Comments for “EMMP Concept A”
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Indent curb for parking and to allow safer ; traffic flow btw 7 and 8. walk is not used except for snack cart at 8th wider street allows safer pickup/dropoff for merchants and METRO
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Pedestrians use south side of D St now. Police park on brick sidewalk on north side-- indent north curb into park--for 3 add'l short term parking spots. Green in park is not now and probably never will be maintained. Snow is never cleaned. Parking is better use; with historical signs, bus stop active uses. Keep traffic access to Pa Ave from D
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Plan needs to address issue of pedestrian crossing in middle of street to access the Metro. Plan also needs to address the reality that dogs owners need a place to relieve their pets. It's wonderful to plant more trees as Capitol Hill needs more green space. But finished every square foot with expensive landscape undermines the quality of real life.
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As a parent, I think kids want just a normal playground structure that they can play on, climb on, run through, slide down, etc. I think that trying to make the play area too unique, modern, or 'smart,' may be more pleasing to the adults than it is to the kids, and at the expense of those kids' enjoyment. And speaking of expense, I think that the primary goal is a project that can in fact be funded and completed so that certain parts of a concept that are more expensive should be dropped for the greater goal of getting something done.
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I think bioswale is a great idea, if possible use native grass/legume/wildflower combinations that can attract pollinators, slow runoff, and are attractive.
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I like the bosque a lot.
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I like the idea of a "mini-Capitol" play area - introducing the Capitol metaphorically as a place for play, a place where we belong, is incredibly powerful. BUT be sure to use low-maintenance materials, not too many dirt-holding details, etc.
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"NY Times - 17Jan14 - "Technology Is Not Driving Us Apart After All": "Based on visits to parks and plazas in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Minneapolis, Montreal and Venice, Whyte and his acolytes formulated conclusions that were, for their time, counterintuitive. For example, he discovered that city people don’t actually like wide-open, uncluttered spaces. Despite the Modernist assumption that what harried urban people need are oases of nature in the city, if you bother to watch people, you see that they tend to prefer narrow streets, hustle and bustle, crowdedness. Build a high-rise with an acre of empty plaza around it, and the plaza may seem desolate, even dangerous. People will avoid it. If you want people to linger, he wrote, give them seating — but not just benches, which make it impossible for people to face one another. Movable chairs can be better. Also: Never cordon off a fountain. “It’s not right to put water before people and then keep them away from it,” Whyte wrote in his 1980 book, “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces.” People want to splash, dip their toes, throw coins. He believed that dense greenery can make places feel less safe, that people find the fishbowl effect of sunken plazas disconcerting and, presciently, that food trucks draw crowds. Whyte’s insights were incorporated into 1975 revisions of New York’s zoning code, and the Bryant Park Corporation — credited with turning around the once-squalid park — bases its work on many of his principles."
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I can't determine if you are moving this bus stop to the plaza or not. If not, you should because its an eyesore, blocks the sidewalk and is the source of much pedestrian congestion.
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Viewed from above, what is the dominate feature of this "PLAZA?" It is certainly NOT the traditional understanding of a Plaza as a place for the community to meet and greet, mingle and so forth. The dominate color tells the story - GRAY means "roadway." There is far, far too much obeisance given to vehicles in our culture, and this concept reifies that cultural mistake.
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I support the splash park for kids but if you go down by the DOT & Five Guys if your kid is running through it, I often worry if he will keep running right into the street, A curb at least 2-3 feet is needed to keep the kids away from the cars and traffic on the Penn Side as well as the 8th street elevations. I wonder if the water splash park would be better over on the NE side of the design where the other kid area is???
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Why not put a park in this location for kids.
Those of us with young kids have to walk down near the POLICE station for kids to play somewhere. The Lincoln Park design for the playgrounds is a little small and I would maximize the footprint for a similar type of park with equipment for kids.
This park currently has a bunch of homeless and folks dealing drugs most of the day so if this is a dedicated park for kids the presence of more adults will force them to find a new place to "Hang Out"Add some water features for kids to run through as the DC summers are extremely warm.
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Why would you not have a path directly to 8th street from the Metro Entrance as currently designed? People will walk through the grass directly to 8th even without a path!!!
I am a current User of this path everyday
ADD Lighting for nighttime all over this place, its way to dark at night!!!!!!
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Lets try and get rid of the RATs that have infested the current Tree and dirt closest to the metro entrance. Come early enough in the AM and you can see them scurry all over.
ADD LIGHTING ALL OVER, its way to dark at night on the cuurent path from the Metro the Dunkin Donuts.
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Wherever benches are placed, please keep in mind the issue the park already has with vagrants. It won't help the parks image at all if the park remains an day resting place.
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Where is the memorial tree in this plan? Remember that it is a key element of the community's sense of place around the holidays when it is decorated.
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Can this plan consider the width of sidewalks in the median crosswalks? This sidewalk is particularly narrow for the amount of traffic it gets crossing from the metro to Eastern Market.
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I'm not sure this plan adequately factors in the amount of foot traffic that currently cuts through the grass to get directly to D St. How will that be managed?
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I am not a fan of this play structure at all. It is weird and looks like it would require a lot of maintenance. Too faddish. Just build a traditional play area, please.
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Can the medians become a space for community art they way they are on New York Ave in NW near City Center? I think large art and sculpture is missing from this project.
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If a new mid-median crosswalk isn't possible, then I think the raised planter or a face is the only solution. Otherwise, folks will keep crossing and trampling down the vegetation.
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I like the surround seating, but this could be most helpful in the areas immediately behind the bus stops where there is never enough seating or shelter. Could the plan incorporate additional shelters that would fit with the aesthetic of the new park?
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Moving the bikeshare racks makes sense. The current location seems to be right in the midst of a lot of pedestrians. I feel like I'm always about to run someone over. Is this location much better, though? It still seems very exposed. What about on the south side of the tree bosque or west side of the lawn by the library?
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Love this idea. I love these kinds of spaces. I wish this could be closer to the eateries on the north side though on 7th St so that folks going to Eastern Market on the weekends could appreciate the seating and shade. Could a bocce court be incorporated here?
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I'm not opposed to a water feature somewhere in Parcel 4, but right here seems like an issue what with the amount of foot traffic. It would be in the way of commuters and pedestrians, there would be water everywhere and it wouldn't be a pleasant or safe out of the way place for kids to play given the amount of foot traffic and proximity to the roads