Southeast/Anacostia Circulator MetroLine?

The Sierra Club Sustainability Happy Hour at Uniontown brought friends and strangers who are oddly enough, intrigued by Anacostia’s transit and environmental issues.

I decided to make an appearance just to check out the hidden environmentalists lurking in Anacostia. Needless to say, there were not many. But, some of us fired up a discussion about what it would take to get WMATA and DDOT to support a “Southeast Circulator” Line. A few have discussed the possibility of an “Anacostia Circulator” and it got me wondering…

Who would benefit from a Southeast Circulator and where would it go? Would it be short-term (until the street cars arrive) or long-term? Would long time Anacostia residents see the Southeast/Circulator Line as empowering or threatening? Would the low cost of a circulator benefit low-income residents, students and elderly?

Imagine a route that leaves the Anacostia Metro every 20 minutes during rush hour? From the metro, it goes up to MLK Jr. Ave, through Good Hope Road to Alabama Ave turning down Penn Ave down and onto Minnesota Ave Metro and back. This would depend on variables such as ridership, time, costs etc. But I think it could work!

A Southeast Circulator would be an amazing leap for Anacostia. It would improve mobility, access to commerce, safety issues, decrease pollution and the use of cars during rush hour. As it stands, getting from one edge of SoutheastDC to the other requires way too many long waits, bus hops and line jumps.

The Sierra Club is a great org for bringing together mindful and advocacy-itching environmentalists that support issues like this. Southeast residents can get in on the green action by swinging through the Sustainability Happy Hours across the city or becoming a member of the Sierra Clubs Southeast Chapter!

For more info on the Sierra Club and Anacostia Transit Advocacy contact:

Irv Sheffey

202-575-1469

irv.sheffey@sierraclub.org

www.sierraclub.org

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