Federal Parks on Capitol Hill Remain Unshoveled — Capitol Hill residents and Ward 6 Councilman Charles Allen called on the National Park Service to shovel sidewalks in and around parks owned by the federal agency around Capitol Hill, many of which remain covered in snow. [Hill Rag]
All Metrobus Routes Running, Trash Pickup to Resume — The Capitol Hill area is slowly returning to normal after last weekend’s blizzard. Metro announced that all bus lines will run today, though some will experience detours. Trash collection will also resume. Those who usually have Thursday or Friday trash/recycling collection should leave cans out over the weekend, as the District Department of Public Works will be attempting to make all collections. On Monday, normally scheduled trash and recycling collection resumes. [Washington Post, D.C. DPW]
Photos: Snow Piles Up at RFK Parking Lot — WTOP has pictures from RFK Stadium’s parking lot 7, where snow plows and trucks are dumping snow from around the district, with snow reaching up to 20 feet high in some areas. [WTOP]
Developer Submits Plans for Mixed-Use Buildings Near Stadium-Armory Metro Station — Donatelli Development last week submitted its plans to redevelop a parking lot near the Stadium-Armory Metro station into two mixed-use buildings. [Washington Business Journal]
Hill East Resident Documents Years of Change on His Block — Hill East resident John Cochran shared photos he’s taken over the past five years which document recent changes to the area around 15th Street SE and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. [The Hill Is Home]
Photo via Twitter/ CharlesAllenW6
Orange and Silver line trains have resumed six-minute rush hour service at the Stadium-Armory Metro station as repairs to the nearby power substation have concluded.
Metro CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld announced this morning that trains on both lines started operating every six minutes on weekdays from 5 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Both lines had been running on eight minute rush-hour intervals at the station since Nov. 9.
Prior to that, trains on both lines bypassed the station during rush hour since Sep. 25, when a fire damaged the substation that provides power to the station.
Repairs to the substation were completed last week, according to a news release from Metro.
“I want to thank the Metro customers who stayed with us despite less frequent service and crowding,” Wiedefeld said in a statement.” “We know there is more work ahea to rebuild rider confidence and make service reliable.”
Photo via Flickr/NCinDC
Three cars were damaged by gunfire on Sunday afternoon in Southwest near Nationals Park.
Police responded to calls of gunshots on the 100 block of O Street SW Sunday afternoon.m On the scene, police discovered shell casings and the three vehicles that were hit. No people were injured in the shooting and police do not have a suspect description.
Empower DC, a community organizing group focused on low-income District residents postponed an environmental justice tour planned for Buzzard Point due to safety concerns after the shooting.
On Saturday night, four men stole a woman’s car at gunpoint as she was parking near the Stadium-Armory Metro station about midnight.
The woman reported that four black men in dark clothing approached her car, flashed a handgun and ordered her out, according to an email from Metropolitan Police First District Captain Antonio Charland. The suspects fled the scene in her car, a red Chevrolet Cruze with Virginia registration.
Orange and Silver line trains are set to resume normal rush-hour service at the Stadium-Armory Metro station on Monday, according to a statement from metro Interim General Manager Jack Requa.
Trains will no longer bypass the station during rush hour, which they’ve done since a fire damaged a 9-megawatt power substation that helps power trains at the station Sept. 25. The decision to cut Orange and Silver line service to the station on weekdays from 5 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 7:30 p.m. was widely opposed by residents and local ANC commissioners.
Though the service interruptions were expected to last until the end of the year, Requa said in his statement that Metro maintenance workers found a way to end the service interruptions by upgrading the capacity of another power substation near the Potomac Avenue Metro station.
By increasing the power output of the Potomac Avenue substation, Metro is able to generate enough power to resume Orange and Silver line service at Stadium-Armory.
“As an Orange Line rider myself, I know firsthand how much our customers on these three lines have had to endure since the fire,” Requa said in the statement. “I am encouraged by the creative solution that was identified and implemented to allow normal service at Stadium-Armory Station.”
The trains will still run on a slightly limited schedule, with Orange and Silver line trains running every eight minutes during rush hour as opposed to the usual six. Both lines are set to return to six-minute intervals when construction on the Stadium-Armory substation finishes at the end of the year.
