You’ve got some more time to comment on changes to a new Circulator Plan that would change the current Circulator route between Eastern Market and L’Enfant Plaza.
At the request of Councilmember Charles Allen Ward 6-D), The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has extended the comment period so residents can weigh in.
DDOT is collecting feedback on the above proposed changes through Friday, July 30, 2021 at 11:59 p.m..
The new DC Circulator Transit Development Plan (TDP) modifies the current Circulator route. That route currently begins near Eastern Market Metro, traveling to Navy Yard and the Wharf and finishing at L’Enfant Plaza.
The alterations remove the branch of the route that travels from Eastern Market along Pennsylvania Avenue SE and down Eighth Street SE, but adds an extension that would take it up to Mount Vernon Square.
The relevant text from the Circulator Plan is reproduced below and can be found along with the larger report and charts of the routes in the adjoining link.
DDOT is proposing cutting short the Circulator route running from Eastern Market to L’Enfant Plaza by cutting the route at the bottom of Barracks Row. They are proposing extending service on the other end of the line up to Mt. Vernon Triangle.
The current route runs up Eighth Street SE where it ends and connects with the Union Station route, and a representative from his office indicated that Allen is not supportive of cutting off Barracks Row.
According to the TDP, this route was the lowest‐performing route in almost every performance metric in 2019 and, at 5.4 miles round trip is one of the shortest.
It connects Eastern Market with L’Enfant Plaza via 7th Street NE and M Street SE. The TDP proposes that these two destinations can be accessed by the Blue, Orange, and Silver Metro lines with only three stops in between.
In order to create a more unique route that serves a better purpose within the Circulator system, the project team recommends a route realignment and extension .
The new route would serve 7th Street NW and M Street SE between Mt Vernon Square and 11th Street SE (Navy Yard). This proposed alignment would require a name change to Navy Yard – Mt Vernon Square.
The west end of the existing route currently terminates at D Street SW and Seventh Street NW near L’Enfant Plaza Metro station. The proposed west side extension will instead have the bus continue travel north along Seventh Street NW to terminate before Mt Vernon Square and Massachusetts Ave NW.
The route can take three right turns on K Street, Sixth Street, and I Street before returning to the southbound alignment on 7th Street.
This proposed extension would allow for transfer opportunities to two Circulator routes, NM and Georgetown to Union Station (GT-US), as well as more WMATA routes and Metro stations.
Proposed stops are spaced between 0.25 miles and 0.35 miles apart on the west end extension.
There are two ways to share feedback: + Call DDOT’s DC Circulator Customer Service Line: 202-671-2020. + Submit written feedback here using the contact form at the bottom of the page: http://www.dccirculator.com/tdp2020/ If you would like to review the proposal in more detail, it is available here beginning on page 114: https://www.dccirculator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2020-TDP-Update_04.12.21-Updated-Final.pdf Thanks for taking time to respond. We’ve heard from many neighbors who were caught off-guard by this proposal, so here’s a chance to weigh in.
