The following is an announcement regarding the proposed substation on Wylie Street. Residents of the street have been up in arms and loudly arguing against placing the substation in the middle of a residential block. I can promise the meeting won't be dull:
Please join the District Department of Transportation as we return to the community to discuss our progress, address concerns and solicit input regarding the design–build of the Wylie Street Substation.
June 29th 2010
1333 H Street NE
Atlas Performing Arts Center
6:30-8:00pm
Contact:
Sandy Castor
202-671-3499
District Department of Transportation | Progressive Transportation Services Administration
www.ddot.dc. gov
Adey Medhin
Assistant for Wards 5 and 6
Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services
Executive Office of the Mayor
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 211
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 442-8150 main
(202) 671-0726 direct
(202) 727-5931 fax
adey.medhin@ dc.gov
www.mocrs.dc. gov
12 comments:
How was it decided to place the substation on Wiley?
"i want streetcars, but Not In My Back Yard!"
anonymous @ 6:50 this is a one block residential street composed of similarly built rowhouses of historic character. inserting an electrical substation in the middle of such a block is an aesthetic monstrosity, especially when there is other city-owned property right on h street, such as the abandoned rl christian library
You know, lots of substations blend into their surroundings really, really well. There are some Pepco substations on the Hill that look better than the houses surrounding them.
Where are these Pepco Hill substations? I'd be curious to see what they look like. I don't live on Wylie, but it is a tiny, cute little street without room for much else. I could see why the Wylians would be pissed.
Or is it the "Wyliewegians?"
:-)
I don't know any Hill substations, but there's a nice looking one on Nebraska at Connecticut. It looks like a regular, 1950s track home like its neighbors. I have no doubt that this one on Wylie would look just like any other house on the street.
This is a common practice in cities all over the country. Sometimes they even put in fake silhouettes of people or furniture behind curtains.
Whatever, Anon 6:50. Why shouldn't development be done right, with neighbors and community in mind, rather than throwing up whatever suits Pepco's/ Ddot's needs only? A. The proposed building looks nothing like the other buildings on the street. B.Ddot has given no reason for utilizing space on a residential street, when there are other seemingly more appropriate spaces available (e.g, the unused space next to Autozone). And C. We have had dealings with DC government before with their "community based" plans for development on this street. They have never demonstrated an interest in community input and expect no resistance to whatever the hell they feel like doing.
So, we should just lie down and trust the government/Pepco and their plans? Right.
Kirsten
Kirsten
There used to be a substation at 13 & D. There were tons of rats around it, and it was never kept maintained. As a bit of irony, it was an old streetcar station. It had tons of litter, graffiti, and high grass. Why should Wylie street expect any thing different???
@Kristen:
Whatever, Anon 6:50. Why shouldn't development be done right, with neighbors and community in mind, rather than throwing up whatever suits <strike>Pepco's/ Ddot's</strike> the greater H Street community's and city as a whole's needs only?
Fixed....
I would think Pepco has a good reason for putting it there, that it wasn't completely random. If not, then fight it.
But soul searcher, half the streets in our area are quiet little streets with "similarly built rowhouses of historic character." If it needs to on Wylie, and they can put something aesthetically harmless, then shut up and let's all enjoy the street cars.
The simple reason that the transformer is being stuck on Wylie is money.
The lot on Wylie is zoned R-4/residential and has a lower property tax potential for the city than any parcel on H Street which is taxed not only at the higher commercial property tax rate but also on the potential for denser development based on the FAR or whatever is allowed in a PUD.
The city gets much more revenue from eight stories of retail, office and residential space, than from a single family home on Wylie.
Municipalities always place unattractive necessities on the cheapest available sites. Poor people are the usual losers.
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