For immediate release: September 5, 2023

Metro Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Changes at Congress Heights Station

Metro is proposing changes to transit facilities at Congress Heights Metrorail Station to improve access to the historic St. Elizabeths East Campus and to support future mixed-use development. The proposed changes include reconfiguration of the bus loop, extension of 13th Street SE, reduction of the 63 Kiss & Ride spaces to eight spaces, and relocation of the Kiss & Ride lot to an on-street facility. 

The changes would provide a new entrance to St. Elizabeths East Campus and be completed with funding from D.C.’s Office for the Deputy Mayor for Planning for Economic Development (DMPED). Proposed modifications to Congress Heights’s transit facilities also advance Metro’s Strategic Transformation Plan goals by increasing ridership, generating fares and tax revenue that support Metro and local jurisdictions—all while fostering sustainable, local, and regional growth. Reconfiguring the Congress Heights Station bus loop and Kiss & Ride will also improve access to Metro and spur additional mixed-use development in the area that increases housing affordability and maximizes economic development. 

Additionally, the proposed modifications follow recommendations from the District of Columbia’s Congress Heights Small Area Plan (2022) and St. Elizabeths East Master Plan and Design Guidelines (2012). In 2019, the District set a goal to create 36,000 new housing units by 2025 and adopted an update to the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map in 2021. 

There are two ways you can provide feedback: 

  • Submit your comments online and/or upload documents by visiting wmata.com/plansandprojects by 5 p.m. Thursday, October 5, 2023. 
  • Participate in the Open House and Public Hearing: 
    • In-person: Monday, September 25, 2023 Open House begins at 6 p.m. and Public Hearing begins at 6:30 p.m. RISE Demonstration Center 2730 Martin Luther Ling Jr Ave SE, Washington, DC 20032 
    • By phone: Dial 206-899-2028 and enter meeting code 114 471 961# 
    • By video: Advance registration is required. To register, email speak@wmata.com or call 202-962-2511 by 11 a.m. the day of the public hearing. 
If you do not want to provide testimony but still want to watch or listen to the Public Hearing, you may watch or listen to the public hearings live at YouTube.com/MetroForward. Video of the hearings will also be archived at YouTube.com/MetroForward. 

Separately, the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) also has proposed to include a new library facility at the Congress Heights Metro station that is planned for construction adjacent to the reconfigured bus loop. Learn more about its separate public feedback process here. 

All public comments will be provided to Metro's Board of Directors for final review and inclusion into Metro's Mass Transit Plan. 

Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, gender, religion, disability, or family status. ASL interpretation will be provided. To request other accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, or other language interpretation services (free of charge), contact the Office of the Board Secretary at 202-962-2511 (TTY: 202-962-2033) or send a message to speak@wmata.com as soon as possible, so Metro can make the necessary arrangements before the public hearing date.