Environmental Improvements
Great downtowns have great pedestrian streets. Since 1997, the Downtown BID has worked to upgrade the public environment by developing high quality streetscape standards and promoting new, pedestrian-friendly lighting, trees, seating, trash cans, planters, banners and kiosks. Such improvements can have a dramatic impact on the appearance and use of a neighborhood business district.
In 1998 and 1999, the Downtown BID initiated a process to develop new streetscape standards for the Downtown BID area. The DC government adopted the standards that came out of this process as design guidelines for new city regulations that went into effect in early 2000. Most Downtown sidewalks have been upgraded to the new standards over time as the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has integrated these new streetscape guidelines into its routine Downtown street reconstruction and resurfacing contracts.
All of the Downtown BID’s work on streetscape standards has been published in a book of guidelines to make it very easy for developers and architects, as well as city engineers, to implement the required streetscape standards. The guidelines include a comprehensive section on Street Furniture and Streetscape Components. To download the guidelines, click here. [BID_Streetscape_Guidelines.pdf 4.8 MG] The city’s Downtown streetscape regulations can be found on DDOT’s website by visiting www.ddot.dc.gov.
So far, the private sector has invested more than $13 million in new Downtown sidewalks, lighting and street furniture, while the DDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) have invested another $11 million.
Completed public projects include:
- G Street in front of the Martin Luther King Library
- 9th Street from the National Portrait Gallery to the FBI building
- H Street in Chinatown from 4th to 9th Streets
- 10th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to H Street (nearly $3 million went into resurfacing and reconstructing the streets and sidewalks, with particular emphasis on the historic 500 block in front of the Ford's Theatre and the Pedersen House, where President Lincoln died. New streetlights, curbs, sidewalks, trees and stoplights help to create a pedestrian-friendly experience for 1.5 million annual visitors)
- Thomas Circle (nearly $1 million invested in utility upgrades and traffic/circulation improvements)
In 2007, the Downtown BID and DDOT planned and designed comprehensive streetscape improvements for 46 block-faces (one side of a city block between intersections) from K Street and Massachusetts Avenue on the north to Pennsylvania and Indiana Avenues on the south and from 5th Street on the east to 9th Street on the west. The two-block area between 14th Street from Thomas Circle to K Street also was included in the plan.
Federal stimulus money is helping to fund the streetscape improvements. Construction began in late 2009 and is scheduled to end in 2010. The $5.5 million project represents a public-private sector commitment to ensure pedestrian and vehicular safety for Downtown workers, visitors and residents.
Today, Downtown has new and ever improving streetscapes that welcome you to stroll, sit, shop, eat and people-watch—exactly what a great street should encourage you to do!
Greening Downtown DC
To improve Downtown’s health and sustainability and maintain the area’s competitive posture, the Downtown BID works with property owners and other national and local public and private partners to increase energy efficiency and reduce dependency on carbon-based fuels. The result is a Greening Downtown DC initiative that makes financial and environment sense and supports the city’s effort to become one of the world’s most sustainable cities.
The initiative is a long-term, comprehensive set of programs and services where the Downtown BID serves as a facilitator and a catalyst by forming partnerships to undertake research, establish measures, communicate information and convene training sessions. The initiative targets four interrelated areas:
- Greening new and existing buildings
- Educating tenants on green best practices
- Improving public spaces
- Enhancing transportation options
Focused on “the triple bottom line,” a way of doing business that protects the planet, people and profit, the Greening Downtown DC initiative will assist stakeholders—including businesses, workers and
residents—with the elements necessary for success. READ MORE >
Downtown DC Eco-District Summit
In 2010, The Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID), in association with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), invited top Downtown property owners, officials of the federal and DC governments, representatives of major utilities, sustainability leaders and other invited guests to participate in a comprehensive leadership summit. The gathering focused on collaborative approaches to sustainability and the creation of a Downtown DC Eco-District LEARN MORE>
Public Recycling Program
Thanks to a DowntownDC BID-PepsiCo partnership 363 new recycling bins began appearing on Downtown streets in March of 2011. DC the nation’s first city to partner with PepsiCo’s nationwide Dream Machine recycling initiative, which aims to place both interactive kiosks and static bins in high traffic public spaces nationwide, as well as increase the beverage container recycling rate in the US from 34% to 50% by 2018. LEARN MORE >
