When the BRAC came out in 2005, one of the facilities set to close was the Walter Reed Hospital campus in northwest DC. Since then several government agencies have submitted applications for part of the 110 acres. GSA is seeking 34 acres in the northeast corner of the site. The State Department has applied for the northwest corner for chancery space. It's possible that the Department of Health and Human Services might build a laboratory on some of the remaining land and that the area fronting Georgia Avenue could be used for commercial and retail space.
If all of this pans out, the facility could be broken up into several smaller facilities, which could be good for cyclists. In my earlier post on this, I had asked for space along Aspen Street for a side path. That was when I thought it would remain a single, impenetrable facility. But now I think it would be better to make Aspen a signed bike route, which - according to the DDOT bike map - has a "fair" bicycle level of service connecting Rock Creek to the Met Branch Trail.
In addition, the area should be brought into the street grid. That means reconnecting and opening (even if only for bikes and pedestrians) Dahlia Street and Butternut Street (east-west) & 13th Street and 14th Street (north-south). This can't be done perfectly. Existing buildings, many of which are historic, block 13th and 14th, for example. But even if Main Drive were opened in it's present curvy state, that might serve some cyclists.
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