This is another positve story and I hope we can prove the report true by showing that we really have prepared for the race! I'd like to issue a challenge to all near H residents and businesses for this one Saturday to come over to your block of H St. with gloves and a trash bag and help clean up that one block area before the race. If we all do this, we should be able to get the whole corridor picked up in no time. The race begins at 7, but the first runners won't appear until almost 9. What do ya say?
Also, remember the street will be completely closed from 8:45 a.m. to about 1. Traffic in our neighborhoods WILL be bad on Sat., but that's just part of it.
Also, if you have time, please come out to volunteer at the H Street station (Water Stop 14 or Cheer Station 14) at 9th and H. You can sign up on the event organizers' web site - http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer/jobs-by-date.tcl?event_id=144507. It would be great to have a huge volunteer turnout from the H Street community.
The communication about this event has been very poor. A lot of people in my neighborhood are pissed about the street closures. They are asking why should our neighborhor be a made into a playground...
You guys can rah, rah all you want, but tomorrow is gonna bring a big mess.
something else to think about is probably the cleanup needed after the race goes through. i predict- watercups everywhere, though that might be a nice change from the usual rubbish storms. i will try to get out there early and then come back later too.
Although I would hardly classify any of our city's neighborhoods as "playground[s]" because of the event, you raise a good point about potential disruptions. I too am concerned about traffic pattern disruptions, but that is unfortunately the price you pay when hosting an event like a marathon. The best we can hope to do is mitigate any harm from these disruptions. I think the race organizers and the city have done a good job on this front by staggering the street closures throughout the day. If that doesn't get the job done this year we will hopefully learn from our mistakes and come up with a better solution next year.
This is a great opportunity to showcase our great city and bring more positive press to H Street. So let's rah rah all we can and get out there to help out. Hopefully next year we can all strive to do an even better job of getting the word out and lessening any disruptions the event may cause.
I've posted the same sort of comment before, but we should be THRILLED about having a race run through our area. We are trying to rebuild the area and make it a better place for people to come and visit. This is a great start - it will get the runners, the fans, etc out to our neck of the woods.
Re - litter - As an avid marathoner - most runners try to throw out their water cups in/near the trash can. I'm sure this race, like others (ie, the Marine Corps Marathon) will have adequate volunteers to do the very thankless job of picking up and cleaning up the area near the water station.
Omar, Maureen and others, I like your positive attitude! I'll be out there in the morning to help clean up the streets and throughtout the start of the race to cheer and hand out water. Unfortunately, I have to head out for another commitment at 11:00 AM. I'm looking forward to the marathon!
so, 13th will be closed b/t D St north to H. Most of these street closings aren't as draconian as I thought. Sure, traffic be a bit slowed as folks make their way around the closed areas, picking new (and longer) routes to get along their way Saturday, and folks may have parking issues (as folks from neighboring blocks with blocked streets park around the corner, increasing the amount of cars that want to be in a limited number of spaces).
I guess my question is pragmatic. I'm all for public health and bringing people out of their cars and onto the corridor (although they will be running and probably won't be paying as much attention as they would as 'ordinary' pedestrians), what is the pragmatic benefit?
Are there any studies on the tax base benefits of hosting marathons? I find it interesting that the city will pay $21,000 to open Metro early. What is the projected sales tax benefit?
And, yes, I'm one of those cost-benefit analysis types...
I use too be a fan of Marathons, but no more. I fight it if they try to bring it back to H st. It took me an hour to get Crystal city and I was only able to get there that fast because I took the Anacostia freeway after trying an failing to mover more than a few feet on k, 4th, New York, and L. It was like people North of H street were trapped and Maryland was the only way out. With a bad leg I cannot wall 14 blocks to Union station and I have no idea where the x2 was running even if it was.
I sympathize with the people who felt trapped. I do think that the marathon organizer could have done a better job of informing the residents of street closures and planning alternative routes. They should be made by the city to map the route two weeks in advance and post signs on the route telling people, two weeks in advance, that the roads will be closed. They should have had signs inadvance at the bus stops that were closed.
But I think the benefit for the neighborhood (particularly Hst ne) out weighs the inconvience. Thousands of people who may never have come here now know that we exist. They now know that new bars are here, that theaters are here, that people in the community lining the streets are here. They got a chance to see what we see everyday...a community that is thriving and growing.
