PAUSE COLUMBIA ROAD BUS PRIORITY PROJECT

Resident for 11 years, bus user, frequent pedestrian

The Columbia Road Bus Priority Project is a big mistake. By removing busstops, you assure that bus riders are not a priority. I cannot believe this project which will be very disruptive to the community has been pushed through with so little effort to get reactions from members of the community. It should be halted in its tracks. Go back to the drawing board.

It’s outrageous that this plan was being implemented without public comment.

we live in the neighborhood and are furious of the plans to make our community unfriendly to pedestrians and bus riders...... and hurt local businesses.

Bike lanes are not senior friendly. It will be difficult to board a bus in traffic. Also, please do not move the bus stop on 19th and Columbia. It will be a hardship to walk to the next one in inclement weather. Every morning the bus stop is very crowded- elimination this would over crowd the next bus stop. Also, with bike lanes and flexi posts, there is nowhere for car to pull over for emergency vehicles- I had an experience with this on Tunlaw Road and could not pull over for two speeding police cars. And no place for ride share driver to pull over and discharge passenger. Parking is also needed, especially for contractors who service neighborhood residences.

This will directly affect our small business as parking is difficult with these spaces considered critical for customer and vendor pop ins.

Very poor public scrutiny

As a Columbia road adjacent resident of Mintwood place, I shudder to think of what will happen to our already inadequate street parking if this measure is implemented.

Ontario Rd should not to be converted to a one-way street northbound or southbound. There is also see no reason for a short block of Champlain St next to Unity Park to be closed. Converting the 2700 block of Ontario Rd above Columbia Rd to Lanier Pl one-way northbound will have an adverse effect on residents of adjacent streets who must drive their kids to schools HD Cooke ES and Marie Reed ES. DCPS school buses will also have to deal with any changes DDOT makes. Instead of making one block of Ontario Rd above Columbia Rd one-way northbound, make all of it a two-way street like it used to be south of Columbia Rd to Florida Ave before it was changed with no input from the residents. This would cut down on the traffic signal phasing and not interfere with the buses. There was very little outreach to the residents of adjacent streets concerning the current proposed changes to the direction to Ontario Rd one-way northbound. Traffic studies have shown two-way streets are safer.

I am resident of Adams Morgan and I agree with all points outlined on this petition.

I’m a senior. I am a resident of nearby Mt Pleasant but I volunteer and frequently shop in Adams Morgan where I used to live. The heart and soul of the neighborhood are its small shops which be seriously impacted by the proposed changes. I can not ride a bike anymore and so depend on the bus or my car. The neighborhood is a beautiful and vibrant community now; any changes would be tragic.

I object strenuously to these ill-considered changes, particularly given the dangers to pedestrians from bike riders in addition to cars. But I especially object to the bus route and bus stop changes that are imminent and will only make it harder to use public transportation to get to work (in my case, I need to get to Foggy Bottom from Columbia and 18th, which will require a transfer if the plans for change are carried out).

I haven’t spoken to a single local resident who supports this proposal. All are concerned for different reasons. The most salient pertains to the decreased parking and bus service. If this is being proposed to ameliorate certain problems i, and other voting citizens have not been told what they are. Leads one to consider the old sddage: “why fix what ain’t broke…” Poor communication!

resident

Horrible for the city. Do studies on our roadways and traffic patterns instead of buying data on ones done in Milwaukee.

absolutely a bad idea and also a huge problem for parking and for local merchants ...construction, noise, no necessity of this projects as i can see. bad bad bad idea!

The projected project will be a TREMENDOUS DISASTER, The people on Bokes and the EXTREMELY limited parking spaces are detrimental to the residents to the neighborhood.

Bike lanes in general, and these proposed widened bus lanes endanger frail senior citizens and disabled taxpayers of all ages who need curbside access to get into automobiles -- including those driven by "Villages" volunteers, taxicabs, MetroAcess vehicles and mini buses. Bike lanes remove parking from job-generating, tax-paying businesses and eliminate drop-off and pick-up lanes from paying customers, who in turn not only support the business but whose purchases support the DC tax base.

I also want to make clear that I live on Columbia Road, NW (2006, The Oakland). I have lived in this building since 1989, and before that on Biltmore and then Mintwood since 1982. I am an avid bus rider (all routes--but I am weekly rider of the 42, 43, L2, and S9) and walker. In other words, I know the neighborhood intimately and understand the balance of transportation needs. Like Adam, I have also spoken to 50+ business owners on Columbia Road, and I have not encountered a single business in favor of this plan. Adams Morgan BID is also against this project.

Serious concern for pedestrian safety and emergency vehicle ability to get through, as well as the usual traffic congestion issues.