This Wouldn’t Happen if D.C. Owned its Sidewalks
- Willard Intercontinental Hotel, sidewalk hog. (Lydia DePillis)
The sidewalk in front of the Willard Intercontinental Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, right across from the White House, is one of the most spacious in the city. And yet, the hotel's Cafe du Parc has seen fit to take up almost the entire thing, such that a pedestrian could barely pass another going the other way without getting bumped into the street.
That's not allowed under the District Department of Transportation's public space regulations for sidewalk cafes, which dictate that 10 feet of space remain; the Public Space Committee can approve as little as six feet. From an eyeball estimate, the Willard has left walkers with no more than four feet. Shouldn't the District be able to slap them on the wrist? Of course not, silly! That sidewalk is owned by the National Park Service, which makes it difficult for bike racks to go in on Pennsylvania Avenue, but apparently has no problem allowing a private business to obstruct the pedestrian right of way!
I've dropped notes to the Park Service spokesman and to the hotel's manager to see if they can explain themselves, and will update if they do.
—
Looking east along Pennsylvania. (Willard Hotel)
UPDATE, 9:45 p.m. – As noted by some commenters, there is in fact a path between the cafe tables, and the Willard Hotel people were kind enough to send over the photo at right. I'm glad to see that there's more consideration of pedestrians than I'd noticed every time I came around that corner—which may be a result of usually seeing it from the vantage point of a bike rather than on foot. I do think, however, that it's poor design to start a sidewalk next to the street and have it be abruptly cut off by parking spaces.
3:55 pm
This is also a huge ADA violation. Parks Service should know better.
4:00 pm
The NPS is an absolute disaster at managing anything within the District's borders. This is simply one in an increasingly lengthy list of examples that demonstrate that the NPS is woefully inept at managing public space in a large, urban city.
4:20 pm
I think you're supposed to walk on the other side (between the outside seating and the restaurant/Willard)? I actually like this block a lot, I like how the sidewalk path is in between the outside seating and the restaurant.
4:22 pm
I hope Lydia is at the committee hearing when Norton's bill to review how the NPS operates in D.C. comes before Congress.
4:23 pm
Is there anything at all that we can do to protest the continued, egregious violations of our city caused or allowed by the NPS? It's just getting ridiculous at this point.
4:28 pm
not surprising, given the lax the enforcement of sidewalk cafe permits in DC. There are many egregious examples of establishments going well beyond their permitted public space in violation of DDOT law. I personally don't like it because it represents anexpropriation by private interests (restaurant or cafe) into what are clearly public entities (sidewalks).
4:34 pm
Off-topic, but I think, in cases besides this, that sidewalk cafes are the hallmark of this city, and are a great thing. Our cafes are so much better than other American cities, which typically have rather lifeless streets, especially when it comes to outdoor dining. It's a big competitive advantage we have. It'll be nice when Adams Morgan's sidewalks are widened significantly so more of those restaurants and bars have sidewalk seating as well.
5:17 pm
There is another, parallel and wider path on the other side of the cafe and between the Willard. This is the path used by people who actually utilize the sidewalk and not the clumsy tourists being offloaded in dozens by the litany of tour bus operators who use it as a White House stop since 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is still cordoned off for security purposes. Aside from these buses, the traffic along that block of Pennsylvania is rather light. Around October the patios are hailed away and not only does the sidewalk return to its original grand oppenness until next April, it also becomes completely barren, as the only reason anybody walks on or through those streets is to get on the dumb buses or to go to the dumb cafes. In short, Cross The Street Nerd.
5:26 pm
Ha! Looks exactly like that Urbanist Yuppie model paradise known as Bethesda Row.
5:41 pm
@toonces
If you're blind or otherwise disabled, crossing pennsylvania avenue may not be such an easy option. While it may just be a minor convenience for "nerds," it can be pretty burdensome for a certain segment of the population.
6:15 pm
@rsn Read Mony's comment. There are two paths that go around the serving space, and the one photographed is the narrower outer path. The inner path, which leads between the cafe and the restaurant entrance, is much wider. Did the writer of this piece take this photograph in person? If not, I challenge her to walk to the Cafe du Parc space tomorrow and demonstrate how difficult it is to get through the sidewalk. Or is investigating something not as easy blogging as sending an angry letter to an e-mail you found on a corporate website and whining about bikes?
6:40 pm
@Toonces
I did take that photograph in person, and I'm down there a lot. I'm glad to hear there's more consideration given to pedestrians, but it's not very useful if it's that hard to find.
6:54 pm
http://bit.ly/raJj7O you can see it via Google Street Maps, lol. you can see a person walking through it, lol.
7:09 pm
But by all means, leave this clearly inaccurate article up on your dumb website.
7:09 pm
Why not get rid of the lay by and convert that use to sidewalk space?
7:16 pm
@Drez Because you'd put dozens of people out of work and accomplish what?
8:28 pm
@Toonces
Good work!
LDP seems to have a hair up her butt lately about NPS... maybe Smokey the Bear flashed her when she was a Brownie.
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/2011/07/26/in-shambles-historical-society-promises-to-pay-what-it-owes/
9:19 pm
There are a lot of things NPS should be called out for in DC.
This ain't one of them.
9:35 pm
The Park Service hates fun:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider/post/fc-barcelona-tries--and-fails--to-practice-near-white-house-on-national-mall-in-washington/2011/07/28/gIQA1hbnfI_blog.html
9:39 pm
@Toonces
Since the whole cafe is moveable and since there is an inner sidewalk, seems like it would be straight forward to flip the inner sidewalk space and the cafe. Why not do that? That's how pretty much every sidewalk cafe in DC is set up. Seems like seating and serving would benefit too.
8:07 am
I might walk between the tables and ask for some lemonade or ice tea from the patrons taking up public walkways
11:50 am
Belga Cafe on 8th St. SE is even worse. They're practically set up in the street, but I agree that the area around the Willard on PA Ave downtown is a more central thoroughfare and the impact more pronounced.
1:36 pm
The "side walk cafe" permit process in the District is non-existent. In some areas, people need to walk single file past the cafe - and in some areas, a wheelchair or scooter user has to find another path of travel. That does not make for a "liveable" "walkable" city. And the path of travel issue goes well beyond sidewalk cafe's. When will the District STOP using RED BRICKS to build sidewalks. THEY DON'T WORK. They are a DANGER! In so many neighborhoods, walking in the middle of the street is safer than taking the sidewalk. You can't even push a baby carriage down the street - the baby will most likely get brain damage from the impact trauma.
While the picture and the story in the article don't get all the facts right - it does bring to light the need for a much broader public discussion/movement - PEDESTRIAN SAFETY on ALL SIDEWALKS.
2:52 pm
Just what we need! Reckless bicyclers camera phoning while riding. Eyes on the ROAD lady!
4:35 pm
Rather than "I do think, however, that it's poor design..." and "it's not very useful if it's that hard to find," this is the kind of error best served by citing the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna: "Never mind."
11:41 am
A more succinct update would have been: "I was mistaken."
Of course, if the author still believes that the sidewalk configuration doesn't make sense, I would point out that this is exactly the configuration for restaurants, etc. planned for the Cathedral Commons development on Wisconsin Ave., which the Euro-urbanists over at GGW are slobbering all over!
10:17 pm
This wouldn't be a problem if Americans simply weren't so darn FAT! Lose some weight and there will be plenty of space on the sidewalks.