ANC6B’s Transportation Committee met Wednesday night in Hill Center to consider an application for a Go Bus pick up site near Eastern Market.
NYC Go Bus Wants Stop Near Eastern Market
By Larry Janezich
Wednesday night, Commissioner Kirsten Oldenburg’s ANC6B Transportation Committee heard Go Bus reps Michael Curreri and Matt Schapiro present the company’s DOT Public Space application for 24/7 use of 5 parking spaces, at 721 D Street, across from Hill’s Kitchen. Go Bus wants a stop here for their service to New York City.
The stop would be the final pickup point before getting on 295 for the four hour trip to the 30th Street and 9th Avenue stop in Manhattan, on a route that starts in Capitol Heights with stops in Alexandria and L’Enfant Plaza.
The Committee supports the concept, but has concerns about the narrowness of the street and the loss of parking for the small businesses there which rely on customer parking. After some discussion regarding possible alternative parking spaces, including spaces near 8th and Pennsylvania, Seward Square, Potomac Metro, and Stadium Armory Metro, the Committee voted 12 – 0 to embrace the concept but oppose the application as currently stated. Chair Kirsten Oldenburg spoke for the committee, saying she hoped to see a new version of the application come forth soon.
Go Bus seems committed to a stop near Eastern Market, and indicated they will file a new application with an alternate location as soon as possible. Once the needed parking spaces are agreed upon and a permit issued, service could start within 60 days. Currently a round trip ticket from L’Enfant to NYC is about $42.00. The stop would also be a discharge point for trips returning from NYC. Currently, on the busiest days, there are 3 trips departing from L’Enfant Plaza. Company reps say buses will stop for about ten minutes at the site.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
A bus to NYC – how splendid that would be. Although L’Enfant is close, having a stop on the “doorstop” would make a huge difference, when it comes to ease and convenience.
If they want to be near a Metro train stop, Potomac Ave or Stadium Armory offer much easier parking options for idling busses. They also offer more space in terms of a line/crowd of people with luggage who are waiting on a bus arrival.
I suggest the spot where PA Ave/Potomac Ave meet by Harris Teeter – there is already a bus stop – either the one on Pennsylvania or the one on Potomac Ave- either way- much less congestion than 721 D St SE.
DDOT won’t allow them to use existing metrobus stops. Which makes sense because you don’t want a bus idling for 10 minutes to load/unload in an active bus stop.
The mirrored triangles in front of Trader Joe’s/Community Connections on either side of Pennsylvania make the most sense. They’re unused. Parking is currently prohibited. There are concrete pads already there. Its close to existing businesses and the metro.
I didnt mean for them to use the actual Metro stop – I assumed that was obvious- but if you look at those areas- there is ample space near there for a bus. Much easier ingress/egress for a large vehicle than D St SE/7th.
If you have never been to one of these stops- ppl wait out there for hours for the bus arrival.
The 700 block of D is/was a nonstarter and the transportation committee voted to oppose a stop there as well as in front of CVS/Little Tavern/Sanphan at the end of the south side of the 600 block of Pennsylvania.
On top of being a terrible idea in theory, in practice these buses regularly double park to load because of lax parking enforcement/towing during Monday-Saturday and literally zero DPW parking enforcement on Sundays. So either option would be incredibly dangerous or block all traffic as well.
EXCELLENT recommendation. A bus stop near Eastern Mkt. would ADD to the congestion. NOT a good idea.
Second that. The south side of Pennsylvania (in front of Dunkin’ Donuts) also makes a lot of sense regarding the route — the bus can drive down 11th and take the ramp to 295 N. Pennsylvania Ave is quite wide there, so there would be no impact on traffic.
This would be a great place to wait, with the snack and coffee you just bought at Starbucks or DD. Also, the added foot traffic would help with keeping panhandlers in check.
DDOT might be opposed to blocking traffic flow on Pennsylvania Avenue which may be why the promoters proposed the D Street option. The transportation committee did the right thing.
A bus on PA Ave wouldnt impede traffic any more than a delivery truck or other bus. D St is a horrible idea and frankly – there is no need for a NY bus in this area. Union Station and L’Enfant Plaza are close enough and already meet the need. If you can get to EM then you can get to either of those places via Metro or Metro Bus.
That street is quite narrow and buses are wider than cars. I suspect they might well wind up blocking this stretch for other traffic
Can we make this contingent on obeying the speed limit? Like, literally the posted speed limit of 25mph. I would support this if the bus company agreed that any of its drivers shown to be going more than 26mph between EM and 295 would be immediate cause for termination of pick-up rights.
They’ve already killed someone on H Street.
I am totally opposed. Eliminating additional parking spaces on D street would not only disadvantage people who are shopping at Hill’s Kitchen, FedEx and other shops on D as well as 8th Streets. And it would seriously disadvantage the shops. Several parking spaces on D Street have already been allocated to ZIP cars. Moreover, D street is too narrow for a large bus and would seriously impede traffic. There are plenty of better and more sensible alternatives, including those listed by residents who obviously know the neighborhood better than the promoters. I am strongly opposed and hope that Councilman Charles Allen can do something to put the kibosh on this effort.
Baed on the information now provided , it appears they need this space for max 60 minuets per day. But since space will presumably be prohibited 24 hrs per day to meet this need, that means others cannot use it the other 23 hours. That seems to me a very inappropriate and inefficient allocation of a very valuable commodity, namely parking spaces on Capitol Hill
I am sure the merchants who have businesses near the proposed stop would agree. With this being one of four pickup stops, I doubt more than 30-40 people will board here each day, not all of who will likely live on Capitol Hill. It also ignores the fact that they could take metro three stops to L’Enfant and board there. Union Station is not far away and many buses depart from there. A proposal to give up parking spaces with these reasonable alternatives available strikes me as highly irrational.
I saw Potomac Avenue and Stadium Armory proposed as alternatives. Curb space at Potomac Avenue is already scarce and I’m sure will get worse with all the housing to be delivered near there. Stadium Armory seems more reasonable particularly if the redesign of Parcel 13 takes this need into account. I also saw no discussion as Navy Yard metro as another alternative.
Agree, Le Enfant and Union Station are much better alternatives and Union Station has the facilities for buses. Use of Le Enfant is also a better choice since it would not require the loss of parking or disadvantaging merchants.
There is too much congestion around Eastern Market for another bus stop. There is a proper bus terminal at Union Station.
Eastern Market deserves these kinds of services. Redirecting everything to other places is not always the answer.
My chief concern is that lots of kids use this area. Multiple schools, both public and private, run shuttles that stop there. Children also visit the public library. These buses are huge and unforgiving and would only add to an already chaotic scene.
There are many unanswered questions. Will these buses be coming from Union Station or L’Enfant? How will they be traversing the Hill — I assume the Capitol Police will be diverting them from Independence Avenue to our residential streets. Turning a large bus from Pennsylvania onto Seventh and then to D Street under normal traffic and pedestrian conditions seems like a half-baked endeavor. Union Station is a designated transit hub and is easily reached by existing transit options, as is L’Enfant. That said, is there a real need for any of this? Very unlikely. Idling buses and blocked sidewalks. No thanks.
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