Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[Subcity]

[jack]

Concerning the problem of Zoo access with the Harvard Street gate closed (let's stay on topic here, please) -- I've sent the following to the public affairs contact at the National Zoo. The photo is below. -- Jack

Mr Gibbons --

You may be aware that a jogger was hit and seriously injured by a car on Beach Drive yesterday. This cannot have come as a surprise, given the obvious danger of running across Beach Drive, to get from Adams Morgan/Mount Pleasant to the Zoo, and the Rock Creek Park bike path.

The Zoo is clearly aware of the dangerous situation caused by the closure of the Harvard Street entrance, but its response to this situation has been extremely short-sighted. Zoo efforts seem only to try to prevent access from the east side of the zoo, with signs and fences and closed gates and even guards posted. It's said that there's an occasional shuttle to take Zoo visitors to Connecticut Avenue, but of what value is that to people who want to get to the bike path? None whatsoever.

So the jogger ran across Beach Drive, like hundreds of other joggers, bicyclists, and Zoo visitors in recent weeks. We're lucky that this is, so far, the only casualty. As a Mount Pleasant resident posted, "In my opinion the zoo has blood on their hands. Shame on them for not taking action after multiple complaints."

I repeat, the shuttle is useless to joggers and bicyclists wanting access to the bike path. And no, there's no good alternative, not within reasonable walking distance.

But there is a good alternative right in your own back yard: open up the Adams Mill Road gate to pedestrians. Unsafe? Nonsense. In the first place, there's almost no traffic on that Zoo service road, and what traffic there is, is Zoo traffic, so they can be easily advised of the situation. More importantly, it would be easy to mark off a pedestrian lane on that roadway, defining a safe pedestrian area.

Why not? This would be a safe and convenient solution to the pedestrian-access problem from the communities of Ward One, not only access to the Zoo, but access to the bike path for joggers and bicyclists.

Instead, the Zoo has posted a guard there just to make sure that no joggers or bicyclists try to use it, forcing them instead to take the Beach Drive cross-traffic run. That makes no sense at all.

Below, a photo of that Adams Mill access road. It should be obvious that a safe pedestrian lane could easily be traffic-coned off to provide safe access to the Zoo, and to the bike path.

-- Jack McKay
Mount Pleasant ANC

[ilana-mtp]

Thank you Jack.

I too experienced the glacial response of the Zoo to the "East-side" residents.

Sometimes in March after running some errands in Cleveland Park, I took my daughter to the Zoo via the Connecticut entrance thinking that we would walk down and then home and discovered that the path out was closed. The guard then offered no alternative than to get back up to Connecticut Ave. He did mentioned a shuttle but after spending 30 mn waiting for one which was "on its way", I walked back up with my 2 y.o daughter, and then down Connecticut, across the Duke Ellington bridge and back up Columbia Road to get back to Mt Pleasant.
It's a walk I have done many times in the past but I was still annoyed that no **large** signs announced the problem at the Zoo entrance on Connecticut Ave and that there was no shuttle running at all (the excuse I heard later when I called to complain was that this was "off-season"...).

We have not been to the zoo since and have no intention of going before a safe pedestrian access with Mt Pleasant is restored.

Many thanks again for pressing on with this issue.

Ilana

[Harry]

Now being discussed on Greater Greater Washington:

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=5540

[jack]

Guess the Zoo has admitted that they're not going to stop people from dashing across Beach Drive traffic. They've painted a crosswalk, and put in asphalt ramps, to facilitate crossing. Up the road there's a light-board warning "pedestrian crosswalk ahead". From the downtown side, though, nothing, so drivers are oblivious to the newly appeared crosswalk. And one still must trust those oncoming drivers to stop. Good luck, cross your fingers, pray.

-- Jack

[Subcity]

Well, to those of you who took the time to ask the Zoo Poohbahs to do something, congrats.

[jack]

[jack]

[emgrant]

[jack]

From the Zoo, today:

Repairs on the Harvard Street Bridge will conclude this afternoon and the bridge will reopen to vehicles and pedestrians on Saturday morning, April 24, 2010. We greatly appreciate your patience throughout the bridge repairs construction project.

Regards,

Pamela Baker-Masson

[Subcity]