I want the marathon to come back to Hst NE next year. Hopefully all of these critizisms will be taken to heart and will be planned for. They definitly will be acted upon if we contact the organizers or better yet, volunteer to help organize next year.
I wanted to let people know that I'll be suggesting at the next ANC 6C meeting that the ANC write a letter to the organizer and to DC EMA (permit authority) indicating that there needs to be better communication with the community in the future (but also expressing appreciation for including H Street NE & near NE generally).
Yes, there were press releases and stories written about the route & street closures, but there is room for improvement.
I think ultimately it is a great thing to have the marathon course include H Street--we still face an uphill battle on getting the word out that H Street really is being revitalized. A little inconvenience (especially if better anticipated in the future) is a small price for the positive press H Street NE & the neighborhood gets as a result.
I think it isn't so much the runners but the spectators who get to notice H Street--both neighborhood residents and others cheering friends. I know Sidamo's was quite a bit busier than normal.
Alan Kimber Commissioner, ANC 6C
P.S., I always sign my posts and use my blogger account so that it's clear when a comment is mine (not that I have a problem with anything the other Alan wrote).
The marathon was a fantastic thing for H St. and anyone who can't deal with a couple of hours not being able to drive anywhere should have planned in advance. Seriously, you are making it sound like we were placed in some kind of prison. Stop overreacting. And before anyone else says "but I bet your house wasn't affected" it was. I couldn't drive anywhere all day and you know what? The world didn't end. To try and stop it coming back is just plain silly. Why would you want to stop a great event coming through our neighborhood?? It's once a year, people, for a few hours. I was out there cheering people on and next year instead of complaining why don't you try participating? I agree with everything Omar said.
22 comments:
This is another positve story and I hope we can prove the report true by showing that we really have prepared for the race! I'd like to issue a challenge to all near H residents and businesses for this one Saturday to come over to your block of H St. with gloves and a trash bag and help clean up that one block area before the race. If we all do this, we should be able to get the whole corridor picked up in no time. The race begins at 7, but the first runners won't appear until almost 9. What do ya say?
Also, remember the street will be completely closed from 8:45 a.m. to about 1. Traffic in our neighborhoods WILL be bad on Sat., but that's just part of it.
Also, if you have time, please come out to volunteer at the H Street station (Water Stop 14 or Cheer Station 14) at 9th and H. You can sign up on the event organizers' web site - http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer/jobs-by-date.tcl?event_id=144507. It would be great to have a huge volunteer turnout from the H Street community.
The communication about this event has been very poor. A lot of people in my neighborhood are pissed about the street closures. They are asking why should our neighborhor be a made into a playground...
You guys can rah, rah all you want, but tomorrow is gonna bring a big mess.
oooh, somebody is in a bad mood. Don't guess we can count on them to pitch in and help.
something else to think about is probably the cleanup needed after the race goes through. i predict- watercups everywhere, though that might be a nice change from the usual rubbish storms. i will try to get out there early and then come back later too.
Anon 1:48,
Although I would hardly classify any of our city's neighborhoods as "playground[s]" because of the event, you raise a good point about potential disruptions. I too am concerned about traffic pattern disruptions, but that is unfortunately the price you pay when hosting an event like a marathon. The best we can hope to do is mitigate any harm from these disruptions. I think the race organizers and the city have done a good job on this front by staggering the street closures throughout the day. If that doesn't get the job done this year we will hopefully learn from our mistakes and come up with a better solution next year.
This is a great opportunity to showcase our great city and bring more positive press to H Street. So let's rah rah all we can and get out there to help out. Hopefully next year we can all strive to do an even better job of getting the word out and lessening any disruptions the event may cause.
I've posted the same sort of comment before, but we should be THRILLED about having a race run through our area. We are trying to rebuild the area and make it a better place for people to come and visit. This is a great start - it will get the runners, the fans, etc out to our neck of the woods.
Re - litter - As an avid marathoner - most runners try to throw out their water cups in/near the trash can. I'm sure this race, like others (ie, the Marine Corps Marathon) will have adequate volunteers to do the very thankless job of picking up and cleaning up the area near the water station.
Good luck to anyone running this weekend!!
Should be entertaining watching people get through the course on H st with all those steel plates! I'd hate to be in their shoes...
Omar, Maureen and others, I like your positive attitude! I'll be out there in the morning to help clean up the streets and throughtout the start of the race to cheer and hand out water. Unfortunately, I have to head out for another commitment at 11:00 AM. I'm looking forward to the marathon!
