAVE PHOTO ID. YOU WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH SECURITY.

Tentative Agenda

• Welcome
• Community Testimony
• WMATA presentation
• How DC Government Budget Works
• Community Discussion
• Next Steps
• Wrap-up

For people using Twitter during the event, please use hashtag #RediscovertheBus


Who should attend?
Anyone who is bus dependent
Anyone who uses bus as their primary mode of travel to/from work
Anyone who has ever been stranded at a bus stop for a bus that seems like it will never arrive
Anyone who wishes they didn't have to always drive to visit destinations in their own Ward
Anyone who has ever been on a bus so crowded you wonder if it's overcapacity
Anyone who cares about better bus service in Ward 7

RSVP (optional)
It's not mandatory, but we would like a head count. Please email Veronica (vod2@cornell.edu) and let us know if you are coming and what bus lines you regularly ride.

What if I can't attend?
Please feel free to email Veronica your list of concerns prior to the meeting at vod2@cornell.edu. In addition, the Planning Committee made of a concerned citizens from around the Ward will take notes and provide compile them into one document. We will share them over the listservs and ensure the Committee on Public Works and Transportation receive a copy.

How to Get there?
By Bus - The bus lines that stop at the Minnesota Ave Metro Station are U2, U4, U5, U6, U8, V7, V8, X1, X2, X3.

By Metro - The DOES building is located on the Orange Line at the Minnesota Ave Metro Station.

By Car - There is free parking at the WMATA parking lot located directly behind the DOES building.

To determine the best option for you, please use WMATA's trip planner. We encourage everyone to take public transportation.