Campaign Announcement

Hey there! I’m excited to announce that I’m running for Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) in the newly redrawn Single Member District (SMD) of 4C07. My goals in running for this position are to increase traffic safety, improve equality in housing and transportation, and make District government more open and accessible to all. In this introduction to my campaign, I'd like to talk about these issues in detail. However, for those just looking for a brief outline of my platform, I've provided a bulleted list below.

▪ Make our streets safer with traffic calming and physical infrastructure

▪ Increase the supply of housing through upzoning and supporting the construction of social housing

▪ Improve transit service through expanded Georgia Ave bus lanes and better bus frequency

▪ Improve protection for existing bike lanes and construct more of them

▪ Better publicize information on city services/processes through the ANC website

DC is facing an appalling rise in traffic injuries and fatalities. Despite Mayor Bowser committing to the Vision Zero initiative of no traffic deaths by 2024, our streets are worse than ever, with 2021 being DC’s deadliest year since 2007. Unfortunately, Petworth is no exception to this trend. Per the ANC 4C Vision Zero Report, the ANC experienced 62 major injuries and 3 fatalities since 2017 (1). We have several unsafe streets like Georgia and Kansas Avenue, and not enough is being done to address their dangers. I can speak to this danger personally as I cross the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Quincy Street every day, and have almost been hit several times by reckless drivers. DDOT has attempted to make the intersection safer with flashing pedestrian signals, but the median signals were run over shortly after installation, and haven't been replaced since (see below photos). We need bold interventions like raised crosswalks, speed bumps, parking protected bike lanes, and narrowed intersections. We know what works to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, but DDOT has slow-walked many necessary changes. As part of the ANC, I will work to continuously push DDOT to improve their processes so we can get better streets more quickly.

Destroyed pedestrian signal at Quincy and New Hampshire (south side)

Destroyed pedestrian signal at Quincy and New Hampshire (north side)

Another issue I want to work on is housing. It is a verified fact that DC is experiencing a severe housing shortage (2). With demand outstripping supply, we need to work to increase the amount of housing units, especially in transit-adjacent neighborhoods like Petworth. While there is not much room for large scale housing construction within 4C07, I am in favor of upzoning the SMD to a greater density to at least allow for fourplexes on any lot. While I recognize that discussions of density can provoke adverse reactions, gentle density through missing middle housing (as exemplified by fourplexes, accessory dwelling units, and mixed residential/commercial spaces) can accommodate many new residents while not looking out of place within the neighborhood. On a broader level, I am also in full support of Councilwoman Lewis-George’s social housing bill to build more publicly owned housing and accelerate the removal of lead pipes in older homes across the District (3).

Visual of different types of missing middle housing (4)

A topic that goes hand in hand with housing is transportation. As a neighborhood adjacent to a Metro stop and several high frequency bus lines, many of our residents choose transit over driving. Unfortunately, bus service can be lackluster, with buses regularly stuck in traffic. The good news is that the wider ANC of 4C faces a unique opportunity with DDOT’s proposed bus improvement plan for Georgia Ave (5). By creating dedicated bus lanes from Kansas Avenue to Howard University (and eventually all the way to the MD border), buses can bypass car traffic, and provide better service to riders. I am an enthusiastic backer of this project and I hope to work through the ANC to accelerate its timeline and suggest positive changes to serve the greatest number of residents possible.

Map of DDOT's Georgia Ave bus improvement project

In addition to transit, bike infrastructure is another aspect of our SMD that can be greatly improved. The Warder/7th Street bike lane was recently enhanced from just a painted line to a space protected by parked cars and concrete buffers (see below photo). This kind of change is incredibly important to improving safety for people on bikes, and encouraging those who are less confident to try cycling. Upgrading protection for existing bike lanes like 5th Street and Rock Creek Church Road in this fashion is a high priority of mine, and I hope to push DDOT to speed up construction of these kinds of projects.

Warder/7th Street protected bike lane

Finally, I hope to make DC city government more accessible to all through the resources provided by the ANC. It is no secret that the District government can be opaque and hard to navigate. As a current District employee, I have a front row seat to the difficulty residents have dealing with the city's processes. While ANC 4C already provides links to useful services on its website (6), I plan to further improve this support by creating a how-to guide on basic city services. Things like how to request a traffic safety investigation, how to respond to notices of infraction from District agencies, and other useful information can be better publicized through the ANC's website. One other thing of note is that many of our neighbors speak Spanish as their primary language and have only a limited grasp of English. We need to do a better job reaching out to these residents, and as such, I plan to translate the ANC's website into Spanish.

This is not an exhaustive list of my goals, but it is a good introduction to what is important to me with respect to our community. Thank you for reading this far, and I hope I can count on your vote in November!

About Me

Originally a native of Jacksonville, Florida (Go Jags!), I moved to DC in 2021. I am a graduate of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina with a Bachelor’s in Spanish and History, and am a current employee of the DC Office of Administrative Hearings. I am an enthusiastic supporter of urbanism, public transit, and cycling. Feel free to say hello if you see me riding by! You can contact me through the below means:

Email: mattbforanc@gmail.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/palerider318

What is the Advisory Neighborhood Commission?

While I could attempt to explain what the ANC is myself, I find the definition from the DC government website to be the most helpful (7).

"An ANC is a non-partisan, neighborhood body made up of locally elected representatives called Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. They are a unique feature of the District's Home Rule Charter.

"The ANCs' main job is to be their neighborhood's official voice in advising the District government (and Federal agencies) on things that affect their neighborhoods. Although they are not required to follow the ANCs' advice, District agencies are required to give the ANCs' recommendations "great weight." Moreover, District law says that agencies cannot take any action that will significantly affect a neighborhood unless they give the affected ANCs 30 days advance notice. This includes zoning, streets, recreation, education, social services, sanitation, planning, safety, budget, and health services."

Where is 4C07?

4C07 is a single member district (SMD) in southeast Petworth bounded by Rock Creek Church Rd, 8th St, Shepherd St, New Hampshire Ave, and Taylor St. The SMD contains roughly 2,000 residents. A map of the new boundaries is below.