WASHINGTON, DC – With summer on the horizon, the Downtown DC Business Improvement District’s (BID) Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs) have sprung into seasonal cleanup mode, setting the stage for workers, visitors and residents to enjoy rewarding moments and experience providers and influencers to offer more outdoor cafes, vendors, events and other activities in public spaces.
The Downtown BID’s annual Beautification Initiative allows for physical improvements that help create an exceptional environment in the one-square mile Downtown BID area. Downtown SAM maintenance team members perform many of the duties and can be seen on the streets hanging flower baskets and adding tree boxes. During this time, sidewalks are power washed, flowers are planted, gum is removed from sidewalks and tree grates and dead and dying trees are removed.
“It’s all about producing beautiful places where people want to stop and engage each other and enjoy their surroundings,” says Richard H. Bradley, executive director of the Downtown BID. “The hard work and dedication of our Downtown SAMs make this possible, as do partnerships in both the public and private realms which refocus attention on the quality of public spaces to create remarkable urban experiences.”
The initiative is a collaborative effort with the National Park Service, the District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration, Casey Trees and Downtown property managers to improve the area’s physical milieu through a variety of beautification efforts.
Since beginning operations in 1997, the Downtown BID has championed a series of projects that improve Downtown’s physical environment and promote pedestrian-friendly lighting, trees, seating, trashcans, planters, banners and kiosks.
These activities include setting up information kiosks located near Metrorail stations and in busy pedestrian areas within the Downtown BID area during the peak tourist season. Downtown SAM safety/hospitality team members staff the brightly colored kiosks. Each year, more than 9 million people visit the Downtown BID area to attend 13 museums, eight performing arts theaters, 131 destination restaurants and 27 destination retail stores.
“The SAMs ensure that the visitor’s trip to Downtown is enjoyable and uncomplicated,” says Everett D.E. Scruggs, the Downtown BID’s director of operations. “We work diligently to do everything in our power to maintain a litter free and welcoming environment.”
Other measures to improve Downtown’s physical environment consist of aggressive, year-round cleanup activities performed by the Maintenance SAMs—picking up trash and removing graffiti, stickers and illegal posters—as well as staging such outdoor events as the Downtown Holiday Market and facilitating permits for sidewalk cafes.
More airy and colorful sidewalk cafes are a byproduct of the annual beautification ritual. Today, more than 90 sidewalk cafes, from the miniature to the sizeable, exist in the Downtown BID area and serve as a measure of Downtown’s vibrancy. The sidewalk cafes, which continue to grow and animate streets, offer prime people-watching venues for visitors and have a dramatic impact on Downtown’s appearance.
“We’re forever mindful that great downtowns have great pedestrian streets,” says Bradley. “Our goal is to expand and accelerate our placemaking projects and programs to capitalize on Downtown’s potential and valuable community assets.”