As Fall settles in, the progress of the Metropolitan Branch Trail construction could be viewed as a half-full/half-empty depending on the observer:

• Asphalt has been placed from the Franklin St/8th St northern terminus down to the Rhode Island Ave overpass; and from T St down to just before R Street,  but,
• The gap from Rhode Island to T St appears to be waiting on significant grading work necessary to account for large drop-off on the western shoulder of the Trail.

• Solar light-posts have been installed along the paved sections (and should be working at night already), but,
• No fencing has been erected (save the small section down the 8th St ramp) to discourage vandalism and squatting.  Broken bottles are starting to crop up along the paved sections and homeless storage is appearing along the Trail.

• Access paths have been partially constructed at 8th St, S Street and T Street, but,
• R Street and V Street access paths have yet to begun.  The pedestrian bridge that connects the Trail to the Rhode Island Ave Metro Station is more than a year away.

• Finally, the Trail nearing a milestone (a fenced, paved path from Franklin St to R Street), but,
• The segment from R Street to just under the New York Ave overpass may not be completed until the Spring.  This would mean the Trail will continue to not connect to any Metro Station and require users (after taken a large detour around Pepco and FedEx property) to still cross the Florida Ave/New York Ave intersection.

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Franklin St/8th St access path

The last bullet-point is the most critical issue.  It must be noted that DDOT has been working hard to move this impasse created by WMATA and has hinted (not promised) that the segment could be completed this November.  They have also indicated their interest in completing the Trail as soon as possible by suggesting that the cold weather may not prevent completion of this short segment (assuming WMATA delivers their paperwork) since the asphalt is being produced just a few blocks away at Fort Myer Construction’s plant–allowing it to be delivered plenty hot for its placement.

Thanks goes to DDOT for devoting such efforts to a project that is tiny, in terms of monetary values, for their overall portfolio, yet extremely large, in terms of its value to our community.

UPDATE: As DDOT continues to keep silent on the matter, we are left with speculation on what happened to cause this huge delay to the project (Spring ‘10). Read two different explanations: a Rails-to-Trails Conservancy representative commented to this post here and the WashCycle commented to its own post here.

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Having sailed by the July 22 contract deadline, and offering no reasons to the public for the delay, DDOT may have to finally fess up if the Trail gets delayed until Spring 2010!

The issue? Not securing right-of-way permits from WMATA for the section of the Trail from R ST NE to the New York Ave Bridge.  DDOT cannot push blame onto a huge private entity like Pepco this time.  No, this is an issue between two neighboring government agencies–one that DDOT should have addressed long ago and one it had experience with when the original segment of the Trail was constructed on WMATA right-of-way in 2003.

So what will that leave us with?

• A trail that connects Franklin St to R St and a Trail that connects New York Ave Bridge to L St.
• No trail access to either the Rhode Island Ave Metro Station or New York Ave Metro Station by the residents of Eckington or Edgewood.

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I have hesitated asking for a “call to action” for the MBT’s incessant delays over the few years I have written this blog, but I feel now may be the time to try to seek help from fellow residents concerned about this trend.

To contact the Mayor’s office, via his chief of staff, Carrie Kohns, call (202.724.8815) or email her and the DDOT representatives your concerns.  At a minimum, DDOT should provide a temporary path connecting the Trail’s R ST and New York Ave Bridge terminus so that its provides safe, off-street pedestrian and cycling access from the neighborhoods to the New York Ave Metro Station.

More than a month after the July 22 contract deadline, Fort Myer Construction has yet to complete the Metropolitan Branch Trail and DDOT had yet to offer any update of the schedule to the public or the Mayor’s office. Today, the new website went live, but there is really no new information to anyone following the progress of the Trail.

However, DDOT did meet with Fort Myer today and relayed to me the following new estimated schedule:

Trail open:  Late Fall

Trail completion (landscaping and other beautifications): Late Spring ‘10

Rhode Island Ave ped/bike bridge: Out for bid next year (meaning: likely 2011)

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Again walking along the Trail site this past weekend, I can report only a tad more progress.  The ramp up to 8th Street NE, underneath the Franklin Street overpass, is graded, but not paved.  Grading has been done south to shopping center across from the Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station.

