Comment by May 13th on land use along the Chevy Chase commercial strip

DDOT has been studying traffic safety and stormwater management improvements in the Van Ness commercial corridor.

DDOT is designing a new look, feel and purpose for the sidewalks along Connecticut Avenue in Van Ness. And it wants our opinion during one last public meeting on the Van Ness Commercial Corridor Project.

DDOT will be outside the UDC Student Center (4200 Connecticut Avenue) this Saturday, April 23rd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to present and get feedback on concept plans for the Connecticut Avenue corridor, and for Van Ness Street between Connecticut and Reno Road.

DDOT has solicited and collected feedback at two community meetings in the past year. Its concept plans are based, in part, on that feedback. DDOT is also drawing on previous work over the years by the DC Office of Planning, which focused on green infrastructure for stormwater management, and designing an attractive, pedestrian-friendly streetscape for the benefit of local businesses, residents and visitors.

The streetscape project is separate from DDOT’s planning for protected bike lanes along Connecticut Avenue. The work currently under way in Cleveland Park, on streetscape and stormwater control improvements, is closer to what is in the works at Van Ness.

Another DC agency, the Office of Planning, is collecting the last public feedback on the Chevy Chase Small Area Plan. This is focused not only on the streetscape along the northernmost section of Connecticut Avenue in DC, but also on revitalizing retail and accommodating new housing, mostly on the eastern side of the commercial strip. The proposed land use changes are limited to either side of Connecticut, and do not include the surrounding neighborhood of single-family homes.

OP released a draft plan recently based on this community-guided effort. It is hosting a public hearing at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26th (sign up here to testify), and accepting comments online through Friday, May 13th.