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Ms. Rosalyn Frazier
The District of Columbia Department of Planning
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

RE: Comments on Draft Final Report of Takoma Central District Plan

Dear Ms. Frazier:

Please accept these comments on behalf of the Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities. The Washington Regional The Washington Regional Network For Livable Communities is a non-profit organization that advocates transportation investments, land use policies, and community designs that enhance existing communities and the environment of the National Capital Region, including the Maryland suburbs. Washington Regional Network's goal is to create and sustain a network of walkable communities linked by quality transit and surrounded by greenbelts, with the District of Columbia as the economic and cultural hub of the region.

Transit-oriented development has an important role to play in accommodating regional growth. It can help preserve rural resource lands, build on the asset of our high quality transit system, reduce pollution, and enhance local neighborhoods. Focusing more activity around Metrorail stations is an important solution to the region's demand for new housing and mobility. Development at neighborhood-scale stations like Takoma Metrorail station should provide opportunities for enhanced safety, housing and shopping choices, public spaces, and fit sensitively into the surrounding community.

As the examples below indicate, the planning process has been frustrating for many people who have participated:

• The DC Office of Planning sometimes sent out notices only a few days before the meetings. Email notices were used inconsistently.
• Few, if any, design and planning tools were used to help participants understand how different housing densities at the Metro site would feel or look. Participants were only shown bubble diagrams and site maps that indicate the location of proposed housing. This made it difficult for participants to imagine how it would feel if there were between 65 and 95 units built at the Metro site.
• The planners often did not validate people’s concerns about the development of the Metro site. During many of the meetings, planners were not taking notes in order to record what people were saying. When people do not feel that they are being listened to, it is natural for them to become frustrated. We are not saying the planners had to agree with what people were saying, just that the planners should have made sure that people felt they were being heard.
• There were few opportunities for participants to work together to develop a vision and strategy for the area. Even the "charrette" which was supposed to be a participatory event, was more of a back-and-forth between the participants and the planners. During the charrette, the participants were primarily only allowed to respond to the plans on the table with either comments or questions.

Although we have concerns about the process that was used, there are still things that we like about the plan including the following:

• Medium-density housing such as townhouses or garden apartments is appropriate for the Metro site. We believe that as the region grows, it is appropriate to develop this kind of housing close to Metro stations, but that such housing should be built in a way that is compatible with adjacent neighborhoods.
• Live-work units are a good choice to face the redesigned open space because they are likely to have more foot traffic than regular townhouses and would thus enhance the safety of the open space with more "eyes on the street". Retail development with housing on the upper floors would be an even better use to face the open space because it would enhance the convenience of the space and encourage more positive activity. Such new residential and commercial development at and near the Metro site will help make the entire Takoma District safer.
• A smaller but better designed signature open space that acts as a gateway and community gathering place will be much more of an asset to the community than the existing passive landscaping which is used by very few people.
• The streetscape in the area should be improved to make it safer for pedestrians and more attractive to potential businesses and residents.
• Development of priority sites is likely to "jumpstart" other private development initiatives.
• A transit oriented overlay district should emphasize protection and enhancement of the pedestrian environment, and should be used to enhance retail activities along Carroll Street and 4^th Street. It should contain design guidelines that affect the height and siting of buildings in order to enhance the pedestrian experience.

We have additional suggestions that we believe will make the plan stronger and increase the likelihood that the WMATA property and nearby commercial areas will attract additional public and private investment and improve Takoma, DC as a place to live and work:

Affordable Housing

• Given the District’s growing affordable housing shortage, some affordable housing should be incorporated into new residential development at the WMATA site. Low- and moderate-income residents are more likely to rely on transit for access to jobs. The Montgomery County Council is considering requiring affordable housing to be incorporated into new residential development at Metro sites; we believe the District should consider the same requirements. The District could agree to allow a higher number of townhouses to be built if a certain percentage is for affordable housing. Also, if the amount of parking required either in the new development or to replace the current Metro parking is reduced, this could free up space and funds to develop affordable housing.

Urban Design

• New retail development should be required and not just encouraged to be built up to the sidewalk or to have a small front setback with parking in the rear. This should be incorporated into the transit oriented overlay district. Likewise, all new buildings in key areas should be required to be at least two stories and no more than four stories high.
• The sidewalks on Carroll Street should be made wider. They are unsafe at their current widths.

Redevelopment

• Consider using tools such as eminent domain for redeveloping key areas. More emphasis should be given to replacing auto-oriented uses such as the 7-Eleven and adjacent pay-parking lot. The 7-Eleven site is currently unfriendly to pedestrians as it has two curb cuts at the corner of Cedar and Carroll Streets.

Metro Station Design

• The future needs of both Metro and Ride On bus systems should be considered and incorporated into the design of the bus bays.
• WMATA should evaluate whether it would be appropriate for some of the bus routes that go through the Takoma Metro station to instead transfer at the larger more regional transit stations in Silver Spring and at Fort Totten. We think that WMATA should examine how the neighborhood-oriented Takoma station relates to these more regional-serving facilities. Also, we encourage WMATA to create additional neighborhood feeder bus routes that use smaller buses and take up less space at the station.
• WMATA should reassess the design of bus bays and design them to be less expansive and more sensitive to the pedestrian environment.
• The public should have an opportunity to provide input on how the area right outside the Metro entrance (transit plaza) will be redesigned. When the space is redesigned, its relationship to the new signature open space should be considered.
• WMATA should be encouraged to develop a bike-related business at the Metro station that would tie into the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Such a business could sell bicycles and accessories, rent and repair bicycles, and provide bike storage to commuters.

Parking

• Given parking concerns in the area, there should be no non-metered parking on Carroll Street. Presently, there is non-metered parking on Carroll Street that is probably used by people commuting on Metro. This should be converted to metered parking that would more likely be used by patrons of local businesses. Also, rush hour parking restrictions should not be imposed on Carroll Street as this would hurt existing businesses and make it difficult to attract additional businesses. Such a change would also hurt pedestrians, as it would create one additional lane of traffic on Carroll Street for pedestrians to cross.
• WMATA should reexamine how the parking at the Metro lots will be replaced. The current system leaves many parking spaces empty for significant parts of the day. For example, the new parking area could have meters that can be used for up to any seven hour period; this would make more parking available to shoppers and people using Metro for errands or business, but prevent regular commuters from using the parking. Car-sharing spots should also be incorporated into the new parking area. It should not be a given that every single parking space should be replaced. Overall parking requirements should be reevaluated in light of the cost of provided structured parking (about $13,000 per space) compared to other uses of such funds to enhance access to the station and boost already strong ridership. The vast majority of riders walk, bicycle or ride transit to the station – their needs should be given priority over an arbitrary number of parking spaces. Also, innovative parking strategies that reduce parking demand and innovative technologies such as car lifts that reduce the amount of space that cars use up should be considered.

Thank you for your consideration of our comments.

Sincerely,

Rob Inerfeld
Member, Board of Directors
and
Takoma Park, Maryland resident

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