Analysts Say New Stadium at RFK Site Would Come at the Expense of Public Services — Analysts from the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, a group that conducts research on budget and tax issues, told Hill East residents that a new stadium at the RFK site would cost money that could be better used on schools, transportation and healthcare. [Capitol Hill Corner]
Advocates Hope Development Along Anacostia River Will Spur More Interest in Conservation — New development in Navy Yard and Southwest is bringing a lot more people in touch with the Anacostia River, which conservationists hope will lead to more interest in clean-up efforts. [District Source]
Photos: Inside Navy Yard’s New Pacers Running and Upcoming Hugh & Crye — JDLand took a look inside the Boilermaker Shops in Navy Yard, including the newly-opened specialty running store Pacers and the soon-to-be-open menswear store Hugh & Crye. [JDLand]
Metro Stands By Decision to Limit Service to Stadium-Armory Station During Construction — The interim general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Jack Requa, defended the decision to limit Orange and Silver line service to the Stadium-Armory Metro Station in a letter to ANC 6B commissioners. [Hill Now]
The interim general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Jack Requa, defended the decision to limit Orange and Silver line service to the Stadium-Armory Metro Station in a letter to ANC 6B commissioners.
The top Metro official also said he is confident but not certain that full service will return to the station by the end of the year.
The letter, which was sent on Tuesday, is a response to a letter that the ANC sent to WMATA at the beginning of October.
The commissioners’ letter asked for clarification on why Metro chose to limit service and what alternative options were considered. It also called for more regular updates on the construction on the power substations that forced the delays.
Last week, Metro unveiled a webpage that outlines progress on the construction, which began when a fire damaged the substation in September.
In his letter, Requa explained that the service cuts had to be made to limit the amount of electricity required from the damaged substation. Because trains use more electricity when accelerating, Metro made the decision to have less trains stopping and starting at the Stadium-Armory station. He also clarified that WMATA is not considering alternatives to the service cuts.
“We are currently focused on bringing the traction power substation back into service as quickly as possible and are therefore not exploring alternatives to the current service operations,” he said in the letter.
In response to questions about his confidence that construction would be finished by the end of the year, Requa said he is not certain but is confident in that estimate. However, Metro officials won’t know for sure if the construction will finish by the end of the year until they know if the two power line-ups that were only moderately damaged can be salvaged.
Photo via Flickr/NCinDC
Metro riders can now go online to follow progress on the Stadium-Armory substation repairs that have caused service disruptions on the Orange and Silver lines.
The new Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) webpage also outlines stages of the project, estimating full service will be restored to the station by the end of this year.
Metro announced it was suspending Orange and Silver Line service during morning and evening rush hours after one of three power substations in the area was destroyed by a fire.
The project is focused on restoring the other two substations that were not directly damaged by the fire. Work on phase two is now underway. It involves testing each piece of electrical equipment in the stations to ensure the components meet factory standards before they are approved for service.
An update to the site yesterday said the first week of testing was successful and the project schedule remains on track.
Community leaders have criticized WMATA for the decision to suspend service and the lack of communication about the project with residents. At the beginning of the month, ANC 6B commissioners sent a letter to officials addressing these concerns.
The Commission has since approved and sent a ratified version of the letter. It expresses disappointment in the lack of direct response from WMATA and outlines questions community members still have.
“The website goes a long way toward satisfying our concerns,” ANC 6B Chair Kirsten Oldenburg said. “Besides progress and communication, our first letter had other questions, and those have not yet been answered.”
Some of these questions cover why suspending service was chosen over other alternatives and how confident officials are about having that service restored in less than three months.
Still, Oldenburg was mostly encouraged by Metro’s efforts.
“I’m very pleased with the fact that the website exists, and we expect a response to our letters by our November meeting,” she said. “[Progress on the project] is looking good now, but anything can happen.”
Photo via Flickr/NCinDC
A man was hit with a handgun and robbed near Nationals Park just before 6 p.m. yesterday.
The man was walking on the unit block of P Street SW around 5:45 p.m. when he was robbed by two men, according to police. The attackers hit the man in the head with a gun before taking his cell phone, jacket and shoes, Metropolitan Police Department 1st District Lieutenant Crystal Beslow said in an email.
There was another gun-related incident last night on the other side of Capitol Hill near the Stadium-Armory Metro Station.
A resident on the 1700 block of Bay Street SE saw a man loading aluminum and copper into a pickup truck in the alley behind the houses on that block, police said. Once he was spotted, the man got into his pickup truck and began to leave. Before leaving, he got back out of the truck and pointed a gun at the resident Without firing any shots, the man got back into his truck and left.
Earlier today, police responded to a call about a stabbing near the intersection of M Street NE and Florida Avenue NE.
About 8 a.m., two men got into a fight in front of a house on the 600 block of M Street NE. One of the men was hospitalized with facial injuries, police said. Police said the man who was hospitalized stabbed the other man at one point, but the other man had fled by the time police arrived.
MPD 1st District commander Mark Beach said in an email that the two fighters knew each other and that neither of them live in the neighborhood.
Photo via Google Maps
Over the past few weekends, the Capitol Hill area has weathered the peak of D.C. street festival season and the empty, but persistent, threats of a hurricane.
