NE DC Historical Society Meeting - Sunday, April 15th

What: Join the NE DC Historical Society as they continue to explore the history of our Northeast Washington communities - past, present, and in years to come.

When: Sunday, April 15th, 2007, 2-4pm

Where: The Orelia Ledbetter Room of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 5301 North Capitol Street, NE (at the corner North Capitol and Riggs Road)

Presentations will include: The focus for this session will be the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, a beacon of light to the communities of Riggs Park, Lamond-Riggs, Fort Totten, Chillum, the South Manor community of Manor Park, and voting precinct 65. Plymouth Congregational's rich history dates back to 1881. So join us as Mrs. Orelia Ledbetter, longtime member and wife of Plymouth's departed pastor emeritus, acquaints us with this thriving and nurturing religious and community organization impacting youths through senior citizens.

Etc.: For those unable to attend this meeting, don't miss next month's meeting to be held from 2:00-4:00 pm on Sunday, May 20th, 2007. Our meeting will take place in Laboratory 1 of The Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street, NE. The presentations will include such topics as the Uline Arena, Union Station, Swampoodle, the H Street Trolley Car, and H Street's burgeoning entertainment district.

Our meetings take place the second Sunday of every month. During the months of April and May we will meet the third Sunday of the month. Contact queenstowndc@yahoo.com for further information.

NE DC Historical Society Meeting on the Terra Cotta Neighborhood - Sunday, March 18th (Updated Date and Agenda)

**Due to special events and holidays in March and April, the normal Sunday monthly meeting of the NE DC Historical Society has been changed to Sunday, March 18th and Sunday, April 15th, respectively.**

What: Join the NE DC Historical Society as they continue to explore the history of our Northeast Washington communities - past, present, and in years to come.

When: Sunday, March 18th, 2007, 2-4pm

Where: Washingtoniana Program Room in the Washingtoniana Division
of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW

Presentations will include: "Search & Discovery" session at the Washingtoniana Division of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. The focus for this session will be a topic of recent interest and debate — "Terra Cotta." This session will be of interest to inhabitants along the Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Brookland to Takoma Park. Join us as we go beyond the bricks, sewer pipes, and train wrecks of times long past to uncover more than one site for Terra Cotta.

Etc.: For those unable to attend this meeting, don't miss our next month's meeting to be held from 2:00-4:00 pm on Sunday, April 15, 2007. Our host will be the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ at 5301 North Capitol Street, NE in Manor Park. They will share with us their "Youth in the Ministry" church and community history project.

Our meetings take place the second Sunday of every month. During the months of March and April we will meet the third Sunday of the month. Contact queenstowndc@yahoo.com for further information.

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» Washington City Paper on the "Terra Cotta" neighborhood, Fort Totten/Lamond-Riggs
» Topographic map of Terra Cotta in DC

NE DC Historical Society Meeting - Sunday, February 11th

What: Join the NE DC Historical Society as they continue to explore the history of our Northeast Washington communities - past, present, and in years to come. This month's community history focus will be the Lamond-Riggs neighborhood.

When: Sunday, February 11th, 2007, 2-4pm

Where: Lamond-Riggs Library, 5401 South Dakota Avenue, NE - at the corner of South Dakota Avenue and Kennedy Street, NE

Presentations will include: "The Lamond-Riggs Library: A Strong Thread In The Fabric Of The Community" by Lillian Huff, president of the Friends of the Lamond-Riggs Library, and Everett Scott, former president of the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association & the DC Federation of Civic Associations.

Etc.: For those unable to attend this meeting, don't miss next month's meeting to be held from 2-4pm on Sunday, March 11th, 2007. Our host will be the Historic Berean Baptist Church of Brentwood at 1400 Montana Ave, NE sharing church and community history. NE DC Historical Society meetings take place the second Sunday of every month. Contact queenstowndc@yahoo.com for further information.

South Dakota Avenue Development in Express's FreeRide

I should really outsource my link hunting to Mike Grass at Express. Today he posted a comprehensive update of the new development that affects those of us along the South Dakota Avenue corridor from top to bottom, including:

• The ongoing construction of condos around the Fort Totten Metro
• Mixed-use at Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue
• Vincent Orange's promised land of big-box retail, "Washington Gateway," in the Fort Lincoln-New Town area (not to be confused with his dream of a "New Town" at the Capital City/Florida Market) near the intersection of New York and South Dakota Avenues.


All of these drive home the importance of tonight's meeting and our ongoing input into the South Dakota Avenue Transportation & Streetscape Study. We need to counterbalance pedestrian-unfriendly developments like the Washington Gateway (why would we welcome folks to our CITY with a suburban sprawl-style strip mall with 2,000 parking spaces, and how many more will Ward 5 tolerate?!) with our input/demands to improve safety and accessibility on our primarily residential corridor.

» Sharlene Reed, Ward 5 Transportation Planner (sharlene.reed@dc.gov; 202.671.2407)
» Deborah Crain, Ward 5 Neighborhood Planning Coordinator, (deborah.crain@dc.gov; 202.442.7615)

South Dakota Avenue Transportation & Streetscape Study - Wednesday, January 31st

What: Nearly a year after the first public meeting, residents are invited to attend a community forum to discuss transportation and streetscape issues along South Dakota Avenue.

When: Wednesday, January 31st, 2007, 6-8 pm

Where: Taft Special Education Center Auditorium, 1800 Perry Street, NE

Agenda: The meeting format will be an open house review of maps indicating preliminary recommendations for the first 30 minutes (6-6:30 pm), followed by a presentation at 6:30pm of the study process and findings. There will be a question and answer period after the presentation and time to review maps and complete comment forms prior to the 8pm closing.

Etc.: If you have any questions about this meeting, please contact Emanuel Briggs at 202.478.1470 or at emanual.briggs@dc.gov. Visit the project website for additional information, including an online survey, study documents, and comments (pdf) from last year's meeting.

Two Transportation Meetings Saturday (and Some Interesting Links)

There's no minute like the last minute. See this post at Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space for information on two public meetings taking place tomorrow (Saturday, February 25th, 2006). Since I live just steps away from the intersection of my street and South Dakota Avenue, I'm very interested in the first meeting. From a quick check on the internet, it looks like you should be able to e-mail your input (whether or not you are able to attend) to the Ward 5 Transportation Planner, Sharlene Reed. Though I hate to think I need to say it, I've seen what neighbors can do on the listservs in the heat of the moment: Please remember to be courteous.

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While poking around the web for this information, I stumbled across a few interesting links:

• The picture above is a still taken this evening from the traffic camera located at Rhode Island Ave. & South Dakota Ave., NE. You can view the live feed from all the Distict's traffic cams here. (Warning: I imagine the upload time is brutal with a dial-up connection.)
  
• A link to DDOT's "Brookland Transportation and Streetscape Study," as well as the website dedicated to the study, hosted by one of the project's consultants, Michael Baker Corporation.
  
• A link to DDOT's "South Dakota Avenue and Streetscape Study" and the Wilbur Smith Associates website dedicated to the study. (this info added to the post after the meeting)
  
• A list of recent/current DC transportation studies.