Mayor’s Decision to Park Buses on Buzzard Point Will ‘Overburden’ Southwest, Councilman Allen Says

Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6 is calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser to reconsider her decision to allow commercial buses serving Union Station to park on Buzzard Point in Southwest.

In an open letter to the mayor published on The Southwester’s website today, Allen said allowing the buses to park on Buzzard Point will place too much of a burden on Southwest residents. The councilman said Bowser should find a different location for the vehicles.

“Adding commercial bus parking to Buzzard Point will undoubtedly create additional pressures within these vibrant residential neighborhoods and negatively impact the community,” Allen said in his letter.

Bowser already has changed the location of the overflow bus parking before.

The group responsible for the restoration and construction at Union Station initially had sought to park the buses at the long-closed Alexander Crummell School in Ivy City, a move that was unpopular with residents of the Northeast community. At the beginning of August, Bowser assured Ivy City residents that their neighborhood would not house the buses, opting instead to park them on Buzzard Point and at other locations around D.C., The Washington Post reported.

But Allen said that moving the buses to Buzzard Point will “overburden” an area that is already home to several large-scale construction projects, including The Wharf.

“Neighborhood streets are already at capacity with construction traffic for the many projects underway,” Allen said, adding that “the combination of heavy commercial traffic seriously impacts pedestrian safety and the quality of life in Southwest.”

Photo via Google Maps