December 17, 2021

Holly Muhammad, Chairperson, ANC 8A

2100-D Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20020

8A01@anc.dc.gov

NOI# 21-269-TDD

Re:      Bus Stop Rebalancing and Relocation on Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE

Dear Chairperson Muhammad,

Pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Amendment Act of 2000” D.C. LAW 13-249 (48 DCR 3491 April 20, 2001), the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is required to give a written notice of our intent (NOI) to modify traffic and/or parking requirements. This letter is being forwarded to you for the purpose of notification and solicitation of comments on our intent to implement the following in your jurisdiction:

OVERVIEW

As part of the Bus Priority Program, DDOT is working with WMATA to relocate bus stops on Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE in historic Anacostia for three primary reasons:

1. Locating bus stops nearer to signalized intersections will increase pedestrian safety.
2. Transit Signal Priority (TSP) is being implemented at Morris Rd SE and Talbert St SE, which requires bus stops to be located on the on the far side or downstream from the traffic signal.
3. Rebalancing the distance between bus stops allows for faster, more reliable, and more efficient bus service.

This plan for bus stop relocation was developed as part of Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE Bus Priority planning project and more information is available on the project website: ddot.dc.gov/mlkbuspriority.

PROPOSED ACTION

Figure 1 provides a visual aid to illustrate the proposed relocation of bus stop locations and below is a description:

• The northbound stop between W St SE and Pleasant St SE will be moved closer to the signalized crosswalk at W St SE to make it easier for bus riders to use the crosswalk and create an approximately 60’  commercial loading zone from 9 AM to 6:30 PM south of the relocated metrobus zone.
• Bus stops located at the near side (northbound and southbound) of Morris St SE and Talbert St SE will be removed and replaced with stops at the far side of Talbert St in order for Transit Signal Priority (TSP) to function.
• Northbound and southbound stops between Talbert St SE and Howard Rd SE will be removed to increase the stop spacing between Talbert St SE and Anacostia Metro station from 500’ to 1,000’ to better meet WMATA’s bus stop spacing standards.[1]

Figure 1: Summary of proposed changes to bus stop locations.

WMATA stop spacing guidelines recommend an average of five stops per mile (a stop every 0.2 miles or 1,056’). The total distance from the bus stops at Good Hope Rd SE to the bus terminal at Anacostia Metro Station is about 3,000’[2]. Table 1 provides a summary of how the distance between stops will change as a result of this reduction from six southbound stops and five northbound stops to four stops in both directions.

Table 1: Current and proposed distance between bus stops on Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE between Good Hope Rd SE and the bus terminal at Anacostia Metro Station.

As with existing bus stops, every new bus stop will include a bus zone approximately 100’ in length where parking is not permitted. Parking will be permitted in the old bus zones that have been removed or relocated, provided that it does not conflict with turn lanes, safe distances from crosswalks, or other safe roadway engineering standards. Due to the reduction in the total number of bus zones on the roadway, parking availability may increase in the corridor.

COMMENTS

All comments on this subject matter must be filed in writing by February 2nd, 2022 (thirty business days after the date of this notice), with the District Department of Transportation, Kevin Harrison, Transit Delivery Division, 250 M Street, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003 or by email to kevin.harrison@dc.gov.

If you would like to check the status of this Notice of Intent (NOI), please visit DDOT’s website at: https://ddotwiki.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NOI/overview. If you are having any trouble accessing the NOI site or are unable to do so, please contact the DDOT Customer Service Clearinghouse at 202-671-2800.

Sincerely,

Kevin Harrison
Transportation Planner

Transit Delivery Division

Project Delivery Administration

CC:     

Barbara J. Clark, ANC Commissioner, 8A02

Brian K Thompson, ANC Commissioner, 8A03

Laneice Moore, ANC Commissioner, 8A04

Jamila White, ANC Commissioner, 8A05

Robin McKinney, ANC Commissioner, 8A06

Steven Tiller, ANC Commissioner, 8A07

Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia

Wendy Glenn, Director of Constituent Services for Councilmember White

Byron Johnson, Ward 8 Liaison, Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services

Laura Harding, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education

Kristina Noell, Executive Director of the Anacostia BID

Carla Longshore, Associate Director, Transit Delivery Division, DDOT

Ciara Boderick, Community Engagement Specialist, DDOT

Megan Kanagy, Mass Transit Branch Manager, DDOT

[1] The northbound stop between Talbert St SE and Howard Rd SE is not currently in service due to construction at 2442 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE.

[2] The northbound stop at Good Hope Rd is currently closed due to construction and a replacement stop is in service on the north side of the intersection. The former stop location will be restored once that construction is complete.