Good news! The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority issued a news release on November 3, 2011 regarding the metro station name change for New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U metro stop. And, the verdict is? Gallaudet University will remain on the metro station name!
For the last month or so, one of the biggest controversies revolved around the WMATA board’s plans to omit “Gallaudet U” From the New York Ave metro stop. That would have delivered a severe blow to the visibility of Gallaudet in the Washington D.C. metro community. During the WMATA meeting, the board recognized the fact that New York Ave and Florida Ave doesn’t represent a special area since those roads are long and winds through Washington D.C. to North of Massachussetts Avenue (NoMa). Gallaudet is what is truly special to this area.
NoMa is a growing business district with grocery shops, restaurants, office buildings, and such. According to a survey conducted by the WMATA, most people didn’t want to see NoMa’s name in the metro stop station. However, the NoMa district agreed to give WMATA a hundred thousand dollars to have their name on the map. The funds will be used to help WMATA implement the new station names.
Three representatives from Gallaudet went to the meeting to testify to keep Gallaudet’s name on the map. Those representatives include Zachary Ennis, Samuel Sonnenstrahl, and Fred Weiner.
Samuel Sonnenstrahl gave his testimony based on a lot of information about why the WMATA should keep Gallaudet’s name on the map. For example, there are over 3,400 alumni that live in the DC/MD/VA area; there are more than 300 that live within the 20002 zip code. Gallaudet is a mecca for the deaf and hard of hearing and has an abundance of resources to the rest of the community. Sonnenstrahl said, “Conservatively speaking, Gallaudet has a connection with between fifty thousand to one hundred thousand people in this area only. Two weekends ago, five thousand people came to Gallaudet for Homecoming; we are gearing up for the 150th anniversary of the university in 2014 which will also be huge.”
Zachary Ennis remembered how one of the board members approached the three representatives after the meeting and informed them that their testimony really did change the board’s mind about removing Gallaudet’s name from the map. The WMATA board also adopted guidelines, which limits the names of primary stations to up to nineteen characters. With that being said, the stop name will be changed to “NoMa-Gallaudet U” and “New York Ave” will be used as a subtitle for one year to assist the Metro users with the transition to the new station name.
Both Ennis and Sonnenstrahl were pleased with the outcome of the board’s decision and agreed that it took a lot of collaboration work from everyone, including the faculty, staff, Student Body Government, students, and even outsiders. Sonnenstrahl clarified that while the board has made their decision, Gallaudet still has to keep track of any developments that may arise in the future. The change in the stop name will be seen in the June 2012 map update.
Resource: http://www.thebuffandblue.net/?p=7718
For the last month or so, one of the biggest controversies revolved around the WMATA board’s plans to omit “Gallaudet U” From the New York Ave metro stop. That would have delivered a severe blow to the visibility of Gallaudet in the Washington D.C. metro community. During the WMATA meeting, the board recognized the fact that New York Ave and Florida Ave doesn’t represent a special area since those roads are long and winds through Washington D.C. to North of Massachussetts Avenue (NoMa). Gallaudet is what is truly special to this area.
NoMa is a growing business district with grocery shops, restaurants, office buildings, and such. According to a survey conducted by the WMATA, most people didn’t want to see NoMa’s name in the metro stop station. However, the NoMa district agreed to give WMATA a hundred thousand dollars to have their name on the map. The funds will be used to help WMATA implement the new station names.
Three representatives from Gallaudet went to the meeting to testify to keep Gallaudet’s name on the map. Those representatives include Zachary Ennis, Samuel Sonnenstrahl, and Fred Weiner.
Samuel Sonnenstrahl gave his testimony based on a lot of information about why the WMATA should keep Gallaudet’s name on the map. For example, there are over 3,400 alumni that live in the DC/MD/VA area; there are more than 300 that live within the 20002 zip code. Gallaudet is a mecca for the deaf and hard of hearing and has an abundance of resources to the rest of the community. Sonnenstrahl said, “Conservatively speaking, Gallaudet has a connection with between fifty thousand to one hundred thousand people in this area only. Two weekends ago, five thousand people came to Gallaudet for Homecoming; we are gearing up for the 150th anniversary of the university in 2014 which will also be huge.”
Zachary Ennis remembered how one of the board members approached the three representatives after the meeting and informed them that their testimony really did change the board’s mind about removing Gallaudet’s name from the map. The WMATA board also adopted guidelines, which limits the names of primary stations to up to nineteen characters. With that being said, the stop name will be changed to “NoMa-Gallaudet U” and “New York Ave” will be used as a subtitle for one year to assist the Metro users with the transition to the new station name.
Both Ennis and Sonnenstrahl were pleased with the outcome of the board’s decision and agreed that it took a lot of collaboration work from everyone, including the faculty, staff, Student Body Government, students, and even outsiders. Sonnenstrahl clarified that while the board has made their decision, Gallaudet still has to keep track of any developments that may arise in the future. The change in the stop name will be seen in the June 2012 map update.
Resource: http://www.thebuffandblue.net/?p=7718
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