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Councilmember Charles Allen Chairman Phil Mendelson
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
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12 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,
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17 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
18 resolution may be cited as the Sense of the Council Regarding the Union Station Expansion
19 Project Resolution of 2020.
20 Sec. 2. The Council finds that:
(1) Union Station is the largest transit hub in the Districtand the second busiest
22 Amtrak station in the countrysees as many as 100,000 passengers each day, and is a national
23 landmark situated in a growing neighborhood. It serves District residents, commuters, business
24 travelers, and tourists traveling on Metrorail, Metrobus, Circulator, intercity busses, regional and
25 national train lines, bicycles, and foot.
26 (2) In June 2020, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a draft
27 environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed Union Station Expansion Project that
28 intends to expand and modernize Union Stations multimodal transportation facilities to meet
29 current and future transportation needs in the District and Amtraks Northeast Corridor.
30 (3) The project includes a major realignment and renovationofthe existing train
31 tracks, renovations to the existing building, a new rail terminal, a new parking garage, and a new
32 bus facility. The project is proposed by the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation
33 (USRC) which manages and operates Union Station under a long-term lease from FRA and
34 Amtrak. FRA is the lead agency preparing the Environmental Impact Statement detailing design
35 alternatives for the Federal government.
36 (4) Mixed-use development adjacent to Union Station has the potential to
37 transform the surrounding neighborhood providing office, residential, and retail uses, in addition
38 to new public spaces. In order for any such development to be compatible with the surrounding
39 neighborhood, it is essential that all aspects the Union Station redevelopment be done in concert
40 with local planning efforts and best practices.
41 (5) The DEIS released by FRA falls short of the needs of District residents,
42 workers, visitors, and project stakeholders and does not take into account comments by the
43 National Capital Planning Commission, the District Office of Planning, membersof the Council,
44 and the impacted Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC). Major changes are needed to
45 the DEIS. Any preferred alternative identified in a final environmental impact statement must
46 reflect both the needs of FRA and sound urban design principles.
47 (6) The preferred design alternative that the FRA identified in the DEIS proposes
48 1,600 parking spaces in a new Union Station garage, even though extensive analysis by the
49 District Officeof Planning concluded that less than 300 spaces are actually needed. This
50 conclusion has been supported by Federal planners at the National Capital Planning Commission
51 (NCPC) as well as District residents, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, adjacent
52 landowners, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. NCPC has reported that nearly two-
53 thirdsofthe current parking spots are monthly parking contractsthat is, not needed for
54 commuters, travelers, and shoppers coming to Union Station. Overparking this project ignores
55 changing trends in this multimodal core, will have a negative effect on adjacent development, is
counter to the trend to reduce parking at many other large urban stations in the Amtrak system,
37 and will induce additional traffic in the neighborhood.
58 (7) ANC 6C, which include Union Station, has repeatedly emphasized that [a]s
59 currently envisioned, the expanded Union Station would be surrounded by a snarl of cars and
60 buses, creating a barrier to access for the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. In
61 addition to creating a pedestrian-unfriendly environment at a dense transit hub, FRAs preferred
62 design ignores the place-making potential at this gateway to the District. The preferred design
63 also frustrates the Councils intent which budgeted more than $200 million to remake the
64 adjoining pedestrian bridge at H Street, N.E., as a safe pedestrian crossing to the private
65 development adjoining the federal site.
66 (8) The DEIS also does not adequately consider the placement and scale of the
67 proposed parking garage, the impactofthe proposed garage access points on multimodal
68 circulation around the facility, and northern viewsheds impacted by the proposed garage. The
9 expanded garage is predicated, in part, on preserving a legacy revenue stream for USRC that
70 relies on parking fees as it has since 1981. This does not reflect the changing transportation
1 dynamicsofthe past 40 years and assumes that USRC is incapableofreimagining its business
2 model.
B Sec. 3. It is the sense of the Council that:
74 (1) Multimodal transit options, including bus, rail, transmit, rideshare, bicycle,
75 and pedestrian access, must be prioritized over parking in the Federal Railroad Administrations
76 environment impact statement for the proposed Union Station Expansion Project;
71 (2) The Union Station Expansion Project and neighboring development must
78 enhance the quality of life for those who live around Union Station and for those who come to
79 work in or visit the city by considering input from neighbors about how to integrate the design
80 into the neighborhood; and
81 (3) The FRA must reduce the size and scale of the proposed parking garage
82 consistent with the District Office of Plannings projections.
83 Sec. 4. The Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Federal Railroad
84 Administration (for inclusion in the record), the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, the
85 National Capital Planning Commission, and the Office of Planning.
86 Sec. 5. This resolution shall take effect upon the first date of publication in the DC
87 Register,