Tues. June 7, 2011
Beautification Efforts Enhance the Downtown Experience
WASHINGTON, DC – With summer in the air, the DowntownDC Business Improvement District’s (BID) Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs) have begun sprucing up Downtown streets to make public spaces more inviting for workers, visitors and residents.
The physical improvements, from power washing sidewalks to planting flowers, are part of the BID’s annual Beautification Initiative, which helps create an exceptional environment in the one-square mile DowntownDC BID area and attracts vendors, encourages more outdoor cafes, and facilitates activities that draw people to the area.
Downtown SAM maintenance team members lead the charge, performing many of the beautification efforts. They can be seen on the streets removing gum from sidewalks, adding tree boxes and removing dead and dying trees. In another week, they will begin hanging lush flower baskets throughout the DowntownDC BID area, dotting the landscape with bright colors and warmth.
“The seasonal clean-up offers a great way to transition to the summer months,” says Richard H. Bradley, executive director of the DowntownDC BID. “More important, it produces beautiful places where people want to assemble, enjoy their surroundings, and have remarkable urban experiences.”
In addition to the Downtown SAMs, BID partnerships with public and private sector organizations also contribute to the Beautification Initiative. The National Park Service, the District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration, Casey Trees, and Downtown property managers all chip in to enhance the quality of public spaces.
Since beginning operations in 1997, the DowntownDC BID has championed several projects that improve Downtown’s physical environment and promote pedestrian-friendly lighting, banners, seating, trashcans, planters and kiosks.
These activities include setting up information kiosks located near Metrorail stations and in busy pedestrian areas within the DowntownDC BID area during the peak tourist season. SAM safety/hospitality team members staff the brightly colored kiosks, now up and operational. More than 9.5 million people visit the DowntownDC BID area to attend 13 museums, six performing arts theaters, 138 destination restaurants, and more than 30 destination retail stores.
“We live up to the vibrant, inviting and smart message that we relay continuously,” says David K. Kamperin, the Downtown BID’s director of public space management. “Our goal is to ensure that the Downtown experience is welcoming, enjoyable and comfortable for all.”
Other measures to improve Downtown’s physical environment consist of aggressive, year-round cleanup activities performed by the Maintenance SAMs—picking up trash and recyclables and removing graffiti, stickers, and illegal posters. In addition, the BID stages outdoor events such as Arts on Foot and the Downtown Holiday Market and facilitates permits for sidewalk cafes. The cafes are a byproduct of the annual beautification ritual and total well over 120 today.
“It’s no secret that we’re in the business of improving Downtown’s public environment, as well as its economy and social equity,” says Bradley. “But to create great pedestrian streets, as we strive to do, entails using all of our resources to expand and accelerate placemaking projects and programs that capitalize on Downtown’s full potential and viable assets.”