| | Committee tentatively favors
oval park for Metro plaza | | December 03, 2009 |  | | | Staff Writer | | A recent straw vote of the committee overseeing the possible reconstruction of the Eastern Market Metro plaza revealed near overwhelming support for the “tryptych” option that would reroute the flow of Pennsylvania Avenue SE around an oval-shaped park.
The cost estimates of the three options the Eastern Market Metro Plaza Committee was examining revealed that the tryptych is also the most expensive at $30,648,000. A design that centered around a rectangular central park priced out at $28,965,000. And an improved version of the existing plaza was estimated at $20,163,000.
Those numbers don’t account for a number of factors — rising construction costs, design fees, maintenance costs and a potential management fee that would be paid to the city.
“The costs that we’ve come up with are reasonable and sensible relative to the scale of the project,” said committee chair David Perry, who gave the numbers to the Voice.
The project is controversial in the neighborhood surrounding the plaza. Though it is widely viewed as in need of rehabilitation, some neighbors object to the idea of rerouting Pennsylvania Avenue around the plaza, either because the rerouting will push cars closer to their homes or because they fear it will cause traffic mishaps and pedestrian dangers.
The plaza committee, which is being overseen by Barracks Row Main Street, received $2.5 million in federal and local earmarks for the initial design work. Two million of those dollars are still unspent, according to Tip Tipton, Barracks Row Main Street president.
The group now plans to approach various city agencies about conducting an environmental assessment of the three options, though Perry wouldn’t reveal which agencies.
Tipton said some of the $2 million that is left might go toward conducting the assessment or the project itself.
“We may be required to help them with some of the funding,” he said.
More information on the project is at capitolhilltownsquare.org. | | | | | Log in to comment on this article | | | | Thomas Riehle | Thu, Dec 24, 2009 03:29 AM EST |
| The time might be ripe to revisit with the Task Force co-chairs, Tip Tipton and David Perry, the question, "Why do two of the three proposals the Task Force chose to study reroute Pennsylvania Avenue?"
The last time the Task Force was asked this question, by <i>Voice of the Hill</i>, the answers were murky. "Tipton declined to say which proposal he favors. Both he and Perry declined to explain why reconfiguration is central to two of the proposals."
http://voiceofthehill.com/D-C-NEWS/Some-residents-reject-proposal-to-br-reroute-Penn-Ave-say-they-weren-t-consulted
Are they ready to tell us now why they want to re-route Pennsylvania Avenue?
I agree that the amounts of money being discussed are excessive, and I think it was irresponsible of the Task Force, in these financial times, to choose not to even price out the option of leaving Pennsylvania Avenue in its road bed and aggressively sprucing up the Metro Plaza and the triangle park across Pennsylvania Avenue from the Metro Plaza. |
| | | | Tom-I St SE | Mon, Dec 14, 2009 03:09 PM EST |
| | I don't have strong feelings on any of the designs. As someone who lives four blocks away any impact on me will be indirect at best. However, I'm shocked at the dollar amounts bring thrown about. Twenty to thirty million dollars are ridiculous sums of money for what is just a cosmetic need. This isn't a safety issue or a deteriorating property. I'm sure there are dozens, if not hundreds, of more productive ways this money could be used in DC. The money wouldn't be lost but it could require Rep. Lewis to rewrite his earmark. |
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