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The Obamas have been talking about starting up a White House farmers market for a little while now, and today comes word from WTOP that First Lady Michelle Obama has actually put in an application with DDOT for the relevant street closure.
The First Lady’s office has put in a request to close Vermont Avenue between H and I Streets NW between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., every Thursday, for the market. The day of the week and time of the proposed market certainly fits in with what DCist commenters were saying they’d like to see in terms of a White House farmers market, but the proposed location was up until this point unknown. This block of Vermont stretches between the far corners of Lafayette Square and McPherson Square. The WTOP article makes mention of some concern from residents about the potential for further traffic congestion in an already clogged area. We gather the Secret Service would prefer not to set up a weekly market right on Pennsylvania Ave., where the street is already closed to vehicular traffic.
What do you think about the proposed location? DDOT told WTOP that there is no timetable for when the Vermont Ave. closure might be approved or denied.