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A couple of months ago, D.C. police announced they had set up “exchange zones” where residents could safely transact goods following a slew of robberies facilitated by Craigslist. Now, the Metropolitan Police Department says it will create “nightlife safety zones” to help people get home without incident during Metro’s year-long SafeTrack maintenance plan.
According to the department, five such zones will run Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. during the implementation of the plan. These areas will see more lighting, signage, and officers on patrol, an MPD release states:
H Street
- 1400 H St. NE (in front of)
Chinatown
- 600 Seventh St. NW (alongside Verizon Center)
DuPont Circle
- 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW (Northbound)
- 1250 Connecticut Ave. NW (Southbound)
U Street
- 1925 Vermont Ave. NW (in front of)
- 2014 14th St. NW (Southbound)
Adams Morgan
- 2200 Champlain St. NW (in front of)
“The established nightlife safety zones are an additional resource for residents to ensure public safety, and we are working hard to provide special attention to these locations” MPD Assistant Chief Diane Groomes said in a statement.
Officer Hugh Carew, a spokesperson for MPD, adds that the zones will be located in places where nightlife patrons and employees typically hail cabs or get in Uber/Lyft cars, although bikeshare and bus riders could notice patrols as well.
SafeTrack’s second surge is currently underway along the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines, resulting in the closure of rail segments from the Eastern Market to the Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road stations. It will continue into early July.