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A yearly thorn in Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B’s side, the SunTrust National Marathon once again raised the commission’s ire during 6B’s first meeting of the New Year. Diane Thomas, director of community relations for Greater Washington Sports Alliance (GWSA), was on hand to combat a recommendation from the ANC’s Planning and Zoning Committee to “strongly oppose the holding of the race as proposed.”
Earlier in the month, the race’s organizers at the GWSA failed to turn up for a scheduled hearing to answer questions regarding traffic management at the event. Last year’s marathon shut down large potions of the neighborhood surrounding its staging area at RFK Stadium, effectively locking residents – many of whom were completely unaware that the marathon would be coming – into their homes on a Saturday morning.
All of 6B’s commissioners were flummoxed to hear that few measures were being taken to prevent a repeat of the traffic disaster that ensued – especially Planning & Zoning Chair Francis Campbell, whose single member district includes the southern face of East Capitol Street SE where 12,000 runners will begin their miles-long trek on March 20.
“I used enjoy running in my youth, so I understand the mentality … but I also understand the mentality and anger that my constituents, my neighbors and myself feel when we [try to leave], and one more time we can’t get out, or we can’t get back in,” said Campbell.
In the end, the commission found that the number of possible problems with the race – including miscommunication within the Metropolitan Police Department regarding traffic direction, the disruption of bus routes, the ever-growing size of the race and the sidelong nature of its double loop course, which brings runners back for a second pass into RFK – far outweighed its benefits.
“We’ve been told every year that we’re going to deal with the problem of cross traffic, that we’re going to get the streets opened up,” said Commissioner Kenan Jarboe. “Fool me once, fool me twice, fool me five times – it’s getting really tired. Frankly, if this doesn’t work this time, I will shut you down next year.”
With Chairman David Garrison citing the need to “send a strong signal” to the GWSA, the ANC unanimously adopted their committee’s recommendation against the race and passed an additional amendment to confer with the MPD’s Special Operations Division regarding traffic concerns at the earliest possible date.
Old Vendors Still Waiting on New Leases
Picking up on a thread left hanging at last month’s meeting, Commissioner Jarboe reported that a possible engineer has been identified to improve lighting conditions within Eastern Market and will provide an estimate for the lowering of window cases that have caused food spoilage at some vendors’ booths.
The real cause célèbre, however, was the matter of leases for merchants inside the South Hall. After Eastern Market’s grand reopening last summer, the Department of Real Estate Services (DRES) had planned on instituting 18-month leases for vendors – a plan that has to yet to come to fruition. With everyone now paying month-to-month rent, said Jarboe, several vendors are pushing for extremely long-term leases of up to 20 or 30 years.
As DRES recently reversed a prior decision to issue an RFP for a new market manager, the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee is still in the process of deciding whether the matter of leases “should wait until the management issues are settled.”
Similarly, outdoor weekend vendors remain without subleases, and their rents have yet to return to “pre-fire levels.” Debate over a jury selection process for new vendors at the outdoor market were also said to have cropped up at the Tenants Council, as many would-be sellers will not disclose proprietary information on the grounds that it would be tantamount to divulging a trade secret. Jarboe cited candle makers as a prime example.
In the meantime, it was reported, DRES has been authorized to now cover the market’s operational expenses with funds drawn for the District’s Enterprise Fund, clearing at least one substantial “roadblock” that has hovered over the market since its renovation.
Marines Marching South of Barracks Row?
Despite several pieces of frustrating news, the evening did manage to end on an up note as Bruce Jackson, community planning and liaison manager for the US Marine Corps, stopped by to announce a new “community integrated master plan” for Barracks Row and areas southward. It’s an initiative that looks to be much more exciting than its jargonistic title might otherwise imply.
According to Jackson, the USMC has exhausted buildable space within Eighth Street SE’s 200-year-old Marine Barracks complex. As such, they hope to partner with the DC government and school system, Capitol Riverfront BID and their fellow servicemen at the Navy Yard for area building projects that, while providing additional space for the military, would also host an extensive array of public use components.
While Jackson stressed that the proposal is still in the planning stages, he did say that possible new building projects could include a fire station, a child development center, family housing, a gym or new retail space – including a new post exchange that would be open to members of the public and military alike.
“This is not about us,” said Jackson. “We’re looking primarily at facilities that are community accessible, that could be shared and can be multi-use.”
He did, however, concede that any new projects would “have certain requirements that would have to be met in order for the mission of the Marine Barracks to continue in the future.”
Jackson stated that a meeting with the mayor, DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells had been tentatively scheduled for the coming week, and that the first public forum on the matter would be held at Eastern Market’s North Hall on Jan. 27. Four workshops will follow over the coming months, so that the “community and partners can develop a plan … that can hopefully be taken forward.” |
