How the DC Office of Planning envisions Kennedy Street NW (courtesy Office of Planning)

by Cesse Ip

Last month DC’s Office of Planning quietly released a streetscape design for Kennedy Street, specifically between Georgia Avenue and North Capitol Street.

The Office of Planning states that the new guidelines will help developers and District agencies. Developers will be able to use the guidelines to better plan their projects, understand public space improvements needed in applications, and know where they can consider enhancements like public art that go beyond minimum requirements. District agencies will use the guidelines to ensure their reviewers provide consistent comments on public space applications.

Google map of the stretch of Kennedy Street impacted.

While the plans do not address current or future residents directly, it does state that recent development is bringing new residents to the corridor, and multiple properties will redevelop along Kennedy Street over the next 30 years. Because of this, the Office of Planning believes these guidelines are important to coordinate public space improvements to “create a seamless, attractive, and resilient public space from one development to the next.”

The plan states that a more cohesive look and feel can be achieved with additional street trees, wide sidewalks for sidewalk cafes, display of merchandise and other active uses. Additionally, it calls for an incorporation of public art, landscaping, signage or special paving that emphasizes gateways into the broader community at major intersections, as well as brick paving on all sidewalks at intersections.

The document divides Kennedy Street into three areas with different goals:

Georgia Ave to 8th Street: enhance areas between residential buildings and the sidewalk with landscaping. Ensure signage, lighting and retail storefronts are compatible with the residential character of the area.
8th Street to Kansas/Missouri: Create a vibrant neighborhood “hub” at 5th and Kennedy Streets with active and transparent storefronts and cafes. Strengthen corners with commercial buildings that have continuous ground floor activity.
Kansas/Missouri to North Capitol Street: Encourage public art promoting this area as a cultural/arts district. Create a vibrant and dynamic public space with activities spilling out of buildings onto wide sidewalks.

The report notably lacks any projects, funding or actions to make these wide sidewalks, public art and more aesthetically pleasing intersections into reality. However, it is not under the Office of Planning’s purview to bring these plans into fruition — instead they play a role in reviewing zoning applications.

Some might recognize this plan and its similarities to the plan released in 2008. While similar, DC Office of Planning told Petworth News that the streetscape guidelines reinforce many of the same ideas. This plan however is specifically focused on public space and will be enforced through DDOT’s public space permit process.