Neighborhood Watch: D.C. Commuter Takes On Produce in Penn Quarter
The Issue: Will a lone commuter bring down the Penn Quarter Farmers' Market? The market has called the north end of Eighth Street NW, between D and E Streets, home for the last seven years, operating a few hours every Thursday. Ken Crerar wants that to change. According to the DC Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA), Crerar recently contacted the Department of Transportation to suggest the market’s permit be revoked. Crerar, who is president of the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, says the route he is forced to take around the market adds 15 minutes to his commute. Is he speaking for the silent majority of disgruntled drivers—or should the market stay put?
Time Over Produce: The argument that farmers markets cause traffic problems—specifically, Crerar says the congestion on Seventh and Ninth Streets slows down his connection to E Street—is not new. In September, the White House Farmers Market underwent similar controversy for closing part of Vermont Avenue. Jamie, writing at Prince of Petworth, says, “If this guy is really having 15 minutes added to his commute once a week, it is reasonable to assume that hundreds, if not thousands of other people are similarly affected.” Crerar has proposed an alternative site: the south side of the Smithsonian galleries on F Street.
Leave the Produce Alone: But Crerar doesn’t seem to be garnering much vocal support from his fellow commuters: An online commenter on DNA says, “I follow the same route…it would be an overstatement to say that having 8th street closed adds five minutes to my trip.” And Pat Lute, a spokesman for Freshfarm Markets, told City Desk: “The feedback the farmers market has received has been overwhelmingly positive, it’s been called a jewel of the neighborhood. ...We are very hopeful that everything is going to work out.” The DNA dismisses the Smithsonian gallery alternative, saying F street is too busy and must remain clear for access to the museums.
Next Step: According to Lute, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C passed a resolution Friday in support of the market. The transportation department's Public Space Committee will also presumably discuss the issue at its Oct. 22. meeting.
Photo by Alicia Griffin, Creative Commons Attribution License
12:17 pm
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1:38 pm
Stop Whining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3:21 pm
Dude should take the metro and he wouldn't have to worry about it.
10:18 pm
Perhaps Mr. Crerar should consider taking the Metro. There is a Green Line stop about 50 feet from the entrance to his building.
11:07 am
Right with you guys! Shut the hell up and take the train. Metroing into town is the responsible way to commute. Quit being a baby.
1:06 pm
It's hard to imagine how this market could inconvenience anybody. Eighth Street is not a through-street here. It's only two blocks long. Traveling south from E Street it stops at D street (interrupted by the Navy Memorial), and drivers must turn left and go on to Seventh Street or right to Ninth. But it is also blocked at the north end -- F Street -- by the Portrait Gallery. To get onto Eighth Street here in the first place drivers have to LEAVE or CROSS Seventh Street or Ninth Street. Unless somebody actually lives or works in a building on that block, driving down Eighth Street would take him out of his way. (F Street, on the other hand, is a through-street and moving the market there would be very disruptive.) The original complaint sounds bogus.
10:33 pm
Mr. Crerar doesn't appear to be a complete dip$hit -- http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/board.php -- but he certainly gives commuters a bad name and comes off as a neanderthal with his comments.