A Couple Quick Items: Commander Kamperin Retires, King Memorial Celebration

- MPD's First District Commander David Kamperin announced his retirement last week after 32 years of service in law enforcement (almost 26 years with MPD). In his email announcing his retirement, Kamperin mentions some of his accomplishments as commander:

Over the past nearly four years we have accomplished many things within the First District: increased foot patrols throughout the community, decreased response time for calls for service, improved customer service, enhanced Community Policing within the Patrol Service Areas and annual crime reductions. In 2010, through the dedication and efforts of the men and women of the First District, working closely with the community, 1D received the Department’s Crime Reduction Award.

First District Headquarters moved from 4th and E Street in 2009 to the former Bowen Elementary School along M Street.  The former headquarters building was demolished and the city's new Consolidated Forensic Laboratory is rising on the site. 

Kamperin's last day will be May 21, but the Citizen Advisory Council (CAC) for 1D will hold an event this evening at 7pm.  The event will take place in the community room at 1D HQ.

- The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial is getting closer to completion along the Tidal Basin and plans are underway to celebrate the opening in August. The Washington Post reports there will be a week-long celebration leading to the unveiling on August 29th. The dedication will take place on the 48th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  Here are some details from the article:

The dedication will take place at 11 a.m. in West Potomac Park, near the site of the memorial, which is on Independence Avenue, southwest of the World War II Memorial. There will be musical tributes in the park before and after the dedication. Among the week’s events, a public expo marking King’s legacy will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Aug. 25-28.The memorial will also have an inscription wall, water features, landscaping and a bookstore and visitors center. Reserved tickets to the dedication will be distributed through an online lottery system, the foundation said. People can request up to two tickets by visiting DedicateTheDream.org. Visitors must register by 11:59 p.m. on May 31 to be included in the lottery. Ticket recipients for the seated and reserved standing areas will be notified by e-mail on June 15. Public standing areas that do not require tickets will also be available.

A Couple Quick Items: Solar Decalthlon, Arena Stage Releases 2011-12 Line-Up

- According to DCist, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 will be held at West Potomac Park. From the post:

The letter states that "the event will be held on the peninsula just south of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial which is between the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Potomac River." The event will take place in September or October, though exact dates have not yet been determined. Decathletes were reportedly informed this afternoon about the location decision.

The event used to be held between the Capitol and the Washington Monument, but the National Park Service had concerns about the impact the event had on the grass, so an alternative location was found. At one point, National Harbor in Maryland was considered, but ultimately a location near its original home was chosen.

- Arena Stage released its schedule for the 2011-2012 season. Check out the list of 11 shows here. In addition, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma! will return this summer for a second run from July 8 - October 2. According to the press release, the following records were broken by the musical last year:

• Highest single-ticket sales for a production by opening night. By opening night, Arena Stage had 54% more in advanced single-ticket revenue than the previous record holder, the 2010 production of Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies.
• Highest single-ticket sales for a single production in a 24-hour period, surpassing Molly Smith’s 2002 production of South Pacific by a 50% increase in revenue.
• Highest-grossing, non-extension production in Arena Stage history. Previously held by the 2010 production of Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, the record for the highest single-ticket sales for a non-extension run was exceeded by more than $100,000 by opening night.
• Highest single-ticket sales for a single production in one week. Oklahoma! broke this record twice; first during the week of November 1-7, 2010, when Arena Stage surpassed the previous record set by Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies by selling more than 4,000 tickets, and then again the following week, when Arena Stage sold nearly 6,000 tickets.

Bike Share Expansion Announced

The District Government announced on Friday during Bike to Work Day (and has been widely reported in the press) that DC will be teaming up with Arlington County to create an expanded bike share program between the two jurisdictions, which will become the largest bike share program in the U.S. It is likely that the expanded bike share program, which will contain 1,100 bikes at 114 stations, will include portions of Southwest (my guess is one will be located at the Waterfront-SEU Metro station). The current bike share program in DC only has ten stations - all located in Northwest. DC's burgeoning bike lane network includes 4th Street. Bike lanes were installed on the recently reopened portion of 4th Street and will connect to the bike lanes that run on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW later this year, as WashCycle reported last week.

Above is a bike share station used by the National Park Service, located in West Potomac Park at NPS Headquarters.