Missing: All fencing; all paving; all landscaping; benches; safety phones; site-clearing south of R Street

Still present:  lots of Fort Myer Construction materials and debris (from other projects); homeless people, their belongings and their waste under New York Avenue bridge.

Draft Rhode Island Ave ped/bike bridge

Other issues:  Rhode Island pedestrian/bike bridge will not be completed before opening of Trail (Does anyone foresee a problem erecting a fence, blocking people from a shortcut they have been utilizing for over a decade? Fencing will be 6-8 ft aluminum–hopefully strong enough to thwart perturbed individuals); the on-again/off-again temporary access path to the Trail from Harry Thomas Way appears to be off the table–at least until development of the property.

Reasons offered (by DDOT) for delay:  drainage issues (legal, not realized) onto neighboring land; right-of-way issues

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While the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers is set to expire December 1, 2009 (but is likely to be extended), the similar, and ongoing, $5,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers in the District is not too shabby either. DCMud has put together a nice chart that compares the two existing credits and notes the potential advantages of the D.C. credit.

See the bolded notes below:

4th of July in Eckington

A little belated, but I did want to share with the outside world how many Eckingtonians watch the 4th of July fireworks each year.

The hilltop location of Eckington already provides rooftop viewing of the Washington Monument.  However, it is always more fun to watch (and listen to) fireworks with a crowd, so many head up to even higher ground at McKinley High School.  Sitting in the newly renovated football stadium, we have an excellent view (and listening location) of the fireworks on the National Mall (note the Washington Monument to the left of the fireworks).  We have good crowds that fairly represent the diversity of our neighborhood.

There were plenty of “pre-game” fireworks to entertain the patiently-waiting kids.  We also had our first streaker (albeit, all the way on the far end of the field).

Look forward to even bigger crowds in the years to come.

This past weekend, I walked along the Metropolitan Branch Trail route from T St NE up to Franklin Street in order to gauge its construction progress.  As you can see, a finished Trail by the July 22 contract deadline appears to be questionable.

MBT at Franklin Street overpass

MBT - Looking South (Capitol hovers over the tracks)

The work on the Trail began at the Franklin Street overpass with what appears to be an 18-ft wide path.  A 150-200ft ramp is to be built to connect the Trail to the roadway.

The narrow gravel base does not yet extend to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station (see image) and the cleared pathway ends just after the station.  After which the propose route is littered with large debris piles and Fort Myer equipment and materials.  And this just gets you to T Street.

End of gravel bed

This does not give me great hope that the Trail will be completed by July 22nd as stipulated in the contract.  My guess is that the DDOT and Fort Myer Construction’s work on past and future projects will persuade DDOT from enforcing any penalties or pressuring the contractor to expedite the work.

An email has been sent to DDOT for their comment, but I do not expect a reply.

That being said, however, it is still inspiring to walk along the route, see an area ignored by the city for so long, and envision what IS going to be here in the coming months.  There will be an uninterrupted path from Franklin Street to L Street with views of the elevated Metro track, at-grade rail tracks and our nation’s Capitol. Let’s hope it is done right.

MBT - Looking North

MBT - view of elevated tracks

MBT - View of Capitol and NoMa tower cranes

“Realist” posted a well-thought comment in response to my, evidently, glowingly optimistic view of our neighborhood.  I am not attempting to dismiss his/her perspective to the masses, but rather to offer a glimmer of hope to those who may share such views of their neighborhood–it is troubling to hear anyone view their home negatively.

The first “reality” that Realist present is crime–evidenced by the highly visual episodes in the past year. Any transitional neighborhood has its share of crime.  What is more important is the effect of this crime on its inhabitants.  Except for one or two innocents, this violence was “bad” on “bad,” and while it certainly did not do wonders for the image of the neighborhood, it had limited to no effect on “good” Eckingtonians.  One killing is always too many, but “crime” is not the first issue that comes to my mind when I look for problems or obstacles to growth in our neighborhood (though I have no stats to back up this, perhaps unfounded, nonchalance).

