May 25. Jeff Lee, of the architectural firm Lee and Associates, got a hefty round of applause at the third and final Barracks Row redesign meeting at the old Naval Hospital on Wednesday, May 23. His proposal for sidewalks and streets is clearly meeting with neighborhood approval.

Lee's firm is one of several consulting teams retained by the Department of Public Works, with funding from the Federal Highways Administration, for the overhaul of 8th Street, SE that is expected to begin this fall.

There have been a handful of modifications since the last session on April 25th.

While the 20-foot wide sidewalks will still have a 5-foot border of blue stone at curbside, those pavers no longer alternate with squares of low growing grass. Bowing to community comments (though he maintained his original plan is workable, and more attractive), Lee has substituted a simple pattern of blue stone between the tree boxes, "a more conservative approach," he called it. Cast iron hoops have been added as box surrounds„another community request„and Lee has settled on large granite cobblestones for the alley entries.

Other elements remain the same, including the larger tree boxes, the Washington Globe lights, the brightening of the under-freeway area, and the street furniture.

Lee will be touring the corridor with Bill Beck, the city's arborist, for the second time next week, tagging healthy trees and marking others for removal. Quite a few of the street's Red Oaks are dying; others are in danger of being killed by a new blight that is headed this way from the suburbs. The plan is to replace all but the oldest and healthiest with a new canopy„most likely Chinese Elms, which can be seen along 7th Street, NW, in the downtown arts district.

While Lee got applause for his streetscape, D.M.J.M Harris, the Baltimore-based consultants that have been looking at parking and bus stops in the corridor, got panned.

Steve Sabatini of Sheridan's Steak House described traffic and parking in the 400 block„the entrance to the corridor, and key to the street's revival--as "a Chinese fire drill." And that's with the "improvements."

Planners admitted that they were trying to balance a lot of interests, particularly in that area. And there's quite a bit to juggle.

That single block has two bus stops, a loading zone, metered parking and, between the fast food joints and Blockbuster, a chronic problem with double-parking. In the midst of it all is the fire station, with the big trucks pulling out and needing room to back in on their return.

D.M.J.M. Harris is suggesting that a grand total of 9 metered spaces be provided for customers, the bus zones be doubled in length to 110 feet on both sides of the street, and that the bus stop in front of Payless Shoes be moved down to the 7-11 at E Street. (It seems that their studies didn't disclose that the bus stop was at one time in front of 7-11, but there were so many problems that it was moved.)

To complaints from the audience that the plan is unworkable, that there will still be far too much congestion and not enough customer parking, the response was that it would work if traffic and parking regulations were "enforced." (Need we say more?)

The consultants explained that they took into account the needs of the fire station, and the preferences of the owners and managers of the businesses in the block and 208 bus passengers that agreed to participate in a survey.

Not considered were the many times stated preference of the Barracks Row Business Alliance, the Barracks Row MainStreet project, the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals (CHAMPS), ANC6B, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, the Sousa Neighborhood Association and the police to have the bus stop in front of Payless Shoes moved to the Eastern Market Metro Plaza. This is a battle that has been going on for years.

Moving the stop, it is reasoned, would alleviate much of the traffic congestion, be more convenient for subway passengers transferring to the bus (who can't even see the stop from the Plaza), give the street more parking, and possibly mean less trash„particularly on the west side of the street with its high concentration of fast food places that attract mobs of teenagers (who are not known as the neatest of people).

D.M.J.M's own survey says that 43% of the riders transfer from Metro and 31% are transferring from another bus line, which would indicate that the majority of riders would be served as well--or better--by a Metro Plaza stop.

Can't be done, said the consultants. Metro wants all stops increased in length to allow two buses to pull in at the curb, something they've provided all along the avenue, and the Plaza only allows for one. (Though there are no plans to move the stop diagonally across the street heading north. That space is actually several feet shorter.)

Nor would they consider eliminating the stop, although they admit that moving it down the block to the 7-11 makes it more likely that subway riders will cross Pennsylvania Avenue to the stop in front of Hine Jr. High.

The subtext is the suspicion that the push to move the stop is racially and economically motivated. That many of the customers of the fast food and inexpensive clothing shops on the west side of the street are young and African-American, and gentrifiers want to move those businesses and their clients„out. Ignored is the fact that most of the businesses along 8th Street„a group that couldn't be more racially mixed„are solidly behind the move.

In a follow-up discussion, CHAMPS President Dennis Bourgault wondered "whether they heard the overwhelming reaction of the community to the placement of the bus stops. They didn't seem to want to acknowledge that there are problems--and there could be other solutions. We don't need three stops for the bus in the same three-block area„and we'd like to see the stop at Hine better utilized. I don't see why it can't be used in place of the stop at Payless."

One possible solution was offered by a member of the audience who suggested that the stop be moved even farther south, and consolidated with one now located at 8th and G, in front of Back Stage.

This, Bourgault said, "makes a lot of sense."

More bus woes lie down the block, where the consultants have pretty much eliminated any parking under the Freeway and between Virginia and L Streets„recommending two solid blocks of bus stop, which, they admit, may be used in part as a "staging area" by Metro (read idling buses).

They also claim that they have considered the needs of the businesses that already exist around 8th and M, and taken into account that the Blue Castle building on the corner will at some point be turned into shops or offices or some combination. Yet they have provided just 23-metered parking spaces south of the Freeway, and no loading zone for deliveries.

Lots of fancy computer programs were employed to figure out that most of the east side of 8th Street can have angled parking, and that the portion of the street that lies south of the Freeway can handle two-way traffic„the same conclusions that the DC Department of Traffic Services arrived at in October 1999, by eyeballing and pacing.

With angled parking, the total number of metered spaces for the entire commercial corridor will increase from 114 to 130. However, most of those 16 spaces will be in front of the Marine Barracks, a stretch that is frequently commandeered for special events at the Barracks.

One parking positive: though it is hardly convenient for dropping off a tape at Blockbuster, metered spaces will be carved out under the freeway--an area that is now rented from the city by the Marines and used as a basketball court. Of the 162 spaces, 84 will be returned to the community for short term (up to 4-hour) use, and the rest will be reserved for Marine and, possibly, commuter use.

Despite the parking angst, Bourgault says in sum: "The overall plan is so positive. We're all very excited about the proposal and we're looking forward to its execution."

The RFP's for the build-out should begin going out next month and construction is expected to begin in October. By the spring or early summer of 2002, the transformation will be complete.