Bike to Work Day to include biking party
• May 9, 2013

Bike to Work Day takes place Friday, May 17. This year’s downtown pit stop is at Freedom Plaza from 7 to 9 a.m. Freedom Plaza will be one of 72 pit stops for bikers throughout the region. Prizes, food, drinks, and more will be available at each location. Capital Bikeshare will also have staff on hand to accommodate requests for extra bikes at the 14th and D streets bike station. And bike shop Bike and Roll Washington DC will offer complimentary and comfy hybrid bike rentals to locals for the occasion. To reserve a bike from Bike and Roll, email to DowntownDC@bikethesites.com. Early pick up is available from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 16. Interested in volunteering for Bike to Work Day? Send an email to bicycles@downtowndc.org.

Caribou to switch up their coffee shops
•

Caribou, the Minneapolis-based coffee company, is closing several dozen underperforming stores nationwide and converting others to Peet’s Coffee & Tea shops. Its two Downtown locations at 601 13th Street and 1156 15th Street will remain open. The conversions are expected to occur over the next year or so.

Hill Country to host picnics
•

Hill Country at 410 7th St. NW, the Texas-style restaurant, opened Hill Country Backyard Barbecue on the National Building Museum’s West Lawn Friday, May 3. The pop-up location will operate from 4 to 11 p.m. on Wednesdays through Fridays, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays, and noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays during the balmy weather. The menu will include ribs, BBQ chicken, brisket sandwiches, spicy sausage links, potato salad, cornbread, signature cocktail and lemonade.

Adour closes, makes away to Decanter
•

French restaurant Adour at 923 16th NW that opened in The St. Regis Hotel five years ago, will close its doors on Friday, May 31, as the hotel makes way for another dining option, Decanter. The Mediterranean-influenced restaurant will still have some of renowned chef Alain Ducasse’s influence as current chef Sebastien Rondier will reportedly stay on. The new restaurant is set to open June 21. Bolt Burgers signed a lease to occupy 3,280 square feet at 1010 Massachusetts Ave. NW, while Jackpot Tavern is coming to the basement of 726 7th St. NW. Corner Bakery will move into 500 North Capitol St. NW, and FroZen Yo will set up a second location downtown at 712 7th St. NW.

Muralists commissioned to replace graffiti
•

D.C. government is looking for muralists to beautify the District. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities with the DC Department of Public is seeking graffiti artists and artist teams to design, create and install aerosol murals in D.C. neighborhoods. Selected participants will work with apprentices between the ages of 14 and 23 under the 2013 MuralsDC Program to replace illegal graffiti. Forty one MuralDC projects now exist across D.C. Grants range from $3,000 to $13,500, and the deadline is Friday, May 10. For more information, email Keona.Pearson@dc.gov, or call 202-724-5613.

Franklin School may become historical site
•

The Franklin School at 925 13th Street NW may become a historic landmark. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development issued a Request for Qualifications to have the historic landmark redeveloped. Located across from Franklin Square, the 144-year-old building was shuttered in October 2008 after serving as a homeless shelter for many years. The city is seeking “a high-quality rehabilitation plan for the project that showcases the building’s unique structure and pays homage to its history.” The 51,000-square-foot building was one of the first public education buildings in D.C. Later, it became the site of Alexander Graham Bell’s photo-phone experiments and, in 1880, housed the city’s first high school. Renovation costs are estimated to range from $20 million to $40 million. Questions about the RFQ should be directed to Nimita Shah at nimita.shah@dc.gov.

Fines drop for car photo enforcement
•

Fines have been dropped on some photo enforcement and moving violations, but fines still include speeding at 11 to 15 mph over the limit at $92, versus $100, while speeding at 21 to 25 mph over the limit is $150 versus $200. Failure to clear the intersection and a violation of the “No Turn on Red” sign both now lead to a $50 fine, compared to $100. The drop is due to because of wording in the Safety Based Traffic Enforcement Emergency Amendment Act of 2012, officials said in a release.

Potholes filled by D.C. Government
•

The District Department of Transportation is patching potholes that keep motorists on pins and needles. Since the first “Potholepalooza,” a month-long campaign that encourages pedestrians and motorists to phone, go online, tweet, use Facebook, e-mail or use the new DC311 smartphone app to request pothole repairs—was held in 2009, more than 21,000 potholes have been filled. The city now aims to fill more—within 48 hours, versus within 72 hours, the normal response time. This year’s Potholepalooza will run through Wednesday, May 22. Residents can call 311, send a tweet, post a comment to the Potholepalooza Facebook page, e-mail potholepalooza@dc.gov or use the DC311 smartphone app. Consumers must identify the pothole location and provide as much information as possible, including the approximate size and depth of the pothole.
D.C. tree report card gives A- for tree coverage
Casey Trees, the nonprofit organization that restores, enhances and protects the city’s tree canopy, has given D.C. a “B-” for overall tree care. The group’s fifth Tree Report Card for the city shows D.C. received an “A-” for tree coverage; a “B-” for tree health; an “A+” for tree planting; and an “F” for tree protection. The latter grade measures the effectiveness of the Urban Forest Preservation Act of 2002. The City Council created the UFPA and its Tree Fund to replace large trees that were removed because of development and related activities. Casey Trees said the UFPA is not achieving its goals because of poor oversight and the city redirected $539,000 from the Tree Fund to the General Fund in fiscal year 2011 to offset budget shortfalls. According to the report, D.C.’s tree canopy fell from 38% to 36% between 2006 and 2011—and from its peak of 50% in 1950, D.C.’s tree canopy has dropped 1.3% every five years. Healthy tree canopies reduce storm water runoff, carbon emissions and energy consumption.

New design for D.C. taxis
•

The D.C. Taxicab Commission May 1 voted to publish proposed rulemaking about the uniform color scheme for D.C.’s 6,500 taxicab fleet in the D.C. Registry. The recommendation is for red cars with a gray strip on the side. D.C. Circulator buses and Capital Bikeshare bicycle color will stay red. A public hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29, at One Judiciary and anyone can register by calling (202) 645-6018, ext. 4.

Union Station’s front yard gets spiffy
•

Union Station finishes the Columbus Plaza project, which improves access for pedestrians and vehicular traffic traversing the plaza en route to Union Station. Before the project finished, cars had to navigate through the plaza’s configuration and pedestrians had to walk around construction to the front of Union Station. The federally funded project was implemented through a partnership that includes the District Department of Transportation, Amtrak, the Architect of the Capitol, the National Park Service, the Federal Transit Administration, the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The 18-month construction phase commenced in September 2011 and the total project cost was approximately $10.8 million. A redesigned traffic circle now allows vehicles to loop around the plaza to enter and exit Union Station, with larger sidewalks and an enhanced traffic-signal system.