Q Street Metro Exit: New Landscaping Soon, Canopy Years Away

How it looks now

Nearly every aspect of Dupont Circle's heavily-used Q Street Metro exit is getting a major overhaul sooner or later. That's what Metro officials told Dupont residents at a meeting held this evening, August 13, at Johns Hopkins' School for Advanced International Studies on Massachusetts Avenue NW.

The meeting was organized by Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont.

Chisholm and McBride address the meeting

Ann Chisholm, DC Government Relations Officer for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), told the meeting that whole plaza area around the Q Street would be rehabbed over a period of 60 days, at the same time as the center escalator was being repaired. The first step would be the weeding of the cobblestone area around the escalators, which will start this weekend (17-18 August). Other landscaping will begin in two weeks' time, including the repair and replacement of cobblestones. Some of the sidewalk area is also being replaced, because it was sinking.

The escalator renovation will be finished by the end of October.

Answering a later audience question, co-presenter Michael McBride, WMATA Program Manager, Public Art and Environment Graphic Design, told residents that Metro is exploring ways to shelter the escalator from the elements. This improvement will mean that the escalators can go longer between major repairs. However, installation of a canopy over the exit is still a long way in the future.

The canopy must be clear and modular, and will probably be circular, McBride said.

Talking about the final design and installation of the canopy, McBride said, “It will be an open process. You [the public] will have a chance to weigh in.”

Q Street's recent appearances in the news were also discussed. These included the January drunken fall which severely injured a man, and the June legal difficulties experienced by a man who planted unauthorized flowers alongside the top stretch of the Q Street escalators. McBride noted that the among the types of flowers planted by the well-meaning volunteer were daffodils and other types of flora which rats find especially delicious. This is why they had to be removed.

Chisholm agreed with an audience member who said that WMATA handled the matter badly. “It's a new day,” she said. “We're starting fresh.”