A few months back, DCist readers had the chance to go back and forth on an issue that has since quieted down — whether the city should knock down the Whitehurst Freeway or not. Opinions differed, with some readers arguing that the freeway — which parallels the Potomac River above K Street in Georgetown — is an eye sore that limits development and others noting that it helps direct 42,000 cars a day away from the traffic crush that is M Street in Georgetown.

Well, that debate is about to kick off again.

The District Department of Transportation today announced that it has scheduled three public open houses where city officials will discuss their continued study of alternatives to replace the aging thoroughfare, should it be knocked down. DDOT sponsored a series of design workshops over the summer where it presented and discussed some potential alternatives, most notably an option to widen the existing stretch of K Street to six lanes. The three open houses, listed below, will all contain the same content:

— Open House 1 – Tuesday, November 15, 2005, The Melrose Hotel, 2430 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

— Open House 2 – Wednesday, November 16, 2005, Bank of Georgetown, 1001 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

— Open House 3 – Monday, November 21, 2005, St. Mary Armenian Church, 4125 Fessenden Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Now that we’re on the issue, what do DCist readers feel now about the potential demolition of the Whitehurst Freeway? Great idea to benefit the waterfront’s development, or a cynical ploy to ratchet up the costs of land and provide a windfall to whiny developers and land-owners in the area?

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd go!