Fort Totten: South Dakota Ave.'s Quiet Gateway
Print
Like (
YOU MIGHT ONLY catch a brief glimpse of South Dakota Avenue while going over Riggs Road heading in and out of the Red Line's Fort Totten station. But now that the Yellow Line has been extended to Fort Totten, establishing yet another connection between downtown and this sort-of-desolate, woodsy area in Northeast, the South Dakota Avenue corridor is expected to see some changes.
This evening, the D.C. Department of Transportation will be hosting a public meeting on options for improving traffic flow, transit access and streetscaping.
What's around the station now? Not much. It's essentially an isolated commuter hub, tucked away from major roads and partially obscured by a forested ridge. But last year, Clark Realty started construction on apartments on seven acres of land owned by Metro under terms of a 99-year lease. It's part of a larger plan to bring retail and housing to the station area.
To the north of the site, closer to the broad, triangular juncture of Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue (toward the top in the DDOT map at right) there is even more development in the works.
Safety will likely be one issue tonight's DDOT meeting will address. South Dakota Avenue is a fairly sedate residential thoroughfare, although it sees some dangerous traffic conditions, and the DDOT study shows that the 25 mph speed limit is largely ignored. With a large big-box development slated for the Fort Lincoln New Town area closer to New York Avenue, South Dakota Avenue could see even more traffic in the years to come.
» "Fort Totten" [MetroLinks/Express]
» "DDOT to Hold Public Community Meeting on South Dakota Avenue Transportation and Streetscape Study" [DDOT]
» "South Dakota Avenue Transportation and Streetscape Study" [DDOT/Wilbur Smith]
» "Fort Totten, the New Lap of Luxury" [Free Ride/Express]
» "Dakotas Condo Project Near Fort Totten Ready to Roll" [D.C. Mud]
» "Washington Gateway Retail Center" [D.C. Marketing Center]
Image courtesy DDOT
The End of the Line
Techies Swarm in Arlington to Snag Newest iPhone
Long-Delayed Capitol Visitor Center to Open in December
Addison Road
mike,
nice to see you noticed this. jamie at stop, blog, and roll (www.stopblogandroll.com) blogged about this a couple days ago too. just wanted to quibble with the wording at the top here. the way you wrote this makes it sound like this stuff is happening because the yellow line was extended. it's just a happy coincidence, these changes have been in the pipeline long before the yellow line extension got approved last year.
By imgoph , Posted January 31, 2007 1:23 PMYes, I agree. But developers are sure to like that additional transit service the Yellow Line offers.
By mgrass , Posted January 31, 2007 3:42 PM