This Columbus Day weekend in D.C. should be a little quieter, with the major exception of Taste of D.C., which will take over Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 3rd and 7th streets NW Saturday and Sunday. On the east side of the Capitol, the D.C. Armory will hold a two-day expo to celebrate the Army Ten-Miler. The expo will have performances, interactive exhibits and workout gear sales.
Columbus Day on Monday could shake things up for commuters who don’t have the day off or people who are planning to use their day off to run errands.
Here’s everything you need to know to make the most of a two or three day weekend in the Capitol Hill area.
Columbus Day
- Schools, libraries and local government offices will be closed.
- Parking enforcement only will take place along the H Street NE streetcar route.
- No Trash and recycling collection will occur. All collection will move back one day.
- Metrorail will open at 5 a.m. and close at midnight. There is planned maintenance that will cause single-tracking on the Red and Green lines
- Metro buses will operate on a Saturday schedule, with some post-midnight trips cut.
Weather
The forecast for this weekend is a welcome turnaround from the gray days of last weekend. It’s expected to be sunny all weekend with temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s.
Events
Army Ten-Miler Race Expo
Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (8:30 – 10 a.m. for U.S. military and Defense Department workers)
D.C. Armory (2001 East Capitol St. SE)
D.C. residents don’t have to have run in Sunday’s Army Ten-Miler to stop by the race’s expo, held all day Friday and Saturday. Vendors inside the D.C. Armory will have sales on running clothing, shoes and accessories. Old Guard Drill Team and Fife and Drum Corps performances will happen throughout the day inside the armory, while Army special operations soldiers will host interactive exhibits outside the expo. The displays may include helicopters, trucks and a tank. The expo is free.
Southwest DC Waterfront Boat-Home Tours
Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Gangplank Marina (600 Water St. SW)
Meet the “liveaboard” community at Gangplank Marina as they open their doors to the public in the name of charity. The tour is self-guided with the opportunity to see up to 18 boat homes and learn about the residents’ lifestyles. Tickets are available for $20 online, and proceeds will benefit local southwest charities. The tours will happen as scheduled rain or shine.
Metrorail
- Additional Metro staff will work Saturday at Union Station, Capitol South and Federal Center Southwest during the “Justice or Else” 20th anniversary of the Million Man March rally on the National Mall.
- Metrorail will open at 5 a.m. on Sunday for the Army Ten-Miler. Additional Blue Line trains will run between Franconia-Springfield and Stadium-Armory between 6 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. and between 11:15 a.m. and 12:40 p.m.
Metrobus
- Several buses, including buses on the 30N, 30S, 32 and 36 lines, will detour around the Taste of D.C. on Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 7th streets.
Stadium-Armory Delays May End This Year, Metro Says — Metro’s assistant manager for infrastructure said repairs to the power substation that caught fire in September could finish by the end of the year, returning normal service to the station earlier than initially thought. [WTOP]
Assistant Police Chief Tries to Assure H Street NE Residents That Police are Addressing Crime — Assistant police Chief Diane Grooms told an ANC 6A meeting last night that police are working to address recent crime on the H Street corridor. [Capitol Hill Corner]
Events D.C. Hires 11th Street Bridge Park Architects to Design RFK Campus — Events DC, the organization that manages the RFK Stadium campus, hired the company that designed the future 11th Street Bridge park to draft design concepts for RFK’s grounds. [Washington Business Journal]
Councilman Allen Joins Eight Other Councilmembers in Opposing Private School Voucher Program Extension — Eight members of the D.C. Council, including Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6, sent a letter to Republican leaders in Congress opposing their plan to extend the District’s private school voucher program. [Roll Call]
Homebody Reopens at New Location Below Forecast — Former Barracks Row home goods store Homebody reopens today at its new location in the basement of Forecast at 218 7th St. SE with an opening party at 6 p.m. [The Hill is Home]
Metro riders who use the Stadium-Armory station are calling for a fare reduction to “commensurate with the reduction in service” during rush hour.
The online petition created yesterday by local Erik Anderson asks the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to eliminate peak fares for riders who use the station during rush hour. Metro has suspended Orange and Silver line service to the station from 5 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 7:30 p.m. every weekday as it fixes a power substation that caught fire Sept. 21. Repairs are expected to take about six months.
Metro charges higher rates during rush hour, when trains are more crowded. But customers using the Stadium-Armory station say they shouldn’t have to pay extra because service at their station is limited during those times.
A Metro representative could not be reached immediately to comment on the petition. A spokesman for the agency, however, previously said only the WMATA board of directors can change fares.
After the first week of suspended service at the station, Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6 and local ANC representatives wrote letters asking WMATA to reconsider its decision to limit service to the station.
