D.C. Seeks Input on H Street Transportation Study

I attended one of the three community charrettes held by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) for the H Street NE Corridor Transportation Study, at the Children's Museum last week. A charrette is an open collaborative planning process that includes all interested parties, such as community residents, H Street business owners and workers, and public officials.

DDOT expects to spend $7.5 million on H Street NE improvements in 2005. The agency is trying to avoid producing a plan for H Street that is created by only a few but that will affect many of us. One of the common urban planning tools to avoid this, and to also achieve community trust between the government and citizens, is to organize a charrette. One very nice thing about the charrette was that it was not necessary to spend the entire day at a meeting. Presentations were given each hour by a consulting team from Michael Baker Corporation and by city planners from the D.C. government.

I started my participation in the charrette by placing a dot on a map to show where I live. I walked around the auditorium and looked at many graphic displays showing H Street accident data, sidewalks, tree boxes, public transit and traffic volume. I was often asked by the staff whether I had any questions, and I was asked even more often about my opinions. We were then asked to sit at a table as a group, to methodically discuss topics and complete a survey. Topics included: Should we widen the sidewalks? Where? Should the sidewalks be brick or concrete? How do we get light for pedestrians at night? What type of streetlights do we like? Should there be more trees? What about street crosswalks — should they be painted stripes or colored pavers? I thought the discussion informative and very interesting.

There will be a public meeting to discuss the findings from the charrette soon. To be added to the mailing list for information about H Street transportation issues, call Rachel MacCleery, the project manager and the DDOT Transportation Planner for Ward 6, at 671-2555, or e-mail her at rachel.maccleary@dc.gov. You can find more details about H Street activities online, at http://www.hstreetdc.com/mainst and http://www.bakerprojects.com/hstreetne. §