Rendering of urban garden at the Plaza. Via NCPC.

The dream that the desolate, concrete wasteland that is L’Enfant Plaza could one day become a lush, tree-filled promenade where people actually want to be has been kicking around for years.

The National Capital Planning Commission approved earlier this year the final plans for the Southwest Ecodistrict Initiative, which promises to “transform the Maryland Avenue and 10th Street SW area into a highly sustainable mixed-use community.” They held a meeting earlier this month to discuss the proposed short- and long-term changes to 10th Street and the concept for a better Banneker Park connection, and are accepting public comment through December 31.

Proposed short-term improvements include better crosswalks at Independence Avenue, 10-foot wide bike lanes, turning parts of 10th Street into festival zones and creating better connections to the road-surrounded Benjamin Banneker Park.

Via Google Maps.

Via NCPC.

Via NCPC.

Via NCPC.

As the American Society of Landscape Architects reported, one long-term proposal for the area includes adding “hundreds if not thousands of trees” to 10th Street to create an urban garden promenade.

At first, it may seem odd that some segments of L’Enfant Plaza will be jam-packed with trees, while other will be open spaces, but there is a logic to this. [Diane Sullivan, a senior urban planner with NCPC,] said “we can’t maximize the tree canopy throughout because some of 10th street are a bridge.” Where there is soil underneath, larger trees can be planted. In the bridge areas, it will be trickier to plant anything more than smaller trees grouped together and plants.

Via NCPC.

The entire meeting can be watched here.