So far, more than three dozen people have signed Anderson’s petition.
Photo via Flickr/m01229
Capitol Hill-area community leaders have sharply criticized Metro’s decision to suspend rush-hour Orange and Silver line service to the Stadium-Armory station, calling the agency’s outreach to locals about the disruption “unacceptable.”
In a letter sent to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority this week, ANC 6B commissioners wrote that Metro officials have not adequately communicated with community members about the service interruptions, which are set to last six months. WMATA decided to cut rush-hour service to Stadium-Armory to repair a 9-megawatt power substation that helps power Metro trains, which caught fire last week.
“The advance communication so far has been unacceptable,” the letter says. “WMATA didn’t notify the local schools, so many children were late yesterday morning and marked tardy.”
The commissioners requested that Metro officials provide more information on why the plan to cut service to the station was chosen, what other alternatives were considered and how confident Metro is that the service disruptions only will last six months. They also requested monthly updates from WMATA on construction progress.
“ANC 6B residents aren’t faceless numbers,” the letter says. “Over 20,000 individuals live in ANC 6B and until yesterday, they relied on Metro to go to work, transport their children to school and visit with friends in other parts of the city.”
A WMATA representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Residents who live near the station have complained that Metro officials have not made enough of an effort to alert riders about the service cuts. Earlier this week, Tim Krepp, an area resident and husband of ANC 6B commissioner Denise Krepp, posted his own signs around the station warning people about the service changes after noticing that WMATA had not yet posted any notices.
Never mind, @wmata. We got this. pic.twitter.com/OTWoOsPsfQ
— Tim Krepp (@timkrepp) September 28, 2015
On Monday, Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6 and Councilwoman Yvette Alexander of Ward 7 wrote an open letter to WMATA officials asking them to reconsider their decision to suspend service to the station.
Photo via Twitter/Tim Krepp
Councilman Allen Asks Metro to Reconsider Skipping Stadium-Armory Station — Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6 joined Councilwoman Yvette Alexander of Ward 7 in asking Metro interim General Manager Jack Requa to reverse his decision to suspend Orange and Silver line service to the Stadium-Armory station during rush hour. [Washington Post]
H Street Corridor Residential Project Gets Redesign Ahead of Zoning Commission Hearing — Developers have revised their designs for a planned apartment building at 315 H St. NE across from the Giant on the H Street corridor. [Urban Turf]
Where to Get Free Ice Cream Today With a Side of Children’s Art — Stanton-EastBanc and Clark Construction are scheduled to dish out complimentary scoops of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream today from 5 to 6:30 p.m. near the Hine redevelopment project at 7th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. [Hill Now]
Bluejacket in Navy Yard Prepares for Fall, Winter Beers — Navy Yard brewery Bluejacket is working with local farmers to get apples, pears, cranberries and brown cherries for cold-weather beers. [Roll Call]
Some Metro riders could lose access to the Stadium-Armory Metro station for months as the transit agency works to repair a power substation that caught fire last week.
Only Blue Line trains will stop at the station during the morning and evening rush hours beginning tomorrow, according to Metro. Orange and Silver line trains will bypass the station during those times.
Metro’s rush-hour service is weekdays from 5 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 7:30 p.m.
Commuters who need to travel from Stadium-Armory to Orange Line stations east of that stop can use free shuttle buses for their journeys.
Last Monday, a 9-megawatt power substation that helps power Metro trains near RFK Stadium caught fire. Later that week, Metro reduced the number and speed of trains that pass through the station to avoid overloading the system.
Repairs to the substation are expected to take more than six months.
Photo via Flickr/NCinDC
Fire Shut Down Stadium-Armory Station for Nearly 10 Hours — Fire officials still are investigating the cause of a fire at a Metro power facility that burned throughout the day yesterday, closing the nearby Stadium-Armory Metro station for most of the day. [NBC Washington]
New Restaurant and Wine Bar to Open Near Lincoln Park — Lincoln Park Kitchen and Wine Bar, which will replace Ninnella Italian restaurant at the corner of 13th and East Capitol streets SE, is slated to open in early October. [Barred in DC]
Capitol Hill School Accused of Violating Rules on Standardized Tests — The Capitol Hill campus of Center City Public Charter Schools is one of six D.C. schools accused of violating standardized testing rules. Students at Center City said a test administrator encouraged them to change their answers to some questions. [Washington Post]
Restaurant Near U.S. Capitol Will Close if Forced to Remove Patio Seating, Eatery’s Owners Say — Owners of The Alibi restaurant at 237 2nd St. NW said a District Department of Transportation order to remove their sidewalk patio enclosure will eliminate two-thirds of the eatery’s seating and force it to shut down. [PoPville]
