Taking Transit to National Harbor

-
A few months ago, I was surprised to learn that Metro was adding a second bus route that would serve National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. National Harbor is a mixed-use real estate development geared towards hotels and entertainment. It comprises about 2 square miles and is adjacent to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on the Maryland side of the Potomac.

The existing route (NH1) connects National Harbor to the Southern Ave Metro station on the DC border. The new NH2 route appears to offer a slightly faster route from here in Carver Langston.

Last week I decided to try it out. The NH2 bus arrives at National Harbor by way of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and makes stops in Virginia including King Street Metro station, which was my connection. Here's the whole journey in Storify form, but the bottom line is the trip from Carver Langston to National Harbor took 1 hour and 18 minutes from boarding the X2 bus to hopping off the NH2 at the casino, which is the first stop at National Harbor.


So, there you have it. The commute wasn't terrible. The NH2 and NH1 make multiple stops within the National Harbor complex. The only other transit option on-site is a private bus that circulates around the community and costs a $5 per day. It traverses the "downtown" area, the casino, and the outlet shopping center. I preferred to time my movements to the arrival of the Metro buses, which wasn't difficult. 

The NH2 bus operates daily with 30 minute headways, from 5:00 AM until 1:00 AM (and midnight on Sunday). Is this a trip I'd want to make daily? No. But, it's good to see a realistic transit option connecting Virginia to Maryland while offering  DC residents access to a development that may have been a car-only destination just 15 or 20 years ago.

Popular posts from this blog

300 Unit Tower Proposed Near Hechinger Mall

-
Image
Rendering of 1625 Benning c/o Valor Development. Valor Development is looking to construct a 303 unit apartment building across from Hechinger Mall on Benning Road NE. PGN Architects are the architects for the project. A. Morton Thomas and Associates are acting landscape architects and civil engineers. Bozzuto will ultimately mange the property. The "Valvaere" would be located at 1625 Benning Rd NE, consolidating nine parcels including what is now Trinidad Baptist Church and attached surface parking lot. The Valvaere will actually be comprised of two buildings; a nine story, 90 foot tall building facing Benning Road, and a 3 story, 38 foot tall building facing 16th St NE. About 7,000 sq ft of ground floor retail is incorporated into the plans. 100+ on-site parking spaces would be provided in a below grade parking lot. There will be over 100 bike storage spaces as well, protected, inside the building. Bird's eye view of Benning Rd. Rendered with Google Earth©
Read more

Delta Towers Will Add New Housing & Retail

-
Image
Rendering courtesy of KGD Architecture . Delta Towers --located at the Starburst intersection of Florida Ave, H Street, Bladensburg Rd, and Benning Road, NE-- is gearing up for a major expansion. Fences are already up around the perimeter of the property, presaging a significant transformation and addition of residential units to the H Street corridor.  There are 179 new units slated for "Fortitude at Delta Towers" as part of a nearly $1 billion bond issue via DCHFA (PDF) All units in Fortitude will be for seniors and all units will be affordable as each will leased at a maximum of 30% AMI. From the DCHFA press release  (PDF): "The redevelopment of Delta Towers is $96 million project. Delta Towers is a 100 percent affordable senior community with all units leased at a maximum of 30 percent AMI. Thirty of the apartments will receive LRSP subsidy and 18 will be designated as permanent supportive housing with housing assistance payments via the DC Housing Autho
Read more

A Langston for Langston, But Not That One

-
Image
Carver Langston has a new mural! The narrative features an abstract sort of geometric nature theme, switches to a sunglasses-decked woman representing Northeast DC, transitions to a male historical figure, then to a montage of pencils, an image of hands on a typewriter, then finally returning to the geometric nature theme to cap it all off. It's lovely, bold, colorful, and we deserve more murals like this in Carver Langston. But there's just one thing about this one... As you may know, on paper, Carver Langston is really two neighborhoods. Carver is the triangular shaped part of the neighborhood north of Maryland Ave NE, going up to the Arboretum. Langston is the part of the neighborhood south of Maryland, going down to Benning Road. Carver's namesake is a person most of us learned about in elementary school, George Washington Carver . Carver was one of America's top intellectuals and inventors of the early 20th century. Langston takes its name from the
Read more