Oct 29, 2018 PYMIG Meeting Summary
The PYMIG held a meeting at the Charles Houston Recreation Center (CHRC) on October 29th at 7pm. The purpose of the meeting was to refine the design of the approaches to the Metro Station from the East side (Potomac Greens) and West side (Potomac Yard). The presentation materials of the meeting can be found at: https://www.alexandriava.gov/PotomacMetroWorkGroup.
(Note: The numbering of the slides is somewhat confusing. The first 3 slides were prepared by the City and a numbered 1-3, the next 11 slides were prepared by construction firm, Potomac Yard Constructors and are numbered 1-3, 4 is missing, 5-12.)
West Approach. Using feedback from the October 22nd PYMIG meeting, the builders presented two refined design concepts with estimated costs:
- The first design concept would be a ramp starting near Glebe Road and sloping up to meet the pedestrian bridge to the station. The length of the ramp was extended to 530 feet (approximately 250 feet longer than presented last week). This resulted in a more gradual slope of 3% for pedestrians. Cost was estimated to be $12M-$15M for this option (slide 7).
- The second design concept was for a building at Glebe Road with stairs and elevators up to a raised bridge 530 feet long that connects to the pedestrian bridge to the station. Because of the addition of a building with elevators and stairs, the cost was estimated to be $25M (slide 9). A Metro design rep stated that the building would have to be ‘beefed up” in size to meet current Metro design criteria including escalators; therefore, costs would probably increase considerably.
Based on the cost estimates, the PYMIG selected the ramp option. The builders will further refine this option to determine the best ways to move pedestrians and bicyclists around and under the ramp. The results will be presented at the November 5th PYMIG Meeting.
East Approach. The builders presented some additional detail design options that included bike parking, seating benches, signage, etc. along the path. City, WMATA and builder reps are meeting with the National Park Service reps on Nov 6th to determine if it will be possible to “lengthen” the building slightly to make room for a set of stairs to the mezzanine at the North end. It might also be possible to include a set of stairs within the existing footprint of the station. The results of these determinations will be presented at the Nov 12th PYMIG Meeting.
Circle. As stated during the Oct 25th PG HOA Board Meeting, the Department of Justice, acting on behalf of WMATA, notified our HOA Board and the City that they intended to pursue a condemnation proceeding to remove the Circle during construction and rebuild it after construction was complete. The WMATA reps stated last night that talks between the parties still ongoing in hopes of avoiding the condemnation proceeding.
The next PYMIG Meeting will be held on Nov 5th at 7pm at the Durant Recreation Center at 1605 Cameron St. Residents are urged to attend.