A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.
Transit of the Future: Frozen Tropics notes DDOT’s press release stating that the H Street/Benning Road streetcar line will be operating in 2013. But commenters on the blog are skeptical. “I will believe this is going to happen when I see the cars running down the street, and not a minute before. Too bad none of the city council member’s brothers own a street car company, then this would be done in no time,” writes one. Others are critical of the planning behind the project: “While I’m hoping it’s just me mis-reading it, the ‘…DDOT is still evaluating alternatives to connect the current western turnaround at 3rd and H Street to Union Station’ bit makes me kinda nervous. 3rd and H is nowhere near Union Station from a commuter/convenience standpoint: It’d be easier and faster to just take the X8, X9 or X2 to get to the Union Station Metro stop – and if they can’t get the western terminus closer than 3rd Street, then I foresee very few people willing to walk four blocks or so just to transfer, and very low ridership as a result.”
No Impervious Surfaces Here: “DPR is insisting that the Victor Stanley picnic table (the table currently sitting just above the area that has been fenced off for seeding) be permanently installed on a concrete pad in the Park,” announces a member of the Mintwood Place email list, who is not thrilled by the agency’s planning. “The pad will be a large 10×7 chunk of concrete that will be unceremoniously dumped in the area that was only recently the subject of a costly anti-erosion project (the new location is just above the Norway maple tree next to the fenced off area and near to the sidewalk). Common sense should tell us that new concrete slabs should not be introduced in the Park unless absolutely necessary due to their negative impact on the ability of the area covered by the concrete to absorb water.”
The Anti-Dog: On the Bloomingdale blog is a post written by a neighborhood parent who encountered a dog owner encroaching on child-designated space at the Park at LeDroit: “She answered that she’s aware of it, but it’s muddy after the rain, so she doesn’t want her animal to get dirty. Here, at the playground, she can let her run unleashed and get rid of some energy; since there’s padded flooring, the dog will stay clean. ‘You wouldn’t want your animal to get dirty, wouldn’t you?’ she asked.” The original poster was none too pleased by this, and commenters seem to agree. One says, “We have a dog and a toddler, so we use the park. It is totally inappropriate to have a dog in there. Period,” and another writes, “Horrible. This woman’s actions will make it very difficult for other people trying to create dog parks. The anti-dog people can point to people like her now.”
Free in Chevy Chase: A post on the Chevy Chase email list offers the following, free and available for curbside pickup: “Storage shelf, Coat Rack, Sponge Bob DVD collection, Tools, A few clothes and toys, Misc felt, Pez dispensers, Kitchen utensils, Etc.” Other posts are seeking out a “copy of film ‘A Few Good Men'” and “recipes for fresh figs.”