The second concern is something I will call “turnover”–the departure of residents who are, we’ll just label as,  “unhelpful” (note: this is neither a demographic nor “old guard” categorization) to be replaced by newcomers who will immerse themselves in the neighborhood.  I hesitate to use the word “gentrification” not because of fear of the term, but due to its confinement as an asset-appreciation term–my “turnover” term eoncompasses the appreciation increase from the former resident to the new resident.

Realist offers skepticism that the neighborhood’s “poverty, ignorance, violence, poor physical and mental health, and many other aspects of human nature” can change due to a entry bar he/she sets as $500,000.  But I feel this is much too high.  The great thing about Eckington right now is that there are plenty of single-family homes that, when they appear on the market, can be obtained for less than $400k or even $300k in liveable condition.  I should know–we bought one in January 2007.  We have Capitol Hill friends who are floored by the amount of space they could obtain for the buck in our neighborhood.

The market slowdown could not have come at a better time for the neighborhood. Perhaps on the verge of having many of our rowhouses converted into multi-unit condos (which would have most likely turned into rentals in this market), we have maintained, for the most part, the same stock of single-family rowhouses that are sure to interest the next wave of homeowners (many who will purchase before the end of the year due to the $8,000 tax credit in the stimulus bill).  We are also not limited to NoMa employees, in terms of filling our coffers.  The prices are still affordable to Federal employees and white-collar workers near the Red Line stations of Chinatown, Metro Center, Farragut North and Dupont Circle should take a close look at our Red Line neighborhood (if they have good information–BRANDING–or unbiased Realtors).

As for the overall housing market picture, interest rates will have to increase, but a factor that has kept inflation low in the previous year–oil prices–will be one of many factors (along with recent suburban housing collapse (which could scare some buyers); financial stresses on local governments; demographic changes in suburbs; generational persuasion-shifts, etc.) that increases the attractiveness of the urban city. And not everyone wants to live in condos in Chinatown/Penn Quarter or lofts in Dupont/Adams Morgan.

Realist also offers pessimism over the Metropolitan Branch Trail–worrying that it will become a mugger’s paradise or an after-school hangout for McKinley High students.

I understand there have been some incidents between students and residents in the past, but the school is new, and the selectivity is increasing.  The Class of 2008 was the first graduating class with students who has attended the school for all 4 years–98% of these students applied and were accepted to college, including Stanford, MIT, Columbia, Cornell and Duke. I find the current crop to be quite respectful and communicative with us “adults.” If they do find the MBT to be a nice location to hangout after school, I sense, but could be wrong, they will be more more helpful as a set of eyes on the Trail rather than a nuisance.

As for muggings, the size of this problem will inversely correlate with the amount of traffic on the Trail.  If my rosy predictions of residents switching en masse to the Trail for their daily route to the Metro (or, soon-to-be, regular Harris Teeter shopping), Catholic University students commuting to campus from thier Eckington homes, nonresident bikers using the Trail as part of their communte to the City, dog owners from Eckington and Capitol Hill North (“Old City”) using the Trail as their primary dog-exercise routine, etc. do not materialize, then this may become a large problem.  It depends on us.

I plan on writing a series of posts on the MBT as the countdown to its completion nears.  I am also going to continue the practice of only posting items relevant to the neighborhood.  The entire purpose of this blog/website was to serve the void in the internet of Eckington information and I tried, save for one or two slips, to refrain from posting non-relevant items–which keeps this number of postings down.  If you use an RSS reader, then you are alerted when there are updates, and I am attempting to use Twitter to keep those who are interested even more up-to-date.

I always welcome comments, and anticipate those who will poke holes in my assertions or chide me for failing to include more positives.

update: read the lively comments to this post (we’re such passive-aggresionists (sic)–we just need a bar in the ‘hood where we can argue over beers.)

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On the heels of Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas, Jr’s “2009 State of the Ward Address,” I bring you a report more specific for our neighborhood, Eckington:

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The previous 12 months may not have produced a large number of changes and additions to the neighborhood, but in terms of “Before and After” Eckington looks a lot different.

