- Cleared stream near Greenbelt Metro
Right after the sexual assault incident last year near the Metro entrance, the Metro authority (WMATA) did a brush a cleanup around the pathway that connects the Metro to the nearby neighborhood.
However the brush cleanup caused a major uproar among some residents. To them, Metro’s cleanup was too aggressive and probably destroyed the small stream that runs near the brushes.
These residents and City’s Committee for a Better Environment (CBE) have now drafted a letter that asks the Metro to replant the stream area to restore the environment there without sacrificing public safety of nearby residents and Metro riders.
The letter cites that the brush cleanup caused impacts on habitat and sediments in the stream. It also says it decreased shading in the stream. The storm-water pollutant removal capability was reduced and the rain water flows/flooding was increased, the letter charges.
The letter asks the Metro to adopt Crime Prevention through Environmental Design [CPTED] principles to restore the damaged stream buffer. The CPTED principles are based on the creation of a natural distinction between the built environment and the natural environment, the letter says.