Are you seriously blaming a kid biking to school over the lost who hit them? Funny thing: bet you anything that driver lives less than a mile from the school.

Anonymous wrote:As most of you already know, Sheperd has a much larger lot than Murch. They have a lot more options of renovation than Murch which is already on a small lot which is 1/3 useable for building. In addition, Sheperd is half the enrollment of Murch. Their parking needs are much different.

This actually isn't true. The Murch plot of land is bigger than the DCPS-controlled plot of land that is home to Sheperd. The DPR park next door makes it seem bigger, but no construction could ever spread onto park land.

Anonymous wrote:There is traffic study underway or soon to be underway. Those with concerns can take them to the parties doing the study. Perhaps only right-hand turns will be allowed during morning rush hour.

I would not mind slowing the traffic on Reno in the morning. Perhaps more drivers would switch to Connecticut or Wisconsin or at least be forced to slow down. Perhaps another Murch student riding her bike in a crosswalk on her way to school wouldn't be knocked down by another hit and run driver in a hurry.

You mean right at the end of the school year? That driver actually stayed on the scene in a white sedan car. Who knows if that driver was "in a hurry," but the driver was going less than 5 miles an hour.

While obviously the fate of any child on a bike is what we care about, it is worth noting here that she did not stop at that crosswalk while heading south on her bike but instead flew into it at a consistent rate of speed. Cars can't go much slower than 5-7 miles per hour -- which, if we're being honest, is the prevailing speed between Davenport and Fessenden and on Davenport and Ellicott every school day from 8:10 to first bell.

And parents really need to hammer home proper safety to their kid cyclists. They should also assess and reassess through observation whether those messages are sticking.

I was a shepherd parent... and.... right or wrong, underground parking is where the school lost my support. It is also the point where I realized my neighbors are a bunch of psychotic nimbys, who can't stand to have people parked in front of their houses.

You know it is almost funny: take these schools that raise the property values in their neighborhoods... and the homeowners who still complain about marginal inconveniences on a public street.

No school in DC needs underground parking. A public schools job is not to compete with Lowell for amenities. It is to serve ita children. Honestly the kitchen thing seemed like a boondoggle too. There was a lot of nebulous talk about cooking lessons and nutuiton. I'm pretty sure that no public school anywhere allows students into an industrial kitchen to learn about nutrition.

Dont worry, they will soon cut the funds allocated to the garage to expand further the improvements planned at Ellington.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Murch should cap its enrollment to fit the site?

Can't happen. It's a public school. Students living in bounds are guaranteed right to go. Murch has no control over number of kids that have right to go.

Maybe Murch should cap its enrollment to fit the site?

As most of you already know, Sheperd has a much larger lot than Murch. They have a lot more options of renovation than Murch which is already on a small lot which is 1/3 useable for building. In addition, Sheperd is half the enrollment of Murch. Their parking needs are much different.

Anonymous wrote:Shepherd was trying to fund raise to get the underground parking lot back. Again... I just can't. People, it is called a city. Street parking should he the norm, not the exception.

I know in the case of Shepherd, the surrounding neighbors don't want anyone parking in front of their houses. Presumably, this is because they all have five cars and their garages in the back only fit two. No... I mean again, in all seriousness, this is an absurd and shameful waste of funds.

Kind of a moot point at this stage, but Shepherd wasn't trying to raise funds, but we were doing a petition and letter-writing campaign to the powers that be downtown to try to get some renovations done that had been removed from the original plans. I myself wasn't pushing for a garage, but wish we would've gotten a friggin' real kitchen, like several other schools got/are getting with their renovations. Not to pit schools against each other at all--lots of these schools need renovations--but just to complain about the non-transparency/shadiness of DGS during school modernizations.

Is parking part of the teacher's contract? I know that many schools do not have enough spaces for all faculty.

Well, the private schools in the area offer parking to the their staffs, frequently in underground lots, so it is helpful to be competitive for publics to get good teachers. The school is far enough from the Metro that most will drive, not walk. Can't speak to Shepard - but their details may well be different. Murch already needs to dig for other buildings due to site constraints.

Shepherd was trying to fund raise to get the underground parking lot back. Again... I just can't. People, it is called a city. Street parking should he the norm, not the exception.

I know in the case of Shepherd, the surrounding neighbors don't want anyone parking in front of their houses. Presumably, this is because they all have five cars and their garages in the back only fit two. No... I mean again, in all seriousness, this is an absurd and shameful waste of funds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The underground parking lot will be the first thing excised from the budget when DGS decides to downsize the plans after construction has begun (as has happened with the auxiliary spaces at lafayette). Digging out a garage space is such a huge expense for so little benefit I would bet it never happens.

+1, just seems unrealistic from the start

Yes, I think Shepherd was going to get a parking garage too, and that was nixed.

Shepherd is 1 (hilly) mile from the nearest metro station (SS) and still isn't getting a parking garage.

Anonymous wrote:Is it worth $100k per space?

As a pp noted, this is part of teachers contract. But would love for them to find an alternative to this, such as facility parking passes to be used in the neighborhood and use saved money for education related stuff. Agree that during school hours there is a lot of extra parking space on the neighborhood. And use the extra money for an education related purpose. Wonder if the parking permit idea would cmeet the terms of the contract or of on site parking is required. Or if teachers would agree to waive this for parking permit passed. Anyone know if Murch looked into this?

Is it worth $100k per space?