The KFC at the corner of Florida Ave and North Capitol St closed its doors, its bulletproof glass counter, and its vast parking lot after 28 years due to the rising property values. Although the site remains vacant, and while rumors that an independent pizza restaurant may fill the location shortly give pause to the enthusiasm of the neighborhood’s first sit-down restaurant, the significance of this closing cannot be ignored.

New banners were hung from lightposts along a few defining streets. The confusion of visitors to our area probably reaches its apex at the intersection of Florida Ave and North Capitol St where 3 different banners–Eckington, Truxton, Bloomingdale–hang.  More on this issue later.

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The Metropolitan Branch Trail began its slow, interrupted by half a decade, movement as the defining characteristic of the east side of Eckington.  Pepco finally signed over its 2-block stretch of land, allowing the awarding of the contract to design and build the stretch of the Trail from Franklin Ave. to New York Ave bridge.  Work began in May at the northern end and must be completed by July 22.

The MBT has received a lot of attention on this blog, due to its transformative potential that many predict will benefit the neighborhood.  It will provide a common route that will promote interaction between residents–particularly those from the northeast and southeast–where regular encounters had been lacking (due to the multitude of paths home via the grid pattern of our streets).  It provides a uninterrupted path across the entire neighborhood and, via a defined path along sidewalks, connects our neighborhood to Catholic University, Union Station, and the National Mall.

With an actual trail in place, rather than a design proposal, efforts to connect the Trail to the Capital Crescent Trail, providing a complete circular path around the western portion of the city, will be provided with new steam. A developer of two office buildings being constructed on the corner of K St have proposed connecting to the elevated section of the Trail, including paying for new connections into the Union Station Metro.  This would most likely provide the District with the impetus to complete, as in the orignial MBT plans, the 1-block elevation of the Trail from L St to K St along the so-called “Burnham Spine.”

Eckingtonians most likely hope that the Trail will highlight the unmoving eyesore east of Harry Thomas Way.  This vacant lot, part of the tract of land Pepco purchased after the initial 1994 MBT plan, and upon which it build its new substation in the southern section, does not garner much attention currently. A scenic trail on one side and new residentual development on the other side will bring new attention to this plot of land that has no hope of being developed for commercial reasons anytime soon.  Very early plans of the MBT envisioned this tract of land as an urban park, but died when the lot was purchased by Pepco.

The notion that a residential development could be financially viable that borders a power substation and a trainyard, sits almost underneath a major overpass, and  entails over $40 million for the purchase of the land alone, is absurd.  Pepco paid over $67 million for the entire lot, of which a tiny portion sits its substation (which is the reason it bought the land),but, as a large utility compaany, could hold this land for over a hundred years if it gets no offers that satisfy its internal rate of return.

A neighborhood without a park

Granting the District a right-of-way to this lot, in the same way it did for the MBT, would allow Pepco to retain ownership of the land and permit the city to construct a park on otherwise unused, overgrown land. The limited funds that would be required to construct the park would be more than paid back by the increased property values of the neighborhood–especially the new development across the street.

If one was to construct a circle of greatest diameter in the District without including a park, Eckington would fall directly in its center. This should be a large posterboard, which our councilman brings to every meeting regarding development, improvements funding, parks and recreation (oops!).

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Whereas once the residents of the western section of Eckington had no reason to venture across North Capitol Street, much less saw any redeeming value in this area that shared the same name, the arrival of the MBT and the rise of NoMa will change both.  This leads into the discussion of NoMa, the business district that begins in the southern tip of Eckington and proceeds south to Union Station.

NoMa had affected most of us Eckingtonians in the past year with the opening of 4 new restaurants.  Five Guys was first, and while its menu is limited, its hours are generous: 11am – 10pm, 7 days a week.  Heidi’s Brooklyn Deli and Sisters Pizza & Mussels followed with a more diverse set of offerings and Au Bon Pain rounded out the quartet this past spring with outdoor seating. Pound has its devoted clientele and is now open on Saturdays.

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If one had not walked down 1st Street NE in a couple of years, the first thing that would be noticed upon the trip today would be the immense amount of shade.  Once a forgotten street of vacant lots and parking lots, the strip has been home to numerous tower cranes as developers have gobbled up these tracts of land. While most projects to-date are office buildings, there are 2 hotels, a residential complex on 2nd, and a Harris Teeter grocery.

