The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the amendment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Headquarters Consolidation Master Plan for St Elizabeths is available for comment. While it includes several improvements that should appeal to cyclists, there is at least one part of one alternative that threatens a high priority DDOT project.
Alternative 1 of the I-295/Malcolm X Avenue Interchange Expansion threatens to render the South Capitol Street trail impossible. Alternative 1 rebuilds the I-295 S/South Capitol Street interchange to allow southbound traffic to use South Capitol and Malcolm X to reach the West Campus Access Road. But to handle the added traffic, it would push South Capitol to the west using the same ROW that DDOT plans to use to build the South Capitol Street Trail (circled in black below). The EIS does make it clear that planners are aware of the South Capitol Street trail, but it seems they are either unaware or unconcerned that these plans threaten it. GSA should either pursue Alternative 2 or work to modify Alternative 1 to allow for the South Capitol Street Trail. If you contact GSA or go to the public hearing on Thursday night make sure they know how important this critical link is and that any alternative must not preclude construction of the South Capitol Street Trail.
But all is not gloom and doom. There are other more positive developments. As mentioned before, both Alternatives for the West Campus Access Road include a 10-foot wide multi-use trail along the road from South Capitol Street (south end), across Malcolm X Avenue, and continuing to Firth Sterling Avenue/Defense Boulevard adding another north/south connection to the District’s trail system. Even the No Build Alternative includes bike lanes and a sidewalk on the Access Road (but not all the way to Malcolm X Avenue).
On MLK Avenue, Alternative 2 widens the street by 8 feet more than Alternative 1, from 78 to 86 feet wide, to make room for bicycle lanes. This will, unfortunately, involve removing 27 trees - as opposed to 21 for alternative 1. Still, this is the better alternative of the two, as new trees will be planted to mitigate the impact.
There are also plans to extend 13th Street on the east campus and that extended street may include bike lanes.
Finally, the Great Streets Initiative for MLK Avenue includes plans to add bike racks.
According to GSA only about 1% of employees are expected to bike to work at the new facility. But the multiuse trail is expected to become a main route for the 8% of employees expected to walk from the Metro station. GSA notes that other steps can be taken to get more people to bike. For example, the EIS notes that by building a smaller parking lot to serve the FEMA building, employees would be encouraged to use public transit, bike or walk to work. It also recognizes that planned bicycle lanes on Howard Road and along the new MLK Avenue Bridge over Suitland Parkway, as well as unplanned improvements from the Wilson Bridge would do more to improve bike/ped access, which, along with the South Capitol Street Trail - if they don't inadvertently kill it - should help the bicycle mode share to climb higher.
GSA will be holding a public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the amendment to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Headquarters Consolidation Master Plan at St. Elizabeths on January 13, 2011, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Matthews Memorial Baptist Church, John H. Kearney, Sr. Fellowship Hall, located at 2616 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE, Washington, DC.
All comments on the Draft EIS are due to GSA by February 2, 2011.
An understandable concern. But I think, in this case, your concern is overblown. If you look closely at the Alternative 1 graphic (page 33/48), you'll notice two things. First, an orange line along the west side of South Capitol that represents the proposed bike trail. Second, note the source of those maps: DDOT themselves.
Posted by: Froggie | January 11, 2011 at 08:46 AM
I suggest that any comments on the Draft EIS be presented as comments on the Draft EIS, rather than as recommendations for the alternative to be selected. Not that you can't state your preferences, but it is possible that GSA will not care about your preferences. They will care, however, about any defects in the EIS since such defects could provide a legal basis to stop the whole thing.
For example, if Froggie if correct, then the comment needs to be that the EIS is ambiguous or misleading. But since it is ambiguous, the comment also needs to be that the EIS is deficient for having failed to analyze the air quality impact of preventing the bike trail.
As a precaution, we probably should get the NPS coordinator for Potomac Heritage Trail to make a brief comment.
Posted by: Jim Titus | January 11, 2011 at 09:58 AM
Froggie, If you mean Figure 3-9 on page 3-31 I'm not sure you're correct. First of all, the orange line is nowhere labelled as the South Capitol Street Trail. Second, it clearly disappears under the redesigned ramp. Third, it would not be unusual for one part of DDOT to work on something without approaching the another part. Especially if the second part is the trails group.
Posted by: washcycle | January 11, 2011 at 11:44 AM
Yes, that's the graphic. I guess I just had a different read on it than you did.
But either way (and I also mentioned this on GGW), you're suggesting that DDOT's left hand can't talk to its right. I don't think that's a fair assessment, especially since the South Capitol St Trail documents clearly mention the potential impacts of the DHS project at St. Elizabeths on the trail corridor. If there's any valid argument to make in this, it's along the lines of what Jim mentioned...in that the St. Elizabeths EIS did not do the same.
Posted by: Froggie | January 11, 2011 at 12:08 PM
My experience is that DDOT's left hand often doesn't talk to the right. I've heard people in the bike/trails team talk about how they didn't find out about a project or change until well after it was possible to get bike facilities added in. Dozens of miles of bike lane have been missed because the road was repaved and restriped without referencing the bike plan.
The South Capitol Street plan wasn't finished until this fall, and as you'll recall involved reducing the width of roads to make room for a trail. This plan now involves widening the road to make room for the traffic. Obviously both can not be done. Considering the timing of both projects, it is not surprising that neither was aware of the others plans.
Posted by: washcycle | January 11, 2011 at 12:13 PM
That's not quite the case here. Whomever did the trail report clearly noted in the concept plan that DHS-related construction would have potential impacts on the trail alignment and width (under "General Considerations", page 12, Chapter 2). My 12:08pm point was that the St. Elizabeth's EIS did not mention the trail at all, even though it shows up on the DDOT maps. *THAT'S* where we have leverege on this one, in line with what Jim said.
Posted by: Froggie | January 11, 2011 at 12:21 PM
@Froggie I'm with Wash on the DDOT right/left hand issue. Even when engineers put the bicycle facilities into the drawings, they often make mistakes. Example: according to Heather Deutsch, engineers drew light poles for the new 11th St Bridge that were to be placed in the center of the bike lane (presumably between northbound and southbound riders). This an idea that makes sense on a divided highway, not a multi-user path. With some effort from Ms. Deutsch, it was fixed.
Almost every DOT in the USA needs to undergo a culture change away from the "autos uber alles" training of the past. DDOT is surely working on it, but they aren't there yet.
Posted by: Jonathan Krall | January 11, 2011 at 01:35 PM