What effects do you think it would have on foot traffic in the north capitol corridor?
DDOT did a study ( PDF)and had this diagram of traffic flow:
Here is a shot looking south toward that intersection:
A little further up North Capitol Street, there is a trench dug out of the road allowing traffic to pass under T Street and Rhode Island Avenue.
I'd like to suggest the open area between T and Rhode Island be covered to allow for greenspace on top
currently the division between the neighborhoods of Bloomingdale and Eckington is rather stark.
I;'d love to bridge that division.
imagine if that trench was covered to create a public space. summertime movie nights with the capitol in the background, perhaps?
how about a sculpture garden?
It seems as though Martini 2020, otherwise know as the old firehouse, is moving forward. The Borf Mansion seems to generate a lot of foot traffic in the neighborhood when they have events.
Here is a recent shot of that strip:
and an old shot:
Wouldnt the empty Savemore building make a nice new home for Olssons?
or maybe The Garden District? or better yet, does someone in the neighborhood have the desire to open up their shop here? i hear that Stu Davenport wants a Pizza Parlor.
There was talk on neighborhood listserves about marketing the area to developers and to create a "theme" for this corridor. I find this to be quite a bit tacky and wildly inappropriate, personally. To me, marketing the strip as "italian" as some have suggested, is insulting to who we are as a present day community. An ethnically oriented marketing only serves its purpose if its homegrown. and while there may be some history to that claim, there is little present in it. i prefer to live in my present day community, which i love, than some romanticized version of the past. granted, i love that people care enough to make suggestions, and to wish for things to become better, and to reverse the history of disinvestment. Still, we need to recognize our diversity and our present day culture in trying to grow.
My hope is that we can find ways to encourage those that live in the community to fill niches they feel are missing ( like the Big Bear) or encourage existing business to grow and change ( like Windows cafe) and to also encourage the type of DIY mentality that has made the borf mansion a vibrant scene ( yeah.. i know.. i know, but i like their direction, and people defintitely come out for their events.)
Anyway, i hope that people can use the comments here to engage in a (civil) discussion about what you'd like to see. we all know the hurdles, we all know the negatives, but it'd be great to hear of possibilities and solutions.
Additionally, if you have ideas that might be lengthy to post, shot me an email and i'll let you create your own posting here.
Old photos found here
