Over the last year since moving to DC I have been living without a car (for the first time), in turn learning how to live as a pedestrian. Despite its pre-suburban influenced density Glover Park remains of the best pedestrian accessible neighborhoods in DC.
Although the neighborhood is not serviced by it’s own Metrorail stop, a handful of reliable WMATA buses run through this neighborhood that offer routes to Van Ness/UDC and Dupont Circle metro stations on the Red Line. Additional access is available on the 30–series WMATA busesrunning along Wisconsin Ave, with service running from Tenleytown/AU (red line) and beyond through GWU/Foggy Bottom (Blue/Orange line) and onward through downtown DC. A short walk downhill along Wisconsin Ave. to Georgetown offers access to the Circulator Buses, which connect DC through some of the most popular routes for visitors and DC-lovers alike.
Indeed Glover Park is proudly multi-modal in its transportation infrastructure, even displaying a good balance between automobile transit and pedestrian access to most essential services within walking distance. Because of the residential layout inside of the neighborhood, street parking is quite common (if not always plentiful), offering a safe buffer for pedestrians between the sidewalk and moving traffic. Street-tree lined sidewalks line virtually every street, providing easy access to the business corridor along Wisconsin Ave and also allowing parents and children to walk to neighborhood school!
While Glover Park is not best known for it’s public transit, it is probably one of the safest neighborhoods for pedestrians and cyclists as I have experienced in DC. Even drivers find themselves becoming pedestrians when they’re walking around the neighborhood, especially with the easy access to nearby businesses along Wisconsin Ave (which I’ll detail in the next blog post). Glover Park has everything a resident could ask for: grocery stores, restaurants, park, schools, and is within walking distance (about a mile) to both Georgetown and American University (my alma mater); it’s easy to see what attracted me and many others to live in this neighborhood.
Glover Park is a neighborhood in Northwest DC which is sometimes referred to as part of Northern or Upper Georgetown, although it is historically (if no longer socio-economically) distinct as a neighborhood of its own. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by Glover-Archibold Nat’l Park on it’s west and the Vice President’s Mansion (connected to Rock Creek Park) on the East, roughly bordered by Georgetown to the south and Cathedral Heights on the north. Personally I have been happy to call Glover Park my home for the last year, so I wanted to introduce this neighborhood to the uninitiated, at least before I move at the end of this month.
This area is characterized by it’s narrow, tree-lined streets which sometimes deviate from the DC street grid to accommodate beautiful brick row-houses and garden-style apartment complexes in this mostly residential neighborhood. The architecture mirrors the aspirations of a growing middle-class in DC near the beginning of the 20th century, yearning to build breathing space for young families from the crowded and pollution dense urban cores that characterized cities at the time.
beginning construction of homes following the first World War, Glover Park has continued its growth with more modern apartment complexes and shopping centers built alongside the beautiful brownstones buildings and parks for which it is better known. Current residents of Glover Park continue this middle-class aspiration of home ownership, with many homes having small front or back yards and even a few garages, although at a considerable cost to potential owners in this highly desirable neighborhood.
Like many other neighborhoods in the District of Columbia, Glover Park is filled with young professionals, growing families, and students (like myself). These diverse populations require multi-modal transit to facilitate their professional lives as well as the personal pleasures that lead so many idealistic and adventurous individuals to Washington DC. In the coming days I’ll discuss how these pedestrians get to and from their homes in Glover Park, and a few more reasons for you to visit this great neighborhood.
In celebration of this holiday, which encourages us all to reduce (or replace) our commute using multi-modal transit, I encourage you all to learn more about how to go car free today (and everyday) on this annual event’s website. Here is the video documentary, in case you missed it, to show how one student (me!) went Car Free after moving to the National Capitol region:
Although many daily commuters already know why to use alternative transportation to automobiles, those new (or skeptical) to Car Free transit should consider some of the advantages of using these means.
Reducing individual emissions from fossil-fuel powered vehicles (by taking them off the road)
Reducing stress from traffic jams on the Beltway
Increasing savings from fuel costs saved using public transit
Increase exercise by increasing walks, or burning calories through cycling.
Increase of leisure time – Sit back, read the newspaper, and let the driver do the work!
The best way to discover the benefits of using public and alternative transit is to try it for yourself, so please take the pledge to participate on Car Free Day.
Over the last year since moving to DC I have been living without a car (for the first time), in turn learning how to live as a pedestrian. Despite its pre-suburban influenced density Glover Park remains of the best pedestrian accessible neighborhoods in DC.
running along Wisconsin Ave, with service running from Tenleytown/AU (red line) and beyond through GWU/Foggy Bottom (Blue/Orange line) and onward through downtown DC. A short walk downhill along Wisconsin Ave. to Georgetown offers access to the Circulator Buses, which connect DC through some of the most popular routes for visitors and DC-lovers alike.
Indeed Glover Park is proudly multi-modal in its transportation infrastructure, even displaying a good balance between automobile transit and pedestrian access to most essential services within walking distance. Because of the residential layout inside of the neighborhood, street parking is quite common (if not always plentiful), offering a safe buffer for pedestrians between the sidewalk and moving traffic. Street-tree lined sidewalks line virtually every street, providing easy access to the business corridor along Wisconsin Ave and also allowing parents and children to walk to neighborhood school!
While Glover Park is not best known for it’s public transit, it is probably one of the safest neighborhoods for pedestrians and cyclists as I have experienced in DC. Even drivers find themselves becoming pedestrians when they’re walking around the neighborhood, especially with the easy access to nearby businesses along Wisconsin Ave (which I’ll detail in the next blog post). Glover Park has everything a resident could ask for: grocery stores, restaurants, park, schools, and is within walking distance (about a mile) to both Georgetown and American University (my alma mater); it’s easy to see what attracted me and many others to live in this neighborhood.
