to move up and down
Petworthies
"Bowtie: It's Not Going To Happen."
Notes on the new Sherman
The new Sherman Avenue is a far better bike path than I ever would have expected. Once the last segment of a commuter artery shuttling traffic from downtown DC to I-95 by way of New Hampshire Ave., Sherman Ave has been reimagined as a city street, with one northbound and one southbound lane, cutouts for left turns and bus stops, a median strip planted with blooms and grasses, broad sidewalks, and the dreaded “sharrow” lanes that remind motorists not to murder cyclists who happen to be using the road.
It seems like a better bet than 11th Street NW that charts the same longitudinal path, and boasts a dedicated bike lane, but is choked at several points with narrow segments (from Florida Avenue to U Street and again from U Street to S Street) where the road isn’t wide enough for a car and a bicycle to travel side-by-side.
These choke points present drivers with an unpalatable set of options: 1) trail behind a cyclist and not go at optimal speeds or; 2) Blow past them and possibly wing the cyclist or risk colliding with oncoming traffic.
The Sherman Avenue removes this conundrum by being wide enough to handle a full size SUV and a bike. Sherman flows into Ninth Street to connect downtown, and this way too seems better than 11th Street. Ninth Street doesn’t have a bike lane, but it’s more accommodating than 11th Street, which has bike lanes from about S Street to Massachusetts Ave., but can get dicey further downtown. —Adam Mazmanian
The best thing about BusTrack DC (aka the new NextBus app) is how it renders bus routes as undulating green caterpillars inching up and down the District. (Pictured: The Awesome 63)
True Turtle, a developer specializing in sustainable dwellings, is rehabbing a rowhouse on the 4300 block of 4th St. NW. The demolition crew is removing door trim, window trim, and other original materials from the house and giving them away to anyone who cares to pick them up. This photograph taken Tuesday morning includes a medicine cabinet, and many long sections of base trim and door trim. In an email to the Petworth listserv, True Turtle owner Tanya Topolewski cautioned, “PLEASE BE AWARE THE TRIM WILL HAVE NAILS.” True that. Scavenge at your own risk.
Just another lazy Sunday at the Taylor Street playground.
The Twitter Concession: Graceful But Brief
Petworth continues to labor under Sandy’s mighty yoke.
The tropics of Petworth, where where flowers bloom on wild vines that grow unchecked over our cracked and crumbling infrastructure.
Petworth (Sort Of) Represents in London
The Official Website of the British Monarchy posted a photograph of
Prince Harry at the beach volleyball bronze medal match (Brazil verses China) at Greenwich Park on Day 12 of the London 2012 Olympics. Seated two rows in front of the photo is Jair Lynch, Shepherd Park-raised, local developer (3Tree Flats at 3910 Georgia) and 1996 Olympics silver medal winner in gymnastics. -Joseph Martin
Out of the Rodent Frying Pan, Into the Rodent Fire
From the Petworth Yahoo List: “We had a big possum living in our next door neighbors garage (she doesn’t use it) for the last year or two. Kinda creepy, but this summer it has moved on to greener pastures and now we have a big rat problem. I want my possum back!”
Stay CLASSy, Sherman Circle
Relatively new ANC commish Zachary Hartman makes a bold statement of vigilante blight justice on Sherman Circle:
“Citizens Living and Acting for Spotless Streets y’all (CLASSy) will be holding a CLASSy Action, aka community clean-up, this Saturday, August 11th at 9am at Sherman Circle. From Sherman, we can radiate out into the neighboring community, much like the clean-up that was recently held at Grant Circle NW. CLASSy volunteers are welcome to clean as long as they like, but I plan to go until 11am.
CLASSy is a community driven initiative to lead by example, encourage environmental stewardship, nurture a sense of individual responsibility in the community, provide an opportunity for neighbors to meet and interact, and - of course - make our neighborhood and even better place to live (Part of the CLASSy mission is to teach individual responsibility, so CLASSy does not solicit or accept financial or material support from the DC City government).”
Kindred spirits can join in the fun via email.
Love, LMQ