NCPC to Take Up Several SW-Related Items Tomorrow

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) will have their monthly meeting tomorrow afternoon and several of their agenda items are for projects located in Southwest. One of those projects is the District of Columbia War Memorial, which is located in West Potomac Park and is dedicated to District residents that fought in World War I. The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking approval for renovations. Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the NPS received $7.3 million for repairs last April, but back then, the renovation was supposed to be completed by September of this year. The Commission is expected to approve final site and building plans for the memorial.

In addition, the NCPC is set to approve the replacement of the roof and window sashes at the Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall. The Arts and Industries Building is currently vacant, but these improvements, along with other restorative work that's currently underway, are necessary to maintain the 100+ year-old structure as a new use is determined for it by the Smithsonian Institution.

The DC Zoning Commission is requesting that zoning rules be changed so that development of District-funded affordable housing or as part of an approved New Community plan can achieve the maximum allowable Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and building height in a Transferable Development Rights (TDR) Receiving Zone through a special exception by the Zoning Commission. Parts of the Federal Center SW area are in the receiving zones, so higher-density development would be permitted in this part of the city under the rule change. The NCPC will most likely approve this change as well.

An agenda item that has city-wide ramifications is the CapitalSpace plan, which seeks to improve the quality of park space around the city, from pocket parks to squares & circles to the fort parks. As a part of this plan, one of the case studies in the draft plan was Lansburg Park. However, it appears that the Lansburg Park plan was omitted from the final draft.

Also on the agenda is to consider plans that were released in December by the Hirshhorn Museum to provide a 145-foot temporary inflatable structure in the museum's courtyard in May and October starting in 2011. It looks like the NCPC likes the overall concept, but has some outstanding issues that need to be addressed, including ADA accessibility and views along the Mall.

One item on the agenda that the NCPC isn't too pleased about is a plan to construct an administrative building and warehouse at the Naval Support Facility Anacostia, which is next to Bolling Air Force Base. Before the plans are approved, the NCPC wants to be sure that views to and from the new U.S. Coast Guard headquarters at St. Elizabeths aren't blocked by the planned buildings.

Lincoln Memorial Improvements Approved

I've been meaning to do a post about this since I heard about this earlier this month from the Washington Business Journal, so here it goes. In their September meeting, the National Capital Planning Commission approved the plans made by the National Park Service to improve areas adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial, including the reflecting pool and West Potomac Park. Renderings of the improvements can be found in the WBJ article. An excerpt from the article:

Designed by Sasaki Associates, the project will add more pedestrian and bike-friendly paths around the reflecting pool and on the elm walk, improve the Reflecting Pool’s water quality and structure and relocate benches and trash cans.

In their October 1st meeting, the NCPC will discuss improvements to the DC World War I Memorial. Back in April, the DC World War I Memorial received funding for its restoration, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As a part of the restoration, the memorial will once again become a band shell and the landscape will be restored to its original configuration. The completion date has been pushed back to September 2012.

What Bloggers are Saying About Southwest

- DCMetrocentric reports that construction at Waterfront Station has reached ground level. I'll actually be in town this weekend and the weather is supposed to be perfect, so I'll finally have a chance to go around the neighborhood and take some updated photos, including Waterfront Station.

- Greater Greater Washington reports that a bicyclist was killed in West Potomac Park along Maine Avenue. I ride my bike around there on occasion when I ride to work, and that area can be dangerous for bicyclists.

- Imagine, DC would like a Metrorail line or light rail line to run up the median of I-95 to I-395 and connect to L'Enfant Plaza to help reduce traffic in the area.

Street Closures for The Nation's Triathlon

This Sunday, the 2008 Nation's Triathlon will cause some streets to be closed in Southwest, mostly for the running portion of the race. The traffic advisory from DDOT says the following streets will be closed:

5 am – 1 pm

Rock Creek Parkway at Virginia Avenue to Ohio Drive

Independence Avenue from 14th to 23rd Streets

Ohio Drive to West Potomac Park

Ohio Drive to East Potomac Park (Haines Point)

Constitution Avenue from 15th to 17th Streets

15th Street from Constitution Avenue to Maine Avenue

Parkway Drive from Rock Creek Parkway to Lincoln Circle

6 am – 1 pm

Rock Creek Parkway from Connecticut Avenue/Calvert Street to Virginia Avenue

East Basin Drive

Maine Avenue from I-395 ramp to Independence Avenue split

17th Street from Constitution Avenue to Independence Avenue

Madison Drive from 7th to 14th Streets

Clara Barton Parkway from Glen Echo to Chain Bridge (Route 123)