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Federal Triangle is a lot like the Mall itself. On one hand, it's a beautiful piece of monumental architecture. On the other hand, boy does it suck the life out of the city. The red-topped federal buildings are big, hulking monsters that look great from afar, but offer nothing but blank stone to walkers-by. Addressing how to cut through them and tie the center of downtown Washington in to the center of the Mall is the main topic that must dominate any plan for the area. Secondarily, or perhaps just as important, the plan seeks to reinforce Pennsylvania Avenue as an active national "Main Street".

• Getting rid of the FBI building is a fine idea. More than a fine idea. The building really has no reedming qualities architecturally or urbanistically. Whatever mystique it holds is due to the offices inside, not the building from the street. As the plan correctly identifies, whatever goes in the FBI building's place needs a big retail component.
• Using redevelopment at the FBI building and the old convention center site to turn 10th Street into an important retail spine is likewise an excellent idea and needs much more attention. If anything, this plan doesn't go far enough. The old Woodies building will need to be brought back into service as a retail anchor. The MLK library, if we keep it, will need to be branded as part of the 10th Street corridor even though it's on G. Perhaps most difficult of all, a way will have to be found to activate the block between Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution. The IRS and DOJ buildings, which can't under any circumstances be torn down, must somehow be turned into centers of sidewalk activity rather than dead areas. One idea to do that might be to replace the wide but underused sidewalks with narrower ones, then utilize the saved space (and perhaps a few feet from the street itself) to build a big Clarendon-style median, in which there could be vendors and fountains. Additionally, 10th Street is already a bus hub, so there's potential there to create a transit station environment, which would have tremendous activating potential.
• The plan naturally seeks to preserve the Old Post Office, but it should be noted that no matter what happens, the atrium and observation tower must remain open to the public.
• The proposed Federal Walk, running east-west through the existing open spaces of Federal Triangle, is a good idea, but it doesn't address the main problem of north-south connectivity. Let's do it, but let's not be satisfied with just that.
• The plan attempts to activate Freedom Plaza by adding benches and hosting occasional art displays. Those are fine ideas, and the goal is certainly a worthy one, but if we really want to bring people into Freedom Plaza it will need a permanent draw. One way to do that might be to duplicate Union Station's Main Hall, and put a restaurant right smack in the plaza.
• The plan doesn't mention that with the National and Warner theaters, the theater in the Reagan building, and E Street Cinema all in close proximity, this part of town has potential to become a burgeoning theater district. Not to take away from the Kennedy Center, but theater districts have a whole different dynamic than consolidated performing arts centers. That potential use should be reinforced and expanded however possible. A medium-sized amphitheater in Freedom Plaza could kill two birds with one stone.
• Where are the bikes? Gas is way up, transit is awesome but expensive to build, and the Mall is a major leisure resource. The Mall and the neighborhoods surrounding it are ripe to accommodate more biking, both as transportation and recreation. It would be nice if this plan noticed, especially considering DC's upcoming bike-sharing network. (This note copypasted to each chapter, since it applies to them all.)