EPA Provides District of Columbia with Green Design Assistance (DC)
WASHINGTON (August 12, 2011) -- The District of Columbia will receive technical
assistance to make three intersections at the Anacostia Metro
Station safer and improve use for cars, pedestrians and bicycles
through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greening
America’s Capitals Initiative.
The announcement was made today by EPA Regional
Administrator Shawn M. Garvin and District Mayor Vincent C. Gray
across the street from the Anacostia Metro Station.
“EPA’s technical design assistance
will help build on Mayor Gray’s sustainability efforts that
are already underway. The project also involves public
participation that will allow residents who live in Anacostia,
Barry Farm, Sheridan and Buena Vista neighborhoods to have a voice
in creating ideas to restore and re-imagine this key District
community,” said Garvin.
Improvement to this area is a high priority for
Mayor Gray. The street network around the Anacostia Metro Station
serves more than 7,757 people on average per week and is surrounded
by neighborhood schools, a recreation center, a historic
residential neighborhood, and churches, as well as major federal
and local government employment centers.
“I am excited that the District has been
selected for this partnership opportunity with EPA,” Mayor
Gray said. “The Greening America’s Capitals program
will provide us with critical innovative thinking and tools to
leverage this transportation hub into a safer and more sustainable
asset for the Anacostia community.”
In addition to the District of Columbia, EPA
announced that the capital cities of Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi
and Nebraska would also receive technical design assistance to help
stimulate economic development.
Greening America’s Capitals Initiative is
a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities among EPA,
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The interagency
collaboration coordinates federal investments in infrastructure,
facilities, and services to get better results for communities and
use taxpayer money more efficiently. The partnership is helping
communities across the country to create more housing choices, make
transportation more efficient and reliable, reinforce existing
investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that
attract businesses. HUD and DOT were involved in the review and
selection process and will provide technical expertise on each
project. This is the second year of the GAC program. The capital
cities selected last year were Boston, Mass.; Jefferson City, Mo.;
Hartford, Conn.; Charleston, W.Va.; and Little Rock,
Ark.
This year the five capital cities were selected
from 23 letters of interest received through a solicitation of
interest by EPA. The agency will organize teams of regional urban
designers, planners, and landscape architects to provide customized
technical assistance as requested by each community. In addition to
helping the selected state capitals build a greener future and
civic pride, the assistance will help create models that many other
cities can look to in creating their own environmentally and
economically sustainable designs for growth and
development.
More information on GAC: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/greencapitals.htm
