Saturday, January 15th is the last day for community comments on the proposed designs for an information hub in the Eastern Market metro plaza. The 30-day comment period opened following a December 14th community meeting hosted by Councilmember Tommy Wells. Though you won’t see it now (its too cold December-February, which is one of the reasons for building a new structure), there has been a tent staffed by a Capitol Hill BID Ambassador on Saturdays and Sundays between 10am and 3pm. Between October 2009 and September 2010, the Ambassadors at the tent recorded almost 8,000 contacts with residents, visitors and tourists seeking information about the neighborhood. The objective of a new structure is to create a more visible, welcoming and functional hub for promoting the community.
Seven options are proposed, ranging from designs that are similar to the enclosed shelters at entrances to House and Senate parking areas, to custom designs created by Catholic University’s School of Architecture. Costs estimates range from $5,000 to $30,000. The project will be partially funded through Performance Parking Funds with matching dollars from the city. Performance Parking Funds are intended to be reinvested in the area from which they are collected and used for non-automotive improvements to the pedestrian and transit experience. Other improvements made with these funds include the Big Belly Solar Compactors, bike racks and Capitol Hill Historic District discs on lightpoles.
Comments have also been collected at community meetings, but as of this morning only 10 comments had been submitted on the site. If you’re interested in weighing in on what type of semi-permanent structure you’ll see every day on the metro plaza, now’s the time to comment.