Dog days

It's pretty quiet, but there's always neighborhood news

Dear friends and neighbors,

I hope you’re surviving this heat. It’s a good time to check on neighbors to make sure they’re doing okay and have air conditioning. Sometimes older residents and other vulnerable people don’t cope well with the heat and it can be dangerous.

Here are a few updates on the neighborhood and activities of our Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

Urgent: A better bus needed!

I’ve mentioned WMATA’s plan for a “Better Bus Network” previously and the good news that the new plan will preserve a version of the 96 bus, renamed the C55. You can see the new plan here.

One failure of the plan is it doesn’t help students get to MacArthur High School from our neighborhood. DC Public Schools students rely on the public transit system, and ride free. Many students in the Cleveland/Woodley Park neighborhood are in-boundary for MacArthur High School, namely Eaton Elementary which is a feeder school. Commuting to MacArthur HS is what students are expected to do, but the new WMATA plan doesn’t help. Getting there from our neighborhood will require a long bus ride, including a transfer in Tenleytown which is really not a good option.

DEADLINE: WMATA is taking comments until 5pm on Monday July 15. It would be really helpful if you could submit a comment on their website here. I suggest you make these points (cut and paste if you like):

• Thank you for including the C55, which serves our neighborhood well. Current bus frequency could be improved, but keeping the route is great.

• Students zoned for Eaton Elementary, which is the largest feeder elementary to MacArthur High School have no good option to get to school. The current proposed bus plan will require a bus transfer and an unreasonably long commute to school. Please consider new options to provide a safe and direct commute to school for MacArthur High School students in the Woodley Park and Cleveland Park neighborhoods.

An alert being circulated among Eaton parents is here.

EV charging

I’ve been thinking of buying an electric vehicle. But, doing a bit of research, I found out there aren’t many publicly accessible fast-charging stations nearby and none in our immediate neighborhood.

According to the app PlugShare, there are no publicly accessible high-speed charging stations in ANC3C with the closest stations at the Giant or the Wegmans on Wisconsin Avenue.

EV charging stations, source: PlugShare

Recently, the DC Department of Energy & Environment put out a call for suggestions where to locate electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The DC Department of Transportation has funding and a plan to ensure all District residents and visitors can access Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. Funding ($16.7 million) was provided by the federal bipartisan infrastructure law and is part of an effort to establish a nationwide network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers that support access and reliability for all users. DC seeks to expand charging opportunities on public property such as libraries, parks, and recreation centers, also working with the National Park Service to identify locations, and also to support charging stations on private property, like gas stations and shopping centers. 

So where would you like to see an EV charging station? Any suggestions or thoughts? We’ll see if we can get the city to install some in our neighborhood.  

Crime

Although the city-wide crime-wave seems to be abating, there are still concerns. Just last week there was another rash of auto break-ins in Woodley Park; at least 6 or 7 cars with smashed windows, maybe more. A message from our local police Captain: “There were multiple thefts of personal items in Woodley Park last night. Please advise your constituents to not leave any valuables in their vehicles. MPD is investigating and pulling camera footage. If anyone comes across any camera footage of any car break-ins, please advise us. Thank you.”

If you have any camera footage or information, let me know and I’ll link you to the correct police contact.

Running again

It’s time to decide whether to run for re-election. To run again, I will need to pull papers from the Board of Elections submit 25 signatures by August 7.

This was my first time as an ANC Commissioner, so there was a learning curve. It’s been an interesting and mostly enjoyable experience. I really liked knocking on doors for the campaign and meeting so many neighbors, talking about neighborhood issues. I like trying to help out neighbors with problems - and in the process learn a lot about the city and government. I like thinking about how our community can be safer, better, more inclusive and fun. I like neighborhood gossip.

I don’t love the zoom meetings, maybe 6 or 7 each month, usually in the evenings. They can be boring and a bit painful. I’d much rather meet in person, but most of my fellow commissioners don’t want to. There’s always some sniping and rude comments on the neighborhood listserves, which can be unpleasant.

Serving on the ANC has been an honor and I’ve tried to treat the job with respect and diligence. We’ve done a lot of work to support more safety, inclusion, and dynamism in the neighborhood. There’s a lot more to do, but we’re making progress.

I think my wife doesn’t want me to run, but she’s been pretty patient with me so far. I’m inclined to run again. If anyone is thinking of running, let me know. I welcome the debate and competition. It’s actually more fun and interesting that way - as long as we can keep it polite. Unless something changes, I’ll be knocking on your door to ask for your support sometime soon.

Parties and events

• July 25, 5-9pm is the next Cleveland Park night market.

  

• July 27 is Swiss National Day and the embassy hosts a party 4-8:30pm. There are sausages and beer and Swiss music. You can go! But, you have to buy a ticket.

Update on ANC activity

The next meeting of ANC3C will be June 15, 7pm. Agenda and registration will be posted here. Let me know if you have issues or concerns to raise.

As always, I’d love your feedback. Even negative feedback is helpful to improve what we’re doing.

Other items of interest

• Incredible!. Wilson Pool is finally reopened. Just incredible how long that took.

• Curbside Composting Pilot Program is being extended: If you’re not in the Pilot Program but interested in participating, you can join the wait list and get updates here.

• Reminder: Red line stations closing this summer: Beginning in early June, Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, Silver Spring and Takoma stations on the Red Line will be closed for repairs. The closure will continue through early September. More closures and plans here.

Please feel free to pass this newsletter along to friends and neighbors, especially if they live in the neighborhood.