The hotels and residential units provide life in the neighborhood in the evening and weekends–a vital component that sometimes gets ignored in rapid developments (such as K Street NW).  The Harris Teeter–slated to open mid-2010–will primarily draw residents from Capitol Hill north to Eckington, many of whom will be pedestrians with their urban collapsible grocery carts.  This also provides another meeting locale for Eckingtonians as we learn each other from such frequent encounters and will offer other residents  a sneak peek into our ‘hood.

NoMa is certainly not done making an impact on our neighborhood.  The development of the new headquarters for NPR just commenced–extending the reach of development up North Capitol Street–and the Florida Ave/New York Ave intersection, infused with grant money to NoMa for its study, should be around the corner.

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Yes, there was some unfortune in the past year.  XM was merged with Sirius, and while the now New York-headquartered company states its intention to keep his D.C. facility running, there is no substitution for having the pioneer rooted squarely in our backyard.  The St. Martin’s affordable housing development broke ground dispite years of opposition from neighborhood residents–their efforts to limit the impact, however, will provide some mitigation. I will leave it to commenters to list any other items that were unhelpful to the progression of our neighborhood.

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Finally, I will ask that this upcoming year be marked by a renewed enthusiasm in our neighborhood and a reunification of the two sides of North Capitol.

Perhaps there was a time when the west side of Eckington was justified in distancing themselves from the east. But as housing prices of the east have risen–2007 marked the first time a greater number of  $350,00-plus homes were sold in the east than in the west–and as amenities, both in Eckington and NoMa, have begun to crop up in the east, there is reason for the “Bloomingdale” moniker to pass into the distance.  Branding efforts are more effective for a unified Eckington and the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts.  I proposed a tongue-in-cheek campaign to promote branding as well as community pride and hope to followup on the idea.

Map displayed in National Museum of American History

We live in an historical area of the nation’s capital–we should be protective of its assets while open to certain changes that may alter the landscape.  Here’s to another productive year in the progression of our neighborhood, Eckington.

DDOT has responded to my further inquiry about the missing access path:

“There has been no change to that planned connection at ‘Q’ street,  but it is not in the ongoing construction contract because we do not yet control that land.  I believe the developer was going to provide the land but they have yet to buy the whole parcel from PEPCO.  We will talk to PEPCO again about how to make that connection in the meantime.”

I can understand the situation DDOT was in at time of contract letting offered limited recourse. I do think the public should have been informed of the change. And I certainly think DDOT should have been more proactive with Pepco about still securing this path (which is over vacant property) before we had to raise it to their attention.

That being said, I am slightly encouraged by the tone of this response and, again, will keep you updated on their progress.

At least we now have a promised action (DDOT contacting Pepco) that will happen and a reaction (Pepco’s response) that will have to result–we will no longer be in the dark about where the roadblock exists and will know where to direct pressure if needed.

As I alluded to in the previous post, it appears that the design plans for the Metropolitan Branch Trail have again undergone a significant change–albeit without any public disclosure.

MBT - R street to NY Ave section

Above is the proposed Trail layout from Randolph to the New York Ave Bridge as provided in the draft plans on the metbranchtrail.com website.  As you can see, there is an access point at R St and one just north of the Pepco building.  Evidently, the R St access point is now the last access point south to the Metro Station.

The reason I learned of this change is upon my pestering of the MBT folks at DDOT to construct a temporary access path along the proposed path in the draft layout (just north of the Pepco building).  Being told that DDOT would need permission from Pepco to construct such, I inquired why, since they were supposedly ceding the land to the District for this access point anyways.

DDOT informed me that this access point was no longer part of the plan.

First issue:  DDOT has in their hands the final design plans of the MBT, yet they have not published the drawings or even listed the modifications from the original draft layout on the metbranchtrail.com or DDOT websites.

Second issue: Residents south or R St as well as XM employees will have to walk several blocks out of their way to use the R St access point.  As this will result in longer travel times than simply crossing New York and Florida Avenues, many will skip the Trail–preventing pedestrian traffic at this intersection from their full lowered potential.

We’ll have to see what the next MBT “surprise” is….