ANC Asks Nike 'What's in It for Us?'
Nike hopes to close Thomas Jefferson Street for a day in April for the Nike Women's Marathon Half race expo.
Nike would like to close Thomas Jefferson Street to allow race participants to walk between the Nike store on M Street and the Nike Women's Marathon Half expo area at the Washington Harbour.
The race will be April 28, but the packet pick-up days will be April 25-27. The street would be closed Saturday, April 27.
The Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission was hesitant to agree to the street closure at its February meeting and is seeking public input on the proposal.
Representatives from Nike said they would make contributions to the community organization(s) of the ANC's choosing as part of a public benefit and trade-off for the street closure.
The race team said they wanted to close the street for safety reasons: there would be thousands of participants milling around between the M Street store and the Harbour expo area. They also said they were interested in making a street fair of sorts to highlight local businesses on the closed street.
The ANC is seeking public input on the idea of trading a public inconvenience for a donation to a community resource.
This is the inaugural Nike Women's Marathon Half in DC. The race, which benefits The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), started in San Francisco in 2004.
The San Francisco race alone has helped raise more than $118 million for LLS services for patients and for blood cancer research, according to a press release on the LLS website.
According to the race website, the packet pick up hours are:
Washington Harbor, Washington, DC
Thursday, April 25, Noon to 8 p.m.
Friday, April 26, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 27, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Take our poll and then tell us what you think in the comments.
Virginia Burton
7:17 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Oh, right. Shut down a street on a Saturday for the sole convenience of Nike. And oh dear god, yet another race? Why can't they have these things in less congested and commercial areas?
Shaun Courtney
9:17 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Virginia, the ANC asked just that. "Why us?" was sort of the theme for the evening. But the race is booked at the Harbour, which is a private space, so all the ANC can do is try to limit the impact on public space. -Shaun
Roberto
3:25 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
I believe that The ANC/city should allow the street to be shut down. It's on a weekend and it increase business in the Georgetown. And above all, the race raises money for a good cause and promotes physical fitness.
Shaun Courtney
3:31 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Thanks for your comment Roberto. Would you consider voting in the poll above?
Jacques
3:46 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
I think this would be more problematic if it was on a different street, but Thomas Jefferson is not a major thoroughfare by any stretch.
I generally think an agreement could be made, in part because if there is a substantial amount of foot traffic, it could create a de-facto street closure without the safety of an actual street closure. But I think the ANC should ensure that two things happen:
1) People who live on Thomas Jefferson have access to their homes during the closure, and
2) The donation threshold is set high enough that it's at least a deterrent from making this a common occurrence.