RSS FeedPQ Farmer’s Market Existence Threatened By Lone Commuter
Picture taken just before the Farmer’s Market started setting up yesterday. All is quiet on 8th St NW between D & E, as usual. Even the car seen in the driving lane is double-parked.
The DC DNA has a nice write-up of a local office tenant’s request to rescind the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market public space permit. As you know, every Thursday, the Farmer’s Market closes 8th St NW between D & E St NW so that vendors can line the street and sell their fresh produce and organic products. This is the perfect location for the Farmer’s Market because 8th St is by no means a continuous street. In fact, one cannot travel more than 2 blocks at a time on 8th Street anywhere south of M Street – yes M Street (that’s north of the convention center). Additionally, 8th Street between D and E is one of the least trafficked streets this blogger can think of in our neighborhood.
However, it does appear that a lone commuter’s lack of traffic-routing imagination is threatening the very existence of the Farmer’s Market. The commuter’s claim is that by closing the one block stretch of 8th St, commutes could be extended by up to a whopping 15 minutes. We can definitely think of some just-as-speedy alternative routes around the one block closure on Thursday afternoons, so we’re hard pressed to argue for the other side of this story.
Even though the request of one individual is extremely unlikely to be honored over the wishes of thousands of Penn Quarter residents, it would not hurt to contact your councilmember to ensure that your voice is heard on this matter.
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Comments
Is this a ploy to get rid of the PQ market becuase it’s no longer needed? Due to the close proximity of the new White House Farmer’s market?
@Cheryl The PQ market is as busy as ever since the White House market opened last month. Most farmers will tell you they’re doing great business at both.
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Its actually P street where a 2+ block stretch begins, and north of that, you can only go about 5 blocks before another dead end…north end of the convention center is N street (not M), you’ve got 1 block of 8th, then the Giant is in the way to P.
wrote a letter in support of the market to publicspace.committee@dc.gov urging them to ignore this ridiculous request from a guy who does not live in PQ! he lives in upper NW and i’ll bet he wouldn’t like it one bit if downtown residents tried to mess with his hood for petty selfish reasons.