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Thursday, February 07, 2013

five proposals for the 80 Metrobus route -- one has the 80 bus travelling down both Channing and Bryant St NW -- see Option 2

See this post from the Ward 5 list by Stronghold resident Sam Shipley.  
                          
I have included PDF's on the five options as well.  Bryant and Channing Street NW residents might wish to look at Option 2, since the proposal under Option 2 has the 80 bus travelling along these two streets in Bloomingdale.
                                                                       
Hi folks - in case you missed it yesterday, Metro is holding a second public meeting on the future of the 80 bus, tonight, at Providence Hospital.  I'll copy their press release below.
                             
If you're a rider of the 80, I would def. recommend attending as they are considering many substantial changes.  I'm also attaching scans of the proposals; Metro assured me they would be on-line today, but as of this morning I have yet to see them.  As the scans are in black and white, I'll try and give a brief explainer of each one.  There are currently about 5 proposals being batted around.  The one issue that seems to be decided is that the New York Ave underpass is going to stay.  But for the new proposals, they include: (1) an 80X bus, which would be a 16-stop express route that would run along the same route as it currently does - or extend south from Union Station to SW (more on that in option 5).  (2) They are also proposing a new 80-Shuttle line, which would go from Brookland Station through Washington Hospital Center, down First, NW, east on Bryant to North Cap, and then down to New York Ave, and into Noma (1st Street, NE - connecting Bloomingdale to the Harris Teeter)  It would also terminate at Union Station.  (3) They are also looking at ending the 80 bus at McPherson rather than the Kennedy Center and re-routing the D6 to hit the Kennedy Center instead of going through Dupont/Georgetown.  (4) Having the 80 stop at Union Station (would run from Union Station to Fort Totten only).  (5) and finally - and the one I find most intriguing is making the 80 go from Fort Totten to Federal Center SW.  This would create a new connection from Union Station to SW, which doesn't currently exist.  I thought this was a great idea though I suggested they should run it instead to L'Enfant instead of Federal Center as there is a high demand for transfers to the Green/Yellow lines as evidenced by the current Gallery Place stop.
                       
- Sam Shipley, Stronghold
                                                          
Metro announces second round of public meetings for Metrobus Route 80 study
                 
Customers can give feedback on possible service improvements for North Capitol Street Line
                                
Metro and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) today announced the second round of public meetings to hear input from riders and community members regarding potential changes to Metrobus Route 80 service, known as the North Capitol Street Line.

Metro and DDOT working together on a comprehensive study of  Route 80 service. The two public meetings announced today follow two open houses and a focus group in late 2012, in which the project team heard ideas from the public about service improvements along the corridor.

The two public meetings will take place as follows:

Wednesday, February 6, 2013 -- 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Phoenix Park Hotel
520 North Capitol Street NW (across from Union Station at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, North Capitol and F streets)
Washington, DC

Thursday, February 7, 2013 -- 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Providence Hospital Ross Auditorium
1150 Varnum Street NE
Washington, DC

Both meeting locations are located on Metrobus Route 80 and open to all members of the public; no advance registration is required. Participants may arrive any time between the start and end time of each meeting.  The meetings will not feature a formal presentation. Instead, participants will be able to speak individually with the project team about service improvements that Metro is considering for the North Capitol Street Line.

Metro and DDOT will use the feedback from participants to complete the analysis of Route 80 and create draft recommendations. In spring 2013, after a final round of public input, the recommendations for improvements will be finalized and presented to the public and the Metro Board for consideration in mid-2013.

A Spanish translator and visual materials in Spanish will be available at the public meetings.
Metrobus Route 80 runs from Fort Totten Metrorail Station in Northeast DC down South Dakota Avenue and 12th Street NE to Michigan Avenue and North Capitol Street. At Union Station, the route heads west along Massachusetts Avenue, H Street, and K Street NW. Finally, the route goes through Foggy Bottom along 18th and 19th Streets and Virginia Avenue before terminating at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Route 80 currently carries around 7,500 passengers on an average weekday, one of the largest riderships in the Metrobus system.

The North Capitol Street Line Study is the latest in a series of comprehensive evaluations of Metrobus “Priority Corridors." Metro and its partner agencies in the Washington metropolitan region have been studying service and operations on the Metrobus network’s busiest lines since 2006, and making gradual improvements that include restructured routes, limited-stop services, and other enhancements.

News release issued at 3:51 pm, January 29, 2013.



7 comments:

  1. No way in hell are we going to have a Metro Bus going down First St and then turning on to Bryant St Unit Block! OVER MY DEAD BODY! and that of my neighbors too! NOT GOING TO HAPPEN METRO! Instead why not move the Bus Stop at Big Ben Liquours down one bloack further to in fron of the Housing complex...that should make the trip faster! The stops are too close together between P St and M St NW there are 3! Please Metro get a grip!

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  2. Bryant and Channing Streets? They CRAZY!? Who are these people making suggestions....!!!!

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  3. I should have mentioned that for Option 2 - the impetus for going down First Street, NW is the future McMillan Development. Since that's not likely to happen for 5, 10, 15, 20 (ever?) years, the service will actually probably come out of Washington Hospital, turn left on Michigan and right on North Cap. So I don't think there's anything yet to worry about (keyword: think).

    - Sam

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  4. wow, so much for rational, reasoned language.

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  5. See this 02/07/2013 message from ANC 5E09 Commissioner Dianne Barnes:

    I did attend the [WMATA public meeting on the Metrobus 80 route on Thursday, 02/07/2013]. I asked about the changes that would affect Bryant and Channing Streets. I was told that eventhough the maps showed that the changes would affect those two streets, nothing is really written in stone. Since they did not know nor have the street name(s) that's intended for the McMillan Site, they used Bryant and Channing Streets as a marker.

    I was also told that someone on Channing Street who attended one of the meetings agreed to the changes and welcomed them. So we have some for and some against the changes that's being proposed.

    I was reminded that all these ideas are subject to change and that they are not sure of what DDOT will approve for this study. The reps did make a note to the fact that there's an opposition to this study regarding Bryant and Channing Streets.

    I will keep you informed but it takes more than one person to address this issue. There is need for the residents on Bryant and Channing to participate and let their voices be heard.

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  6. Glad to hear you went, Scott. I was a bit dismayed to hear from the Metro folks that very few people showed up to the last round and even fewer on Wednesday. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, but you know people are going to b!tch and moan when any (even minute) change happens (esp. on the Ward 5 Listserve where it will somehow turn into a "War on Cars" thread; it would be nice to see people addressing issues upfront. C'est la vie

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  7. See this 05/16/2013 message from Stronghold resident Sam Shipley:

    FYI - Next Wednesday, Metro is holding their final public input meeting for changes to the 80 bus. Back in February I sent around the various options that Metro is considering. You can find them posted on Scott Roberts' Bloomingdale Neighborhood blog here: http://bloomingdaleneighborhood.blogspot.com/2013/02/five-proposals-for-80-bus-route-one.html I tried getting in-touch with Metro on numerous occasions about the options after that February meeting, but didn't receive any responses; it will be interesting to see what they're proposing.

    In addition and for background reading, Richard Layman on his blog, Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space, put together a nice entry on various ways the 80 could both be improved and re-branded. You can find that here: http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2013/03/tactical-thinking-about-dc-bus.html

    I hope to see you next Wednesday evening.

    - Sam from Stronghold

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