Vision McMillan Partners have had a community meeting to present their TIS , Traffic Impact Study for McMillan Development Plan. This is on a DC and National Registered Historic Site, supposedly a site protected by our Historic Preservation Laws. You would think this is some kind of Parody or Horror Movie spoof. They will cross the site with more than 6 new streets, and leave two forlorn rows of historic structures peaking out from amid 50 buildings in the ultra modern "brutalist" style. An incredible and awful mismatch of architecture, offensive to the eye, and completely destructive to the historic preservation of the registered historic site. At this point in re-development the site is Vision McMillan Partners, no longer McMillan Park or Sand Filtration Plant, nor historic in any sense, really this will only be VMP Development site, not McMillan Sand Filtration Plant. How can anyone legitimately include 3000 parking spaces and over six city streets in a protected historic site? That is "historic" abuse of our intentions , 3000 parking spaces will never be acceptable in a historic site, period? That is simply DISGUSTING! How much excessive traffic, and pollution, and noise, and congestion can we pile onto the DC and National Registered Historic Place?
This TIS, does not contain an analysis of impact on Emergency Vehicles, in a city with hundreds of thousands of emergency transport a year, and the world's busiest fire house a short distance away.
The TIS lists nearby " three hospitals". That is flatly wrong. I don't trust a consultant who cannot count! Cause there is Washington Medstar Hospital Complex, Children's National Medical Center, United States Veterans Hospital, National Rehabilitation Center, Providence Hospital, and Howard University Hospital and armed Forces Retirement Home ( basically a medical facility as well) In reality there are at least 7 large medical facilities with emergency rooms and ambulance services, that share these streets to transport the critically injured, and specifically children!
I fault any so called Traffic Study that doesn't even include the full impact of thousnads of additional vehicles and the congestion and backups they cause, on the constant emergency vehicle transport on our city streets, life saving emergency transport to critical medical facilities directly adjacent to the development. Where is the necessary analysis concerning the impact on constant medical emergency traffic which shares the very same streets and intersections as the thousands of additional vehicles generated by the development?
The TIS reports "No impact expected on Bryant street" that seems ridiculous. Bryant is now one lane, one way, with parking on both sides between the two major thoroughfares, N. Capitol and First St. NW, a tiny narrow street, so how no impact? With the poorly timed traffic lights on both ends of the unit block of Bryant NW, which are already a failure, it will be backed up end to end, and many streets already are in this neighborhood. They will all increase in congestion and the poorly timed traffic lights will result in gridlock in many areas. If anyone has tried to drive west on Irving at 14th NW, you can see exactly how streets adjacent to this Mega-urbanisation will all fail, and be backed up and delay al lour residents simply trying to go home, or shopping or anywhere at any time.
Transit study does not concern air quality, even though the present number of cars on N. Capitol is at least 30,000 a day.
TIS does not recommend any traffic slowing improvements on First st. south of Channing,,,of course, VMP will cause so much congestion, they will not need anything to slow traffic. The issue is how will traffic move, or will it just back any worse than it does all day long, and practically stops during rush hours, like it does now?
The VMP TIS states "the McMillan Development will add 1 car every 9-10 seconds on First St South of Channing St." As if that isn't a gigantic increase in traffic!
That is so misleading,,, cause 1 every 10 seconds,, or even fewer off peak is like 5000 to 8640 more cars per day..Why should a TIS so diminish it's own statistics. Where are the simple extrapolations , so we see exactly what one car every nine seconds really means , thousands, and thousands each day, every day!
So add 10,000 cars to First street when a "box store" has a sale..or the chinese franchise restaurant has an "all you can eat" buffet.
The traffic impact as described by this TIS is unacceptable , and destructive to the health and safety of our city, our community and our hospital networks. The DC FEMS should be responding to this clear endangerment of their safety and effectiveness saving lives and serving the sick and injured in this city.
Department of Homeland Security have designated evacuation routes which include as primary evacuation from the inner downtown area, North Capitol Street and it is clear the development will negatively impact safe and timely automobile and bus evacuation during emergencies in DC.
Each of these critical issues are glossed over and given no importance in this TIS, and numerous more issues that this development creates, all compounded by planned and additional development at Washington Hospitol Center, just as the Veterans Hospital was recently doubled in size and Children's National Medical Center was doubled only a few years ago and likely plans to increase in size again. Development equally excessive in size is also planned for Armed Forces Retirement Home, and more development at North Capitol for Catholic University as well. How far behind are many more developments, compounding each and every negative impact, already unacceptable and destructive to the community by the excessive Vision McMillan Partners Monstrosity? We have a right to expect our city zoning, and planning agencies to protect the interests of DC residents.
evacuNorth Capitol which is the most impacted by the development. I
Daniel Goldon Wolkoff
Adams Morgan Stained Glass
1231 Randolph Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017
Tel: 202-232-8391
