Kwame Vows to Continue Fight for Circulator East of the River
Filed under Economic Development Committee, Local Investment, Neighborhood Revitalization, Prosper, The People's Blog
11 Comments
Today, At-Large Councilmember Kwame R. Brown, chair of the Committee on Economic Development, attempted to amend the “DC Circulator Bus Jurisdiction Expansion Amendment Act of 2009” but the amendment was not adopted by the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Councilmember Brown’s amendment would have extended the Circulator bus route along Pennsylvania Avenue, SE to Southern Avenue, SE. The amendment would have created the first bus route of its kind east of the Anacostia River.
“I’m committed to fighting for the first Circulator bus east of the river because it’s a matter of fairness to the residents who want reliable access to amenities downtown,” said Councilmember Brown. “I could not in good conscious vote to extend the Circulator service into Virginia while there are District residents who are still waiting for service.”
Councilmember Brown’s amendment was supported by At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson but was voted down by the Committee on Public Works. Councilmember Brown thanked Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham and his colleagues for supporting the goal of the legislation and Graham for his commitment to promptly hold a hearing on any such proposal so that it could be decided by the Council in time for FY11 budget. Councilmember Brown has said that residents and neighborhood groups, like the Pennsylvania Avenue Revitalization Task Force, have been waiting for years for this opportunity. Councilmember Brown will address the issue again on first reading.
For more information or to interview Councilmember Brown, please contact Press Secretary Michael Price at 202-445-4510 or mprice@dccouncil.us.
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The following was posted by Sylvia:
In principle, I agree with your effort. NO Question circulator should come EOR but we need better retail & attractions-farmers markets, events & promotion of our neighborhoods. At the same time I agree with @imgoph; his referral post is on point. We need to deal w/intra-ward & intra-EOR connectivity first; please check one-year old wmata/ddot study, the DC Neighborhood Circulation Study, http://www.dcgetinvolved.com/CirculationStudy/docs/June%202009%20-%20Newsletter.pdf. The promise of having four EOR councilmembers hasn’t taken as much shape as it should and this is an opportune time to focus and leverage this influence and power.
The following message was posted by Therese:
Greetings – Councilmember At-Large Brown this is such a wonderful attempt to include “The Circulator” east of the river. PP suggests although they understand that the communities east of the river are not well served in many ways and other communities west of the cities may start chiming in to wanting “The Circulator” cover their areas. Why not suggest that “The Circulator” cover all points of this beautiful historical city; North, East, South, and West. I feel that seggregating this service to one section of the city limits the many sites this city can offer to the visitors of this town as well as the residence.
The following message was posted by IMGoph
don’t get me wrong—equitable transportation options for everyone in the city is a worthwhile goal, but are there any studies that say a circulator route on pennsylvania avenue will be well-utilized? or was this just a “we want it too” bill? because how soon would we have harry thomas moving an amendment for a circulator on rhode island ave., muriel bowser asking for a circulator on georgia ave., mary cheh insisting that a circulator go up connecticut ave., and marion barry wanting one on south capitol street?
i realize that the communities east of the river are not well served in many ways. i personally think that dave murphy has a good idea here regarding connectivity east of the river. helping to create stronger ties between the communities in wards 7 and 8 would be a good idea as well.
in the end, do you have the money for this?
The following comment was posted by Juanita:
Hello – I think the Circulator would be a great addition to PA Ave SE. However, Southern Ave and PA Ave have easy access to Metro.
On the other hand, Glover Park is not convenient to Metro, discouraging many potential visitors to the neighborhood’s restaurants and businesses. As a new Glover Park resident, I’ve noticed that it is considerably less vibrant than other neighborhoods (sad, almost), and most people I’ve spoken to prefer to shop or meet in more accessible neighborhoods.
I believe that adding a route between Woodley Park Metro and, for example, Wisconsin Ave., and Calvert St. would certainly bring increased business and life to Glover Park. Perhaps it’s worth a trial run?
Thank you,
-Juanita
Kwame,
I read with great excitement your stance on the Circulator for underserved communities across the Anacostia River. I wholeheartedly support your cause, but I offer a suggestion:
Extend the Circulator from Union Station through Capitol Hill, either via Mass. Ave or via East Capitol Street and then across the Anacostia. Many people from the central and east neighborhoods of Capitol Hill would take advantage of regular Circulator service, who currently drive due to the currently infrequent service of the D6, 96, & 97 bus routes. We are a transit minded community, but the transport needs be affordable, regular, reliable, and convenient (i.e. the Circulator). Moreover, I believe such a route would be very profitable for Metro.
Thank you very much for your support, and keep up the good work.
Best regards,
David J Pinchotti Jr
113 15th ST NE
I’ve heard that you said you didn’t care what Metro employees think because they all live in Prince George’s County. Well I don’t care either because not only Metro employees, your staff, 90 percent of D.C. Government Employees, DC Public Schools Teachers and so many more don’t live in DC, so lets not just single out Metro Employees. Its amazing how the council will go to bat for DC employees who live in PG County every time Ms Rhee cleans house. You just lost my vote.
Liz Williams
DC Tax Payer
Voter
Ms. Williams. Thank you for sharing your opinion with us. Councilmember Brown certainly cares about the viewpoints of all District residents. We would like to assure you though that all of Councilmember Brown’s staff lives in the District of Columbia.