The Georgetown Metropolitan

After a long a contentious meeting, the ANC voted to approve a resolution supporting the proposed plan to reconfigure K and Water Streets in Georgetown.

The project has been in the works for nearly two years. It was led by the Georgetown BID, which hired planners at Toole Design to evaluate the road as-is and proposed changes.

Part of that effort involved meetings with various stakeholders from the neighborhood. (GM, in his role representing the Citizens Association of Georgetown, participated in those meetings.) The plan that emerged has two distinct versions: one for the “near and mid term” and one for if the streetcar ever gets built to Georgetown. (Probably the less said about the second version the better, given the dim chances that it will come to pass).

The overall thought with the proposed redesign is that in its current state, the street is unsafe because it does not adequately delineate between uses. Wide lanes encourage fast drivers and fast bicyclists, which together make for less safe pedestrians. The solution is to install a protected bike lane along the south side of the street. In addition, the plan calls for bulb-outs, which reduces the distance pedestrians have to cross the street. This is safer for the pedestrian as well as reducing the delay for drivers waiting for pedestrians to pass. Continue reading →

Photo by Bill Starrels.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown Wawa set to open late 2018. (We’ll see…)
• When bongs were sold on Georgetown sidewalks (as opposed to inside stores, where you still can find them)

Dumbarton Oaks

Today GM is going to continue his attempt to help you lose your tree blindness by teaching you a little bit about some of the mightiest trees around: oaks.

Oaks are one of the larger groups of trees that you might find on Georgetown streets. They range from towering giants to far more modest species. This list probably won’t cover every single variety you’ll find, but it will cover most.

The first thing to look for to identify an oak is acorns. But if it’s not the right season for acorns, look for the leaves. The basic oak leaf is fairly easy to identify. It looks like this:

Different variations on this basic shape distinguish between many of the more common oak species. But some oak leaves look nothing like this. They are identifiable by other features described below.

The first thing to say is that all oaks fall into two large groups: white oaks and red oaks. This isn’t really something you need to know to identify specific species, but it’s helpful in understanding how they break down.

White Oak

There are dozens of tree species within the white oak group. But only a handful of those are likely to show up in Georgetown. Confusingly, one of those species is called a white oak (which is different than the larger white oak group). Like the larger white oak group, the white oak species has rounded lobes like this:

White oaks are slow growing giants. Between this and their massive mature size, they don’t get planted in street tree boxes very much. Continue reading →

Photo by Geoff Livingston.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Stabbing at the British School, but no arrest due to diplomatic immunity.
• Hoya soccer jokingly targets millenialls.

1500 block of Wisconsin Ave.

This week on Georgetown Time Machine, GM returns to a similar spot from last week’s inaugural edition. It’s an aerial shot from near the intersection of K and Rock Creek Parkway. But today’s shot is looking west, and from a much later date.

The shot from last week was from about 1947. Today’s shot is not dated on the DDOT website from where it came. It is clearly after that date because the Whitehurst is shown, which wasn’t built until 1949. And at least one building change that GM recognizes would put this photo well into the 1950s, if not 1960s. The blurry cars even look more like 1970s cars.

Here are a few interesting things to notice from a closer look:

Continue reading →

Photo by Ehpien.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• What’s worse: An apartment building or parking garage? The complaints of a 1920s Georgetown nimby.
• 101 year old Washingtonian confirms with his eye-witness testimony the legend of JFK proposing to Jackie at Billy Martin’s.

3000 block of R St.

Photo by Marc Andre.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Great story of the 63 year old woman who descends from a slave who was sold by Georgetown University, who has now enrolled at the school.
• Speaking of GU, student activists have successfully pushed for the school to sign a contract with Nike that attempts to ensure worker rights and safety through an outside monitor.