“Focus on District-wide priorities, not football stadium.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user mosley.brian

Thanks to a reader for passing on from Change.org:

“It is an exciting time to live in Washington, D.C., with positive developments happening city-wide. Please tell the Mayor and City Council to use this opportunity to make decisions that will have a lasting positive impact on all District residents. Focus funds and efforts on schools, crime, transportation, good jobs, housing…not the misplaced priority of new football stadium. As residents of D.C., we oppose any proposed plan to build a new football stadium for Dan Snyder and the Washington Football Team. The reason for the opposition is simply a matter of priorities. Football stadiums are very expensive and, unlike baseball and other sports stadiums, used only a handful of times each year. There are much more important and impactful ways to spend a billion or more dollars.

Residents in all quadrants of the District are concerned about increases in crime, problems with public transportation, improving schools and addressing the challenge of affordable housing. Many school-aged children in the District attend schools in desperate need of repair. Law enforcement and emergency responders talk about the negative impact of slashed budgets on their jobs. Affordable housing is needed in neighborhoods that are close and accessible to jobs. Public transportation clearly needs some work. If the city has hundreds of millions (or billions) to spend on a football stadium, let’s spend it on these things instead. Fix what’s broken. Seize the opportunity to make the District a better place for all to live.

Putting the cost aside, redeveloping the RFK site is an exciting opportunity for the city, occupying nearly 190 acres of riverfront property, easily accessible to transit, and a blank slate for the entire city. There’s so much good that could be done with it. Much of the site is flood plain, and would be an excellent choice to accommodate playing fields that for the already cramped sports leagues and growing population of kids in the District.

A METRO station along Oklahoma Avenue will allow the city to fill-in to help accommodate the District’s growth without displacement. It’s an opportunity to incorporate Kingman Island and the Anacostia River into any design. Take one look at the Georgetown Waterfront or Yards Park and it becomes clear what can be possible. Please tell the Mayor and City Council to prioritize D.C. and use this opportunity to make decisions that will have a lasting positive impact on all District residents.”