November 5, 2018 PYMIG Meeting Summary

The PYMIG held a meeting at the Durant Center on November 5th at 7pm. The purpose of the meeting was to refine the design of the approach to the Metro Station from the West side (Potomac Yard). The presentation materials of the meeting can be found here.

Note: The numbering of the slides is still confusing. The first three slides were prepared by the City and a numbered 1-3, the next ten slides were prepared by construction firm, Potomac Yard Constructors, and are not numbered, the next seven slides were prepared by the City and are numbered 5-11 (4 is missing).

West Approach. The builder rep presented two slightly different versions of the ramp configuration. Both configurations include the 530-foot long covered ramp with a covered open-air gallery entry at the foot of the ramp (Builder slides 7-9). The two configurations use different lighting schemes for the ramp and gallery. The builder listed these as ‘typical’ and ‘modern.’ The typical lighting scheme is subdued and monochrome and the modern lighting scheme would include colored lighting. There will be a plaza in front of the entry gallery that will include benches for seating, a Metro station ‘totem,’ and some type of decorative scheme for the paved area (Builder slide 10).

East Approach. City, WMATA and builder reps are meeting with the National Park Service (NPS) today, Nov 6th. They will discuss options for adding a set of stairs, including increasing the length of the station building. I pointed out that increasing building size is not the only option available to include a set of stairs on our side of the station. Should the NPS refuse to allow an increase in the size of the building, other options could be to add stairs within the existing footprint of the building or add stairs to the outside of the building. Those additional options was supported by a number of PYMIG members including the reps for OTG, Communities West of CSX, City Planning Commission, and Vice-Mayor Justin Wilson. The results of the NPS meeting and proposed options for the East Approach will be presented at the next PYMIG meeting, November 12th, at 5pm at the Durant Center. I strongly urge PG residents to attend since this will directly affect us.

Community Concerns. The City presented their plan to address community concerns during construction in the last third of the meeting. The items discussed included noise, dust/contaminated materials, parking, construction traffic, damage to property and community outreach (City slides 5-11).

1. Noise. Normal work hours will be M-F: 7am-6pm. Sat: 9am-6pm. Pile driving hours: M-F 9am-6pm. Sat: 10am-4pm. Work conducted outside of these hours will require the builders to submit a request for a noise variance permit to the City for approval. Vehicles will not be allowed to idle more that 10 minutes.
2. Dust/contaminated materials. The builders must submit a Soils Management Plan for characterization and handling of all materials including expected contaminated materials. There will be an environmental firm onsite conducting tests of soil as it is removed to determine contamination levels.
3. Parking for construction workers was discussed in the last update and remains unchanged.
4. Construction traffic. The builder is required to submit a Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) plan to the City that may include temporary pavement markings, signage, flagger locations, provisions for pedestrians and cyclists and haul routes. The approved plan will be available to the public.
5. Damage to the property. At the Nov 12th PYMIG Meeting, the City will provide a map of the areas within 250 feet of the limit of disturbance discussed in the last update. Homeowners in those areas will have the option of having their homes inspected prior to construction to determine their pre-construction condition. Sometime in the next several months the construction company will contact affected homeowners by letter to arrange for the inspections. I asked that to be notified before those letters are mailed in order to give homeowners a heads-up that the letters are on their way.
6. Community outreach. The builders will create a project website to provide info on construction. The PYMIG asked that the website present an extended schedule for long-term construction events. We realize that events occurring months out may have slippages, but the website will be updated as these become known. A Potomac Greens rep will meet with the project team on a weekly basis during construction. Topics will include advance notice for major upcoming activities, discussion of current community concerns, and what to expect in the following week. PYMIG meetings will also continue throughout the project duration.

The next PYMIG meeting will be held on Monday, November 12, at 5pm at the Durant Center, 1605 Cameron St.