Speaking of Pedestrians -- Protest Giant Supermarket's Taking of a(n Illegal) Curb Cut

Illegal curb cut at the Giant Supermarket, Tivoli Square, Washington, DC. Photo courtesy of Washington Regional Network.

From Cheryl Cort:

GIANT and Horning Brothers have built an illegal drive area on the sidewalk at Park Road

ACTION: Urge Councilmember Jim Graham and the Mayor to support pedestrian safety and public sidewalks and force Horning Brothers to remove the illegal construction in the sidewalk at the new Giant supermarket.

BACKGROUND: The developer of the new Giant supermarket on Park Road at 14th Street built a parcel pick-up area in the sidewalk in front of the Giant, without obtaining permits to build in the public space that we, DC residents, own.

Giant will allow drivers to drive up onto and along the sidewalk to pick up groceries. Inviting cars to drive and park on the sidewalk is: (1) dangerous to pedestrians & wheelchair users, (2) violates the community public realm plan, (3) illegal, built with no permits.

DC Dept. of Transportation & DC Office of Planning are holding firm against the developer's resistance to correct its illegal actions. We need to make sure that Councilmember Graham and the Mayor support the public's interest in a safe, quality pedestrian environment as Columbia Heights and other parts of our city redevelop and bring new vitality.

The tremendous success of the P Street Whole Foods store - which has no loading zone or dock in front, but instead has wide sidewalks offering tables and chairs, bicycle parking and plenty of room for walkers -demonstrates why we should insist on respecting the law and respecting the public realm and pedestrian safety.

Whole Foods Store on P Street in Dupont Circle/14th Street neighborhood. Note the bike racks (Giant doesn't have them) and the lack of a curb cut.

The Tivoli/Giant store is the first major National Capital Revitalization Corporation project to be constructed and threatens to set a bad precedent for implementing the Columbia Heights public realm plan.The corrective actions should require removal of the entire sidewalk area constructed on the Park Road side of the store and reconstruction in accordance with the Office of Planning's design.

No parcel pick-up area is required, because customers can load their groceries directly into their cars in the parking garage connected to the Giant.The reconstructed pedestrian sidewalk must also include street trees and pedestrian-scaled light fixtures.

Send an e-mail to Councilmember Graham and Mayor Williams now to register your support for pedestrian safety and the public realm.

SAMPLE MESSAGE:

Dear Councilmember Graham / Mayor Williams:

I urge you to support DC Department of Transportation's insistence that Giant Foods and the developer of the Giant store at the Tivoli obey the law, respect the sidewalk and honor the public realm plan. The Giant store design is illegal and endangers pedestrians.

The Giant and the developer should learn from the respectful, safe urban design of the highly-profitable Whole Foods Market on P Street, where tables and chairs, walkers and bicycle parking are placed in front of the store's entrance.

We view respect for the sidewalk and public realm to be a citywide concern as our neighborhoods welcome new shops and residents to areas that have suffered disinvestment.

Our city neighborhoods are once again desirable places to live and do business, developers and businesses must respect the qualities of our communities that give them value.

Sincerely,

Name
Address
___________
Addendum from Richard Layman. This project was built with significant city funding. All such projects should include covenants forcing developers to follow all relevant local laws. If broken, even for something like this, the City ought to have the right to declare the project out of compliance and therefore take appropriate steps to fine or seize, increase interest rates, assess and receive penalties, etc.

Therefore, I also suggest that people send a letter of complaint to the NCRC. Anthony Freeman is the President and CEO and he can be reached by email: afreeman@ncrcdc.com