More Georgetown Premium Transit Service Meetings Planned

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will continue to rely on public input as it develops a plan to improve transit service between Union Station and the Georgetown waterfront.

Just what form or route that service will take depends in part on feedback from residents.

Premium transit could include a new express bus line, bus rapid transit, a streetcar, or even light rail transit.

In Georgetown, the study area for a new route stretches from 33rd Street to the West, K Street to the South and M Street to the North. Between Georgetown and Union Station the study area generally centers on K, L, and I Streets from 33rd Street NW to 3rd Street NE. You can see an outlined map here.

According to the DDOT website, the needs for an improved service include:

• Efficient east-west transit connectivity
• Transportation system mobility
• Reliability of transit
• System capacity and congestion
• Existing and future land use

Wednesday DDOT hosted the first of several public meetings. The next meeting is planned for April and a third will be in May. The agency has also created a website dedicated to the project.

In the new few months DDOT staff will develop, test and evaluate several potential allignments for a route between Union Station and Georgetown.

A circulator bus currently operates between the two locations. But a recent RFP for a streetcar system in the District included a possible line running from Union Station to K Street under the Whitehust Freeway.

By this summer DDOT hopes to have an Alternatives Analysis report with a preferred route and mode selected to present to the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration. This public process is an important step before DDOT can apply for federal funding for a new transit project.