April 1, 2009 Meeting – “Public Transit”
Presentation by Owners/Managers of Tynan Coffee
Dan/Elise Bloodwell – managers, residents of Highland Park
Brian/Jim Sullivan – owners
Will be located in Highland Park, between Five Guys and Commonwealth
Open – June/July
Traditional coffee house:
Increased focus on teas (all loose leaf)
Expect 15 or so tea options (blends/tea lattes/seasonals)
Various food options (salads, quiches, soups, sandwiches, desserts/cupcakes)
Breakfast options TBD
Prepackaged coffee/tea for sale; supplies for sale (mugs, tea accessories, etc.)
Limited alcohol menu (3-4 wine/beer options)
Interested in community input on menu, etc.
All products locally sourced
Focus on “in store” experience
Local neighborhood theme
Free wifi
Fireplace
Soft seating/counter seating/tables for 2/4/6
Total 40-50 seats
Hours:
Mon-Thurs – 6:30am-9pm
Friday – 6:30am-10pm
Saturday/Sunday – 8am-10pm
Other locations to be opening in DC area – Petworth, etc.
Presentation by Councilmember Jim Graham on Public Transit Issues
Also presenting:
Jonathan Kass – Transportation Advisor
S. Hernandez – Legislative Advisor
Can email at jim@grahamwone.com with questions/concerns
New bus services announced:
S9 Express Bus – 16th St to McPherson Square (peak hours only)
New Circulator Route – northern expansion
Woodley Park/Adams Morgan/Mt Pleasant/Columbia Heights (14th and Irving)/U St/Logan Circle.
Runs every 10 minutes
Weekdays until midnight; weekends until 3am
43 – Columbia Road to Connecticut Ave; now goes under Dupont Circle to save 10 minutes.
S1, S4 lines – no cuts
The most bus line cuts are in PG County
Most bus lines changes are done to prevent bus bunching
Signal Prioritization:
Allows busses to extend green lights to keep moving, prevent delays
Currently on Georgia Ave, exploring other locations
Considering making changes to parking on 14th Street between Irving and Kenyon – to encourage more use of DCUSA parking garage
Columbia Heights Performance Parking Zone:
Protects residential parking – only residents can park, no more 2 hour spots
Meters – higher prices for short term to encourage used of DCUSA parking garage
DPW moving ticket enforcement to 9am, rather than 7am.
DDOT meeting upcoming in May (day/time TBD) to comment on CH Performance Parking issues
Escalators at Metro:
Work in progress, often long lead time for parts; Graham will have update soon (NB: since meeting, escalator returned to service)
Signage with dates is new effort to increase transparency; downside is that it creates expectations that in this case were not met
Presentation by Mohammed Khalid, DDOT Infrastructure Improvements
www.columbiaheights-streetscape.com
Park Road Streetscape Work – Mt Pleasant to 14th St, July completion
Park Triangle Project:
Fountain – test fit/preparations, July completion, then on to design and construction (DDOT managing)
Arts and Humanities Dept handling tile
Traffic signal at Pine and Park Rd (complaints – too short, traffic builds up)
Sherman Ave Project:
Survey complete
Currently creating steering group
Need to iron out issues with Pepco vault
Very tight timeline – funding is part of stimulus package (construction must start by 2010)
Design by end of 2009/Summer 2010 construction
Lower Georgia Ave Project:
Part of “Great Streets” Projects
Will now be in two phases – Otis to Euclid, Euclid to Florida
Euclid to Florida on hold indefinitely due to Howard University development plans (Howard Town Center)
Otis to Euclid design underway; summer 2010 construction
Presentation by Aaron Oberman, DDOT Mass Transit Administration
11th St Bus Service – changes in late 2008; excludes 11th St bus to Federal Triangle
DDOT looks to consolidate bus service where it can on parallel streets
Off peak Yellow Line Metro service to remain as is – cannot run Yellow at peak; too many Green Line trains, not enough spacing possible for turnarounds.
Columbia Heights Metro had the highest ridership change in 2008 in the entire Metro system.
Miscellaneous Q and A for all presenters
Unlimited WMATA monthly passes – in progress, release TBD
Auto load SmartTrip (like EZ Pass – reload from bank account once reach critical level) – expected 2010
Columbia Heights Target – one of the highest grossing in the country
Bed Bath and Beyond/Best Buy – very strong sales performance
Washington Sports Club – in negotiations to expand current space
DCUSA supposed to be advertising parking rates – Graham to look into why they aren’t
Looking to lease DCUSA parking spaces to outside groups – hospital, etc.
Next NCHCA Meeting – June 3rd, 7pm
Agenda TBD, expect presentation by National Latino Festival organizers