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WARD 1 UPDATE
Hello Neighbors:
One of the few positive legacies of the pandemic in the District was the advent of streateries –curbside spaces where residents dine outdoors, businesses get extra seating, and neighborhoods come alive with activity – creating a vibrant community feel and joyous activation of public space.
That legacy is in danger. The D.C. Department of Transportation finalized permanent regulations this month that make streateries all but impossible for restaurants to entertain. The rent the city plans to charge is high and restrictions – such as prohibiting weatherization – make them even less practical and cost-effective to restaurants, and less appealing to residents. Some restaurants have already removed their streateries based on the new regulations.
I am working with Councilmember Charles Allen and other councilmembers on emergency legislation that would remove these hurdles to retaining streateries for businesses that want them and make them more welcoming to patrons who use them.
In Adams Morgan, we have a unique situation: DDOT encouraged restaurants on 18th Street to give up their original streateries last fall and offered free, modern, uniform structures in their place. Now they are planning to remove them all - as early as next week, leaving the restaurants that want streateries to rebuild at their own cost, again, on top of having to pay the new higher rent and permit fees.
But this is about more than just whether restaurants can serve food curbside. My goal is to ensure that the overall design of 18th Street, public space, and curb uses in Adams Morgan meets comprehensive community needs. If/where restaurants don’t want to use the space, they could make for wider sidewalks, pocket parks, or be used in other ways that the community determines create the best use of that public space.
DDOT’s plan to simply remove the streateries and revert to the street design of 2019 would be a real lost opportunity. Giving up the space now will make it extremely hard to get it back. A few months ago, DDOT proposed a much better plan – one that would retain a 10-foot space for streateries along with more parking and loading zones. I am advocating with DDOT to adopt this plan.
I have long been a champion of pedestrianizing 18th Street and regularly hear from residents who support that. We’ve made progress, including occasional street closures for events like Porchfest and the addition of streateries. Removing streatery space on 18th now would be a significant backslide, undoing much of the community vibrancy that has developed organically over the last half-decade.
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