Neighbor-
First, some sad news: if you hadn’t heard already, Alice Carter, who most of us either know or recognize living on 17th and Corcoran, died last week. Homelessness in our neighborhood has been brought up repeatedly in the last few months, and Alice’s death strikes at the severity of our growing needs for shelter, housing, and LGBTQ services. I’m continuing to work with the Mayor’s office, other Commissioners, and other agencies in support of connecting those experiencing homelessness with services the District provides. This story was covered in the Washington Post and Washington Blade. This season I have donated to Miriam’s Kitchen, a local organization dedicated to ending chronic homelessness.
The Cairo was featured in a story on WAMU on the District’s height restriction and the cost of housing. A 19-minute version of the story was also an episode of the What’s With Washington podcast. A good recap of the Height of Buildings Act as well as some expert perspectives on the future.
Street Sweeping Timing
A neighbor asked why street sweeping streets run from March until October, when the need for sweeping seemed to be about a month off; April to November, perhaps, might make more sense. Director of Public Works (DPW) Director Geldart tells me, “one thing to take into account is that from November through January we do leaf collection throughout the city. For every street we do two passes which includes leaf removal and street sweeping.” So even if street sweeping isn’t weekly, every street in the District gets swept twice. Further, “the drivers assigned to the sweeper program are also assigned to the leaf season program. We also found out that the sweepers really don’t work well when we have a lot of leaves at the curb side. The vac systems works best.”
Do You Want More Street Sweeping Streets?
A few neighbors inquired on turning 15th Street and 17th Streets into street sweeping streets to encourage better turnover of parking spaces for residents, prevent the street from being used as long-term vehicle storage, and to keep the streets cleaner. The process includes a major hurdle: signatures from 80% of residents along the street where street sweeping is proposed. This is something I strongly support, and would willing to help lead, although if I get feedback that this might not be supported by a number of our neighbors, I’ll listen and will not strongly pursue it. The full version of the petition and instructions are here. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or would be willing to help gather signatures.
Micromobility Corrals
Following up on a prior newsletter, at our last ANC 2B meeting, we supported the micromobility corral proposed by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) in front of 1928 17th St NW. As for the proposed corral opposite 1755 Q St NW, other commissioners and I received mixed feedback and we requested to have a month delay on responding. There is overall agreement that the visibility of the driveway across from 1755 Q St NW is dangerous and the removal of a parking spot makes sense for safety and better visibility of oncoming traffic. However, there is disagreement among neighbors if it is the best location for a micromobility corral. A prevailing idea brought to us is to have a micromobility corral at the corner over 18th and Q instead, which would better support Imperial House and other buildings closer to that intersection. For the area across from 1755 Q St NW, the recommendation then would be to simply remove the parking spot and not having a corral there, simply for safety. This will likely be on our agenda in January.
Happy Holidays
I’m thankful to serve you on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, and I’m grateful for all of the feedback, questions, and comments you’ve given me this year. Thank you. Whether you’re spending this time with family, friends, traveling, or savoring solitude during this peaceful time, I wish you the best and look forward to 2020. Keep in touch!
Aaron Landry 