Posted on 05/12/2016 9:17:13 AM PDT by Mean Daddy
I posted a thread yesterday about my sons opportunity to work for a congressman as an intern this summer. Trinity has rooms available and its in our cost pricerange. My question is maps show its 20 minutes from the Capitol. As he won't have his car, what's the public transportation concerns? How about the area Trinity is in? Thanks again for all the help and insights.
The D.C. Metro system is undergoing a crisis of management and safety failures, and might very well undergo a larger crisis of shutdowns to fix things.
fwiw
See the local news re D.C. Metro subways.
Trinity University is walking distance to Metrorail Brookland-C.U.A. station. But there’s also the Metrobus Route 80 that stops in front of the college and goes down North Capitol Street to near Union Station. Either choice takes about the same time (30 minutes door-to-door).
Trinity is just down the Street from The Catholic University of America and they have a Metro stop on Campus. It’s an easy walk and he’d be 2 or three stops away from Union Station and within walking distance of the Capitol and the Congressional Office Buildings. Trinity would be a good choice.
Agree with mbarker12474. Metro might shut down for a while.
That being said, Trinity is apparently near the red line so there will be a transfer involved to get to Capitol Hill. Trinity University runs a shuttle to metro but you might want to call to see if it (a) runs during summer and (b) if non-students can use it. I’m guessing “yes” on both counts but you might want to be sure.
Too bad about Metro having problems - I visited DC once a year for a training event from 2003-05 and found the system to be a great way to get around quickly, including coming from BWI on MARC to transfer to Metro Red Line and go out to Gaithersburg MD.
For the OP, hope it works out well for your son as it sounds like a great experience. Perhaps the solution to dealing with Metro is the bus system. I’m not familiar with the surroundings of Trinity.
Anything in NE DC used to be a war-zone, but as we conservatives know, Washington DC gets first dibs on all our money, so many parts of the city that were tough have been gentrified with the continuous influx of lobbyists, government apparatchiks and crony capitalists - recession never seems to hit the nanny-state.
Trinity is in the Columbia Heights area - a lot of young professionals, still mixed neighborhoods. Its also very close to Catholic University. I don’t know much about Trinity and Catholic per se - perhaps they share campus security - but if he’s on a campus, then I assume the housing is very safe.
If he’s got cheap, convenient housing in DC, that’s a big deal - rents have continuously risen over the past years
I lived in DC in the 80’s and early 90’s and go back regularly. It is still a lovely city. It had a slow, smaller Southern city gentility up until WWII and even beyond, and if you look, there are spots where it still feels that way. Otherwise, very cosmopolitan, lots to do, very green, very convenient - and its the political (and now economic) center of the USA, of course.
He should be fine - just like most big cities, just be smart, don’t overly expose yourself, learn your surroundings.
Went to Catholic University as a seminarian, but that was many, MANY moons ago (BA, 1976). Priestly vocation didn’t pan out...
Trinity is right nearby, as others have said.
I still live across the Potomac in Alexandria, VA. That area of Washington DC isn’t bad, but it’s still Washington DC. Don’t go too far astray from the campus. The Brookland area is iffy, especially after dark.
That being said, Trinity is a great college. In days of old, it was the women’s Catholic college while Catholic University was the men’s (I’m talking 100 years ago).
Trinity College is part of what is called Little Rome. It is a nice enclave in that part of DC. The whole area is owned by the Catholic Church and includes several seminaries, monasteries, Catholic University and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Lots of green spaces. I felt safe when I have visited there during the daytime although not sure at night. The outside areas are ify.
Only gives data within up to 1500 feet of a given location.
Graduated from CUA in 93.
That’s a high crime area. Murders and stolen vehicles are the two top crimes. There were multiple murders on campus through the years as well as rapes. My vehicle was broken into several times. Twice, ice was thrown from overpasses onto my windshield. The perps came from the ghettos which are literally just south down the street. Google.
The only place I considered safe was northwest DC near American U or northern VA south of the Potomac.
I teach as an adjunct at Catholic University of America, just across the street from Trinity. The college is very convenient to Capitol Hill via Metro from the Brookland/CUA station. (Although the Metro system is having its issues, it mostly works.) It’s also in a part of town that historically has been a bit dicey, but is gentrifying rapidly now. I think it would be a good choice.
I am trying to get the Hell out of this area, I made a big mistake when I traded N.H. for D.C., this place sucks.
bump for later
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9324305,-76.9994351,15z
Most of the people on the sidewalks to the Brookland Metro station should probably be people associated with the colleges.
There can be crime at or near a Metro station, rare but known to happen.
The subway has some reduced frequency. I had to wait 18 minutes for a Red Line train when I arrived in DC two weeks ago at 10pm.
Sections of the subway will be shut down for repair. The Washington Post published an article with details. WMATA should have details on its website too.
There will be a ~8 to 15 minute walk from Union Station to the various Congressional office buildings. Safe during the day but a slight danger at nighttime.
Washington, DC is a major city in a country where recreational drugs are illegal. No major city is 100% safe.
Talking with a Secret Service officer when I was stationed in DC, and telling him how I’d unloaded my wallet of extra ID’s, cash, etc., he advised carrying a throw away wallet with at least $20 in it to be given up if robbed. The $20 would likely cause the thief to leave without being PO’ed and do something worse.
another bump for later consideration
I see that others have given you a good range of current advice. The adjoining residential area of Brookland was a bit of a ghetto from the 60s to the 00s, but has been steadily gentrifying for the past 15 years. City living, as contrasted with suburbs or small towns, is always a time and place for greater personal awareness, peripheral vision and forethoughtful precautions.
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