April 27. The concrete sidewalks of Barracks Row are buckled with tree roots, punctuated with ominous looking cobra lamps and graced with a straggly line of trees. There's little to admire along this oldest of main streets in Washington's Federal City. But that will change, and soon.

This September, thanks to funding from the Federal Highways Administration, the sharp rat-a-tat of jackhammers will ring out from Pennsylvania Avenue to the Navy Yard. By next spring the sidewalks of 8th Street will be chicly, subtly patterned with brick, blue stone pavers and granite curbs.

“Georgetown would kill for these 20 foot sidewalks,” said Jeff Lee of the architectural firm, Lee and Associates, at a public meeting to discuss the renovations, which was held April 25 at the old Naval Hospital. Lee says he's taking full advantage of this broad canvas to create a design that will delight pedestrians as they stroll to shops and restaurants.

Fifteen of those feet will be covered in brick laid in a herringbone pattern. The remaining five feet at curbside will be a checkerboard, alternating blocks of blue stone with squares of low growing ground cover (the exception being high traffic areas like loading zones and bus stops, which will receive smoother surfacing).

Besides being a visual treat, Lee explained that the mix of stone and plants will help keep street trees healthy, allowing rainwater to penetrate to the roots. Street trees, the architect quipped, "are urban bonsai. It's a miracle they grow at all in their four-foot boxes. We're looking at creating a very healthy medium."

Plans include increasing the tree boxes to five by ten feet, and in some cases five by twenty feet, allowing more room for roots to spread. Lariope, a thug of a plant that withstands drought and pollution and throws off modest blue flowers in deep summer, will fill the boxes and surround the trees.

Between each of those trees, traditionally styled Washington Globe lamps will be planted, replacing all but the cobra lights at the intersections„though these will be painted black to lessen their impact.

Alternating the lamps and the trees from the beginning of the avenue to its end, "will create a ceremonial effect," said Lee.

The roadbed will also receive some gussying, with crosswalks made of concrete stamped to resemble traditional cobblestones.

One of the biggest headaches for planners is how to make the Freeway underpass less of a psychological barrier to movement up and down the strip. Lee's solution is to create a "light chute," alternating wall mounted Washington Globe lights, which cast an upward glow, with down-directed sconces to illuminate the road and sidewalk.
The north entrance to the underpass (currently a dusty expanse of concrete adorned with a lonely Navy Yard event kiosk), will be turned into a small park with flowering trees, grass and a meandering walk.

Creating this handsome corridor will have a cost, a delicate matter called existing street trees.

Lee recently toured the street with Bill Beck, DC's Arborist who said there would be significant trouble and expense involved in preserving the trees„and some are already on the way out. Of the 76 Red Oaks that line Barracks Row, Beck has determined that ten to twelve are dying. All of them, however, are in danger from a killer-blight that is making its way into the District from the Maryland suburbs. Several Red Oaks on Maryland Avenue were recently diagnosed with the fatal disease.

Even if they all remained healthy, it would be difficult to keep them that way. Brick in commercial areas is installed on a two to four inch--preferably four inch„bed of concrete. Most tree roots, meanwhile, are in the top 18 inches of soil, where they can grab the most moisture.

Replacing the existing concrete with brick requires jack hammering the old concrete, in itself traumatizing to roots already breaking the surface, then carefully shaving down those roots so that they will fit below the new surfacing.
This is an endeavor, said Lee, that will require the fairly permanent presence of an arborist to direct the work„and the prognosis would still be only fair.

What Lee proposes is to focus on saving the handful of very old trees on the street, and wherever possible move the others to area parks.

Sad as it is to remove established trees, Lee maintains there are a number of benefits. We could pick more disease resistant varieties, like Willow Oak, which also has more intense fall color. The new trees would be planted using state-of-the-art techniques that would allow them to grow bigger and stronger. Of course, planting all of these trees at the same time would also provide a consistent canopy down the avenue. There is also a desire to install Rain Gardens, a technique for filtering rainwater and pollutants, in the tree boxes. Layering the various materials would require a complete overhaul of the tree beds.

There are other planners and consultants involved in other aspects of the 8th Street redo. Loading zones, bus stops, and parking are all coming under review.

Mike Houh of Precision Systems, Inc. projected a smashing computer visual on the front wall of the meeting room, simulating traffic patterns at different times of the day. The program was designed to examine the amount of car and bus traffic in the corridor today, and as it is expected to be fifteen years from now, to determine the feasibility of creating angled parking on the east side of the street. Based on the study, the consultant's feel angled parking, which will increase the total number of spaces available, should be created.

More parking could also be retrieved under the Freeway, an area that the Marines are now leasing from the District and using for parking and a basketball court that is shared by the community.

(When one audience member expressed concern at the loss of the basketball court, Marine Public Affairs Officer, Captain Fred Catchpole, said that the new Marine Barracks that will be constructed on the south side of the Freeway, will include basketball courts.)

The only contentious issue of the meeting was the bus stop at 8th and D, in front of Payless Shoes. For years now, community and business groups in the area have been pressing to have the stop moved to the Eastern Market Metro Plaza. The reasons are numerous: commuters who transfer from Metro to the bus would have a more convenient connection; parking spaces would be freed up; there would be less traffic congestion in front of the fire station; and, this is the sensitive part, there would be less congregating by rowdy teenagers who frequent the fast food places and leave hillocks of litter in their wake.

Despite the list of arguments for the move, transportation officials have taken the position that discrimination against the mainly African American students, and the businesses that they frequent, is at the root of the request.

Chris Wells of the Baltimore-based consulting firm, D.M.J.M. Harris, which is studying the bus stops, appears to have taken her cues from DC transit authorities. She said, at first, that a move to the Metro Plaza would be a fairly certain no-go. Metro wants stops to be long enough for two buses to idle curbside, and only one could fit at the Plaza.

Audience members argued, however, that a driver heading south could easily see if there was a bus already at the Plaza, and wait before crossing Pennsylvania Avenue. And, that the stop diagonally across the street is several feet shorter than the Metro Plaza, and there is apparently no difficulty with bus congestion.

Linda Parke Gallagher, Co-Chair of the Barracks Row/Main Street Board, noted that there is already a bus stop on the north side of the street, in front of Hine Jr. High, and perhaps the stop on the south could be eliminated.
Wells then said that there was concern about the impact on riders and businesses if the stop were to be moved. D.M.J.M. Harris is beginning a study this week, polling riders about their preferences, and interviewing owners of Last Stop for Jeans, Payless Shoes, Popeye's chicken and other business owners that might be affected by the move.

In a follow-up discussion after the meeting, Wells said that her firm had already interviewed the managers of Last Stop and Payless, and they were against changing the stop. She also suggested that the principal of Hine might be able to provide crowd control immediately after school„an effort that has been made several times over the years, to no effect.

Streetscape planning for Barracks Row is on a very fast track, since construction is expected to begin early this fall. There will be one more community meeting, on May 23, from 5 to 6:30 PM at 921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, the Old Naval Hospital. Planners are open to suggestions, and continually making modifications. If you'd like to get a word in before it's too late, do attend.