Tommy and staff spent a good part of this morning out at Eastern Market. The great news... Eastern Market is open for business! We got there early to make sure everything was set up and the staff from DPW - led by Harold Pedigrew - had things in great shape. Many of the displaced merchants from inside had set up temporary sites outdoors. Ray and Mike Bowers were there with cheese and heavy cream. Jenny's Bakery was set up with fresh breads spread out over several tables. And lots of other merchants and vendors had their booths open for business. 7th Street, SE has been closed down for vehicle traffic on the weekends, but all the businesses along the corridor are open. It was great to see so many residents out supporting our local merchants and helping make sure Eastern Market is on track.

Be sure to come back out to Eastern Market this Sunday for the 44th Annual Market Day to benefit Friendship House. We'll have all the merchants and vendors back out again, plus much more activities and events for all the kids! Also, we'll be sending out a notice on Monday, but please make sure you join us at Hine Jr. High School on Monday at 7:30 pm for a community meeting focused on finding temporary locations for the indoor merchants to make sure those businesses survive and are open for the community to enjoy.

Dr. Clifford Janey announced yesterday that seven schools in Ward 6 are among the 33 District schools to get emergency facility repairs under the "Blitz Repair Program". DCPS officials expect the repairs at all 33 schools will be completed by the time the next school year begins in August 2007.  The $23 million program will fix a variety of physical conditions for which there are thousands of back work orders for repairs, some of them from nearly five years ago.  In addition to this program, the school system is making repairs to bathroom and water fountains throughout the system.  The Ward 6 schools included are all elementary schools:  Maury, J.O. Wilson and Ludlow-Taylor in NE ;  Watkins, Payne and Brent in SE and Amidon in SW.  This is great news for these schools - and the students, parents, teachers and surrounding communities. Each of these schools is scheduled for modernization in the out years under the Master Facilities Plan, but need some assistance now.

Online magazine American.com recently published a great article on a new national effort to build more livable, walkable urban environments. The article reviews several efforts by many cities to create more pedestrian friendly environments, as well as creating a bigger menu of options when choosing how to commute and travel. Joel Garreau, journalist and urban planner, offers this insight (albeit in pretty urban planner "wonk" language):

"Too often, urban-planning debates degenerate into false dichotomies: it's either mass transit, which puts commuters at the mercy of train delays and station locations, or the automobile, which keeps people in charge of their own travel but leads to congestion, pollution, and social atomization. Garreau's argument recognizes that the same individuals might prefer different transportation modes at different times and for different reasons. Creating a "monoculture" around any one transportation mode - the one thing that car-centric planners and mass transit enthusiasts seem to agree on - is the real threat to commuter autonomy."

DC's DDOT is highlighted in the article. George Branyan is one of DDOT's point people on improving pedestrian safety, access and choices. Brayan is part of the Mayor's initative (with the full support of Councilmember Wells) to work with communties to build more walkable communities. Noting the growing trend of choosing walkable, mixed-use neighorhoods over sprawling suburbs, Branyan notes:

"It's curious that we now think of places with mixed-use zoning as "innovative." Housing over retail on the main street was the norm for literally hundreds of years until we made them illegal with 'progressive zoning.' Places that allow people to walk to the store, the park, the school, to transit...that was the way all communities were built 60 years ago, and now we call them "innovative.'"

Please join DDOT on Thursday night as they host a citywide public meeting as part of the DC Pedestrian Master Plan.  The meeting will take place on Thursday, May 3, 2007 from 7-8:30 pm at the Columbia Heights Recreational Center, 1480 Girard St. NW.

The plan is part of a process that will examine all aspects of the District's pedestrian environment - from policies to design guidelines to specific safety improvements in some of the city's highest pedestrian crash corridors.  The plan is due to be completed in October 2007 and currently DDOT and its partners are seeking public input through a variety of means including focus groups, an online survey and this citywide meeting.