Metrobus A-Line Survey

WMATA is studying their A bus lines that wind through Anacostia and Congress Heights, and have produced a survey asking riders questions like which lines they use, where they typically board, and what times they use the lines.

Click to Enlarge
The A Line routes have a combined weekday ridership of about 15,000 passengers, which is one of the highest riderships in the Metrobus system. The goal of the study and survey is to make improvements to the lines and make the bus riding experience more convenient and efficient for riders.

Click Here and scroll down to participate in the online survey

>> Also, don't forget the Transit Happy Hour on Monday evening from 6-8PM at Uniontown Bar & Grill <<

"The problem with Anacostia is no metro access"

by IMGoph at The District Curmudgeon

See that quote above? Megan McArdle, who blogs for The Atlantic, wrote that as a comment on an article she wrote titled "Why Are There No Houses for Sale in DC?"

To start with, her premise is false. There are plenty of houses for sale in DC. Without knowing precisely her requirements, it's difficult to tell where she has been looking, but as a homeowner in Trinidad who pays close attention to when houses come on and go off the market, I know that there is a decent inventory of homes available in our neighborhood, and in many other neighborhoods in the city.

David Garber, who writes the blog And Now, Anacostia, commented and asked if she had looked in Historic Anacostia for a home. Her reply, quoted in the title for this article, shows unfamiliarity, if not downright ignorance, when it comes to this city. Look at the map below:


View Historic Anacostia in a larger map

The Anacostia metro station is highlighted in red, and the [Historic] Anacostia neighborhood is highlighted in yellow. The green line along Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue is approximately 1000 feet long. That's how far it is from the edge of the neighborhood to the Metro station.

If Ms. McArdle honestly believes that Anacostia has no Metro access, I'll gladly take her on a tour of the city to help familiarize her with its neighborhoods. Perhaps then she'll see there are homes for sale, and that maybe she needs a new real-estate agent who knows the city better than the one that hasn't been able to find her a home so far.

Cross-posted from The District Curmudgeon

*goodlinks: big news day

I'll follow up on these when I have a chance, but for now...

Initial Anacostia Streetcar Line to be Extended: Now from Bolling AFB all the way to Good Hope Road (!)

Moving Metro Headquarters to Anacostia is Fenty's Top WMATA Priority

St. Elizabeth's East Campus Redevelopment Plan Unveiled: New Metro Station Proposed
For the plan itself, Click Here (PDF)

Precedent! DC Council Orders Utility Lines Buried in Brookland: Outside of Federal City / Georgetown

photo by DG-rad

Consultants Advise Against Metro HQ Move to Anacostia

From the Associated Press:

Metro consultants are advising against relocating the transit agency's downtown D.C. headquarters to Anacostia or Prince George's County, saying the move would be too expensive.

Metro consultant Eric Smart told the board of directors Thursday that selling the downtown office and constructing a new one would cost the cash-strapped agency as much as $69 million.

While this is definitely a setback, I don't see it as the nail in the coffin. In any case, DC Government agencies aren't always the best revitalizers, so hopefully this means something better will eventually be developed in its place. Never loved the "will look very dated five years from now" design, either. Bitter? No, I just don't see this as bad news.

photo courtesy of the DMPED's site