Doorknocking Recap

I recently door knocked and dropped off newsletters to many of the homes and apartments in my SMD. I wanted to recap some of the conversations I had in case it gives others ideas on issues to flag. I was happy that I met some new neighbors in the process!

Parks!

I spoke with several neighbors about the small park at Banneker between the school and little league field. I learned that there is a fairly substantial difference between the two parks available at Banneker. I also saw that another swing is broken at Banneker yet again (submitted a 311 request). This is something I will flag in my testimony to DGS since it should not take 8 months to replace swings as I testified at a DGS hearing last year.

Several other issues were flagged: 1) It is difficult to know which parks in the city are for which age ranges. Currently, parents know just through word of mouth from other parents. I’ve followed up with DPR to see if they have this documented anywhere. 2) It is very helpful to have dog parks near the 3) Splash pads are amazing for kids - especially in the summer. 4) The parking lot at Banneker seems unnecessary given the abundance of unused street parking along 9th. It would be nice to replace that with something more useful to the neighborhood and park users. 5) The light game at Banneker has been broken for several years. I’ve submitted a ticket to DGS to get this addressed. 6) Lastly, a small climbing structure at the toddler park has lost most of the climbing material, making it much less enjoyable. I’ve submitted a 311 request to get this addressed.

Trash

I saw several instances of overflowing trash cans or illegally dumped bulk trash. I submitted 311 requests to get these addressed.

Rats

There were several neighbors that joked about the high rat population in the neighborhood. I recommended that they consider collecting signatures from several neighbors to have Department of Health complete rat abatement along as much of the block as possible.

Crosswalks

There is not currently a painted crosswalk crossing Euclid at the T intersection for 9th and Euclid NW. A family flagged that it would be helpful to have one here, especially with the number of kids that get dropped off at the school and need to cross Euclid. I submitted 311 request 24-00066271 asking DDOT to paint a crosswalk.

Illegal Parking

People frequently park their cars in a no parking zone near the SE corner of Fairmont and Sherman. This has made it difficult for large trucks to get out of the alley, and one neighbor has had their house scraped by these trucks as a result. I followed up with DDOT to get a bike rack implemented here.