I'll be starting from 4th Street, cleaning on my way further East.
I'm glad to see the positive attitudes and the good coverage from NBC4.
Best,
Alan Kimber
Commissioner, ANC 6C05
Maybe next year they will close 3rd, 4th or 8th street from 7am until 2pm. It's clear that none of you live on 13th.
you're right, 7:33. they shouldn't close 13th because YOU live there. 12th or 14th would be much better options, right?
Hmmm. Couldn't find a way to edit my prior two comments, so I deleted them and put the edited version here.
http://pdfdownload.04340.com/pdf2html.php?url=http://www.nationalmarathon.com/downloads/Street.Closures.pdf
so, 13th will be closed b/t D St north to H. Most of these street closings aren't as draconian as I thought. Sure, traffic be a bit slowed as folks make their way around the closed areas, picking new (and longer) routes to get along their way Saturday, and folks may have parking issues (as folks from neighboring blocks with blocked streets park around the corner, increasing the amount of cars that want to be in a limited number of spaces).
I guess my question is pragmatic. I'm all for public health and bringing people out of their cars and onto the corridor (although they will be running and probably won't be paying as much attention as they would as 'ordinary' pedestrians), what is the pragmatic benefit?
Are there any studies on the tax base benefits of hosting marathons? I find it interesting that the city will pay $21,000 to open Metro early. What is the projected sales tax benefit?
And, yes, I'm one of those cost-benefit analysis types...
arrghhh. ignore minor grammatical errors above. sucks that i can't figure out a way to edit.
I use too be a fan of Marathons, but no more. I fight it if they try to bring it back to H st. It took me an hour to get Crystal city and I was only able to get there that fast because I took the Anacostia freeway after trying an failing to mover more than a few feet on k, 4th, New York, and L. It was like people North of H street were trapped and Maryland was the only way out. With a bad leg I cannot wall 14 blocks to Union station and I have no idea where the x2 was running even if it was.
I sympathize with the people who felt trapped. I do think that the marathon organizer could have done a better job of informing the residents of street closures and planning alternative routes. They should be made by the city to map the route two weeks in advance and post signs on the route telling people, two weeks in advance, that the roads will be closed. They should have had signs inadvance at the bus stops that were closed.
But I think the benefit for the neighborhood (particularly Hst ne) out weighs the inconvience. Thousands of people who may never have come here now know that we exist. They now know that new bars are here, that theaters are here, that people in the community lining the streets are here. They got a chance to see what we see everyday...a community that is thriving and growing.
I want the marathon to come back to Hst NE next year. Hopefully all of these critizisms will be taken to heart and will be planned for. They definitly will be acted upon if we contact the organizers or better yet, volunteer to help organize next year.
852 police officers!!! What a huge waste of resources. The priorities in this city are really whacked.
I wanted to let people know that I'll be suggesting at the next ANC 6C meeting that the ANC write a letter to the organizer and to DC EMA (permit authority) indicating that there needs to be better communication with the community in the future (but also expressing appreciation for including H Street NE & near NE generally).
Yes, there were press releases and stories written about the route & street closures, but there is room for improvement.
I think ultimately it is a great thing to have the marathon course include H Street--we still face an uphill battle on getting the word out that H Street really is being revitalized. A little inconvenience (especially if better anticipated in the future) is a small price for the positive press H Street NE & the neighborhood gets as a result.
Alan Kimber
Commissioner, ANC 6C05
ANC 6C's next meeting:
4/11, 7pm, NPR-635 Mass NW
On the other Alan's comment:
I think it isn't so much the runners but the spectators who get to notice H Street--both neighborhood residents and others cheering friends. I know Sidamo's was quite a bit busier than normal.
Alan Kimber
Commissioner, ANC 6C
P.S., I always sign my posts and use my blogger account so that it's clear when a comment is mine (not that I have a problem with anything the other Alan wrote).
The marathon was a fantastic thing for H St. and anyone who can't deal with a couple of hours not being able to drive anywhere should have planned in advance. Seriously, you are making it sound like we were placed in some kind of prison. Stop overreacting. And before anyone else says "but I bet your house wasn't affected" it was. I couldn't drive anywhere all day and you know what? The world didn't end. To try and stop it coming back is just plain silly. Why would you want to stop a great event coming through our neighborhood?? It's once a year, people, for a few hours. I was out there cheering people on and next year instead of complaining why don't you try participating? I agree with everything Omar said.
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