RSS FeedThis Space Reserved For . . Construction Workers?
Some may have noticed the fence sitting on 7th St in front of the former CVS building on the NE corner of 7th & H St. The fence seems to move onto the sidewalk and out into the street depending on what type of work is being done on the buildings in front of it.
At first, the fence was used to block off the sidewalk as workers demolished the facade of the old seafood restaurant next to the CVS building. This action forced pedestrians at one of the busiest sidewalks in DC out into the traffic lane of 7th St.
Demolition seems to have been completed, but now the fence has been moved all the way out into the street, blocking off the parking lane for a good 4 car lengths. While this frees up the sidewalk once again for pedestrian traffic, it now results in permanent reserved parking for construction workers!
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Comments
thought there was supposed to be a flat rule that any construction had to build a roof over the sidewalk to avoid taking the public space. these people should be shut down until they put one of these up…
How about the 6th Street side of Verizon Center. That site has now eliminated the walkway they used to have. It is very difficult to negotiate going to Verizon Center if you want to avoid the 7th Street crowds.
Success! When I came home from work last night I saw these fences were removed. The sidewalk and parking spaces are once again available for citizens. Let’s remain vigilant! Thanks, PQLiving.
I don’t know all the specifics of this case. Is there rear parking behind the building the contractors could have taken advantage of but they chose to instead claim the streets? Is their a permit process for claiming parking spots for some limited duration and they ignored it? I really don’t know so I don’t want to condone their actions.
But I do want to say that if everyone thinks contractors should not ever be able to of secure a limited amount parking in front of a building during a project that’s pretty close minded. Do you really want them to park 2 blocks away and wheel tools, materials & waste down the sidewalks back and forth from their truck to the site? Do you want them to double park in front of the building periodically to load and off-load? Those alternative sound worse to me than taking up a few curb spaces.
I agree they should hopefully never fully block sidewalks I just think it’s a tad unrealistic to extend that zero tolerance ideology to curb space as well. I would say it should be allowed if other onsite parking is not available and it is negotiated through the proper channels.
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Mayor Fenty promised this unlawful type of taking of the streets by construction crews would no longer happen under his administration.
For anyone who would like to see consistent enforcement of laws in our neighborhood, I suggest people call Mayor Fenty’s office to complain (just call 311). Tell his office to get DCRA and DOT to enforce the rules in our neighborhood.