I was returning to our neighborhood one evening and noticed that the right lane on Mass. Avenue was completely blocked due to someone valet parking at Budha Bar.  Two questions: 1) Why can't they do this on Eye instead of Mass Ave?  2) Which represantative should I contact to file a complaint?

Does anyone know why some of the newer residential parking permits being issued are blue and white instead of the regular white?  Does it mean anything different, or is it just the city trying to switch things up a little?

Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans brought up communication issues w/ddot, esp. 4th st.  (i'm sure he has heard holy hell from neighbors) Then he headed out, understandably wiped from marathon budget meetings.  wasa school commenced...

Blue plains is the largest sewage treatment plant in the world They said this like 4x;) Wasa is replacing aging lines, average age is 76 yrs. 3% is pre 1850.  Water system has 26,000 valves and is controlled by super fancy computer control center.  GM is a very genial man so exuberant about wasa geekery.  Even wore a pristine white personalized wasa work shirt, no suit for him!

Not replacing partial lead lines (private) only full lead lines.  This was stopped in 2008 because it wasn't effective.

Building tunnels to alleviate combined sewer overflow - 2/3 of which currrently goes into anacostia, rest goes into Rock creek & Potomac.  Now u know what the little stone huts are for...3billion gallons of sewage & trash/yr.  25yr plan= inevitable rate increase, supposedly we have low rates compared to natl average.  Tunnels also to help with flooding in NE.  combined sewer area is the center blob of dc.

Gm believes water is safe...but not sure about the pharmaceuticals.  Filters don't remove Viagra & estrogens.  Not all filters remove lead.  Check q&a on dcwasa.com site & this from WASA:

Here is the fact sheet. The Washington Aqueduct, which treats the drinking water for the District, also has a working group studying issues related to pharmaceuticals.

http://www.dcwasa.com/waterquality/Pharmaceuticals%20in%20Drinking%20Water.pdf

New communication system being put into place hopefully this year called Envista - central public schedule database of ddot & ALL utility projects. (about time!)

99% +of hydrants are operational, @2% might be blocked by construction. Fire dept has been coordinated with. Fancy GIS based.

Wasa contact info@dcwasa.com
354-3600, 612-3400 emergency, public affairs 787-2200

4th st, patch is awful! A giant chunky asphalt mound.  Are they going to tear up the street or the sidewalk to replace the line?

4th st: I spoke with Deirdre the construction manager who exuded capabity juju.  I showed her the below pic of the crappy wasa "patch" aka impassable mound, which she will address.  We lamented how DDOT chose to repave 4th st-as in the road- yesterday.  DDOT has known for over a week via our bitching that wasa is going to work the road & the sidewalk, yet they STILL paved the road AFTER!!! More wasted work!  really!!

Wasa is going to primarily dig the road to replace the line.  They will also "mole" the sidewalk where possible.  So we will end up with spots in the sidewalk & smaller ones in our front yards.  Not the long asphalt hump taking up half of the sidewalk a la gas co.  The work is planned to start on Monday, 6/7/10 and complete by July 30,
2010.  Will work directly with wasa so they can coordinate with the residents, developers and ensure the brick gets put back properly.  Anyone on 4th st please email me niello8(at)yahoo.com or ANC 6C P&Z Chair Rob Amos robamos(at)yahoo.com and we can get you in touch with the project manager.

Asked if the new envision system would help us avoid clusterflucks like this in the future, I got an emphatic YES.  so...here are the pics of the crappy 4th st patch (which will be dealt with) and the fresh DDOT paving of 4th st.  enjoy it for precisely 11 days!

Greetings Everyone!

The May MVSNA Newsletter is up and going to print! so you know what that means...We shall need several volunteers to help deliver door to door.  Please email me at niello8(at)yahoo.com if you can help out for a few blocks!...you can also view the newsletter here: http://www.box.net/shared/uugx1uvh5g
Keep in mind there are all kinds of handy links on it you can click!

The next MVSNA meeting shall be held on Tuesday May 18th, 7:30pm, at the Yale Loft Condo common room at 437 NY Ave NW.  On the Agenda is Steuart Development Company (400/500 block NY Ave NW), Public Safety & the Goals/Bylaws vote. 

Finally please come on out on the 20th for the PSA 308 Public Safety Walk!

Si Kailian
C. Sec., MVSNA
202.256.9193

Just got this from a neighbor SAS on the 1200 block of 4th St NW:

On a sadly typical note, WASA came through earlier this week and marked up the beautiful new side walk that (I am guessing) DDOT just laid.  The side walk took two weeks to complete and is about three weeks old, and WASA will be digging the whole thing up to replace the water main below.  I wish I were joking, but this is actually happening.  Just some points that immediately jump to mind:

• this is a colossal waste of time
• this is a colossal waste of money
• this is a colossal waste of materials
• this is an inconvenience to residents by unnecessarily tying up our street with construction
• this is an inconvenience to residents by causing prolonged noise, especially in the early morning hours
  
• the mismanagement of the timing and execution of these projects is so severe it shakes the basic foundations of faith in government and competence in our fellow man
• COMMON SENSE....we expect more from second graders
  

That said, life will go on and we will all be fine.  But I thought you could at least bring this up in the next neighborhood meeting and let the appropriate people know that fourth street is collectively cursing and mocking them.

Our neighborhood is about to be under siege!  Barricade fencing for the impending Nuclear Summit began arriving and a long stretch already lines 7th street.  This is not the regular 3-4 ft jobs they whip out for inauguration & what not...this is 8 ft tall steel mesh you are keeping your rear on the other side or ELSE action!  Must keep the worldleaders, head honchos and grand poobahs extra super safe!

So dont forget to check the extensive Closure List and the MAP.  There are many blocks you can't drive on, or you can't park on(call 311 if your car is gone), or you even can't walk on! (unless you live ont hat block)  Be prepared for hassle on top of inconvenience...& if you see a neighbor on the street, help spread the word!

 

 

Just wanted to save people a few $10 bills in case they weren't aware the parking restrictions appear to be back in effect from the winter.  For some reason I thought we'd be notified, but I guess the ticket does the job as far as letting me know they are back out and checking.  On a personal note, it would have been nice to have received a warning instead of a ticket and a request for a tow when parked in front of my own house.

AKA wish #3 ;) thanks!!

yesterday morning i was on the 1200 block of 4th street NW and this sight greeted and delighted me!

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1200 block of 4th st NW new Sidewalk construction

 

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If you live in a building, what is the towing policy? I spent my entire weekend trying to get the police to ticket the car illegally parked in my underground spot. The police never came (hopefully because of the snow), so I had to wait 48 hours until the driver left my building and my owned spot. Any advice on how to deal with these situations?

Is it also true that the police need to ticket a car before it can be towed? So I would have had to call the police back 3-4 times (2 clearly wasn't enough) to have this done? This is ridiculous.