Friday, May 20, 2016

Ward 5 Report (05-20-2016): New G9 bus route; North Capitol & Florida Ave NW triangle park

From the Ward 5 Report dated today, Friday, 05-20-2016:

New G9 Bus Route

Another important investment made by the Council is the $1.04 million in funding for a new G9 Bus Route.  Travelling from downtown to the neighborhoods and businesses along Rhode Island Avenue has long been a challenge.  As residents, WMATA and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) have noted, there exists a gap in bus service between the entrance to the Rhode Island Avenue Metrorail station and 4th Street NE. This gap means current riders east of the Rhode Island Avenue station are not able to take a single-seat transit ride into downtown Washington.

The proposed G9 bus line will service Rhode Island Avenue from 14th Street, NW to just beyond the District’s border at Eastern Ave, NE, thereby filling that gap and alleviating congestion on the G8 and other bus lines that offer partial service to the Rhode Island Avenue, NE corridor. Additionally, a G9 line will allow public transit users easy access to the many retail businesses and restaurants that are opening along Rhode Island Avenue, one of the District’s Main Streets.  Finally, there is the potential that a G9 line may alleviate some of the traffic on Rhode Island Avenue by providing residents with a new direct option to reach downtown.
 
North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue Triangle Park

The Council’s budget also sustains the proposal by Councilmember McDuffie and the Committee on Transportation and the Environment to create a new capital project at the North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue Triangle Park. As residents know the park is often a mixed scene of alcohol consumption, drug use and litter. This new project provides DDOT with funds that can be used to creatively enhance the park, and allow for DDOT to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a community serving group to program the space.


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