The TPB has approved more than $700 thousand in funding for 7 projects in the District of Columbia. The seven recommended projects promote TPB priorities in a variety of ways. They all serve regional Activity Centers (places where you can live, work, play, and access transit), six are in Equity Emphasis Areas (places with high concentrations of low income and minority populations), five support access to transit (directly or indirectly), and one is part of the National Capital Trail Network.

In addition, several of the projects are focused on safety, which is a topic of vital interest to the TPB and its partners. The tactical urbanism projects (curb extensions and tactical urbanism library) are worth highlighting, in particular. They will creatively use rapid deployment techniques to try out solutions to reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries, and help to achieve Vision Zero aspirations for the District and the region. 

About the Transportation Alternatives Set-aside program

Under the federal Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TA Set-Aside) Program, the TPB is responsible for selecting projects using sub-allocated funding for Suburban Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The TA Set-Aside, which is part of the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, was previously known as the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).  

The program was established by federal law to fund a variety of smaller-scale transportation projects such as pedestrian and bicycle facilities, trails, safe routes to school (SRTS) projects, community improvements, and environmental mitigation. MAP 21, the surface transportation legislation enacted in 2012, established the program as the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP). The FAST Act of 2015 renamed the program as the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TA Set-Aside) Program, and the key features of the program largely remain the same

The program provides sub-allocated funding for large metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) like the TPB (those MPOs classified as “Transportation Management Areas”) to fund local projects. In addition to these sub-allocated funds, a portion of the TA Set-Aside funding is reserved for statewide project selection, which is conducted by the state departments of transportation.

For the National Capital Region, the program offers an opportunity to support and enhance regional planning activities. At the direction of the TPB, our region’s TA Set-Aside is framed as a complementary component of the TPB’s Transportation Land-Use Connections (TLC) Program, which provides technical assistance funding for small planning studies to TPB member jurisdictions.

The TA Set-Aside offers the region the ability to fund projects that support regional priorities and goals based on Visualize 2045 and the TPB’s other policy documents. Applicants from the National Capital Region are asked to show how their projects will serve these priorities when they seek TA Set-Aside funds. The priorities also provide the basis for the selection criteria that the TPB’s selection panel uses when it reviews TA Set-Aside applications and recommends projects for funding.

Here are the 7 projects:

C&O Canal Trailhead Project Enhancements

This funding will enhance an existing TAP-funded project to develop a new trailhead at the Georgetown connection point of the Capital Crescent Trail and the C&O Canal Towpath, two of the most heavily travelled bicycle and pedestrian trail routes in the region. The site, which is currently in a neglected condition, is located where the remnant Aqueduct Bridge, Capital Crescent Trail, and Water Street intersect. The TPB in 2018 approved $150,000 in TAP funding for a suite of improvements including landscaping, planting, a trailhead meeting area, and an improved staircase. Based upon additional community outreach, the requested enhancements will further improve the stairwell, incorporate a bike repair station, and put up way-finding signage. The project lies directly on the National Capital Trail Network and is within the Georgetown Activity Center.

Blair Road Right of Way Analysis and Acquisition

This project will fund analysis and acquisition of right-of-way to install a sidewalk on a half-mile section of Blair Road NW between 4th Street and Eastern Avenue. The project will include a full right-of-way analysis and fair market value estimate to acquire private property that would be needed. This section of Blair Road is missing a critical sidewalk connection to schools, transit, and a commercial business district. The project is in located in an Equity Emphasis Area and in the Takoma Park Activity Center, and is within a half mile of the Takoma Metro station.

Tactical Urbanism Library

The Tactical Urbanism Library will provide a storehouse of materials that can be quickly deployed to address pedestrian safety concerns throughout the city. The library will offer an array of materials such as traffic cones, flexible delineator posts, temporary ADA ramps, and polymer plastic planters. DDOT and other partners will use these materials to test out potential longer-term solutions, including pedestrian refuge islands, curb extensions, chicanes, and traffic circles.

Curb Extensions with Ground Murals

This project will add curb extensions with ground murals to five DC intersections. These locations have been previously identified by the community through DDOT’s Livability Study program as locations with pedestrian safety concerns that could benefit from curb extensions. When implemented, each of the curb extensions will contain a ground mural designed by a local artist. DDOT plans to go through community outreach and coordination to select the artist and develop the artwork for the curb extensions. The following locations have been selected for this project: Blair Road at 5th Street NW/Dahlia Street; New Mexico Avenue NW at Cathedral Ave NW; Texas Avenue SE at Chaplin St/E Street SE; Georgia Avenue NW at Alaska Avenue NW/Kalmia Road; Nebraska Avenue NW at 45th Street/Newark Street.

Statue Restoration of Tigers on 16th Street Bridge and Bisons on Dumbarton Bridge

The project involves treatments to restore four bronze tigers on the 16th Street Bridge and four bronze bison on the Dumbarton Bridge, which date back to 1907 and 1915, respectively. Serving as ornamental gateways to the District, both bridges exemplify the City Beautiful movement in urban design. For more than a century, they have enhanced the transportation experiences of walkers, bikers, bus-riders and drivers.

Union Station Head House Floor Tile Replacement

Building on restoration efforts funded with previous TAP grants, this project will replace worn floor tiles. This work will improve the aesthetic of the Head House (Main Hall and West Hall) floor and will make pedestrian pathways safer. Union Station is both a national treasure and is the region's premier multimodal transportation facility, serving over 37 million people annually or approximately 100,000 per day. Union Station’s continuous role as a transit hub dates back to its opening in 1907. Projected growth in the nearby NoMa neighborhood is expected to make it the densest neighborhood in D.C. within the next five years.

Union Station Granite Masonry and Other Surfaces Restoration

This project will clean and conserve the historic granite masonry walls in Union Station’s West Hall that extend from the floor upward, including the gallery level and beyond, to where the hall’s iconic plaster ceiling begins. The project will also clean and restore the non-granite masonry surfaces such as the laylight framing, the historic electrical closet doors, and the clock frame on the west wall. Coupled with tile replacement project described above, this restoration work will help to maintain Union Station for generations to come.

Next steps

The TPB will be asked to approve the selection panel’s recommendations on November 18, 2020. Once all selections are finalized, DDOT staff will work with applicants to administer funding.