Late last year, DDOT Transportation Planner Robyn Jackson spoke to the communities along Connecticut Avenue and asked for feedback on DDOT’s plan to study the reversible lanes on Connecticut Avenue.
The scope, as we understood it then:
Connecticut Avenue will be the primary focus, but the study will look also at impacts on adjacent streets and arterials as far west as Wisconsin Avenue, east to Broad Branch Road, south to Dupont Circle, and north to Western Avenue. Computer models will be used to simulate potential traffic impacts of removing the reversible lane on neighborhood streets.
The study, DDOT explained, would also look at the traffic impacts of adding bicycle lanes.
One community meeting, hosted in November by ANC 3F, drew pedestrians, cyclists, and representatives from ANCs 3F, 3C and 3/4G. Attendees suggested the study sounded too car-centric and should be expanded to cover the impacts on all modes of transportation.
Jackson heard this message loud and clear. On February 25th, she sent a formal response with the following changes to the Request for Qualifications being used in the hunt for the consultant who will conduct the study:
Comments: The study area of the RFQ appears to be focused solely on the area with the reversible lane; however, there are traffic-related challenges at many neighboring sections.
DDOT’s response: The primary study area will be expanded to include Calvert Street NW. Other neighboring intersections will be included as part of the secondary study area. Locations in both the primary and secondary study areas that are identified as intersections with immediate challenges will be referred to other DDOT divisions who have resources to more readily address the community’s concerns.
Comments: The RFQ appears vehicle-centric and only concerned about the reversible lane. The study should focus on multimodal improvements.
DDOT’s response: The study will include a focus on multimodal safety and operational improvements. DDOT’s approach is to first assess the current operations (i.e. existing conditions) of the reversible lane and it impacts to safety for all modes. Existing conditions are the base information used to analyze alternatives for multimodal improvements. Multimodal improvement concepts, including protected bike lanes, will then be evaluated as part of the environmental evaluation task.
Comments: Goals of the study to be broadened to include Vision Zero, speed reduction, reducing carbon emissions, and strengthening neighborhoods.
DDOT’s response: The purpose of the study is to conduct technical analysis of the reversible lane operations and impacts to safety for all modes of transportation. Language has been added to address Vision Zero goals using the Highway Safety Manual to forecast the number, type, and severity of future crashes and to recommend solutions for identified safety issues.
Comments: Include more public outreach outside of established citizens groups (ANCs, for example).
DDOT’s response: Language has been added to clarify that the Community Advisory Committees are open to the public. Additional community involvement is included in the environmental evaluation task.
DDOT has already started an estimated six-month procurement process to select a consultant who will then have nine months to complete the study. In the meantime, DDOT will be putting together public advisory committee. There will be updates as the process proceeds.
Paul says
Obviously the major impact on traffic is the commuter traffic to and from Maryland. Unless I’m missing something, the problem (if there are problems which is yet to be proven with data) has to worked by both jurisdictions — Maryland and the District. There’s a flow coming down from the north, every morning and returning there in the evening. The flow is either going to traverse Connecticut Avenue, and if blocked there by reconfiguration, it will go elsewhere. Commuters are going to commute. Metro service north on Connecticut above the border is almost non-existent. So a study that is not sponsored by all jurisdictions (DC, Maryland, Bethesda, etc.) will suspect and whimsical but probably ineffective.
Green Eyeshades says
Six weeks ago, we learned that DDOT already started procurement for its traffic analysis of Connecticut Avenue, which should be completed within 15 months. So the Connecticut Avenue study might not be finished until 14 months from now, roughly June 2020.
On Saturday, April 20, the Washington Post reported that the District is finally going to begin behaving seriously about enforcing bicycle lane protections for bicyclists. I will add a link to that article after this comment is posted, since links tend to slow down the posting our our comments.
Starting with the new budget year on October first, the Mayor has proposed adding $2.8 million to her budget to allow Dept. of Public Works (DPW) to hire 40 more traffic officers, half of whom will be assigned to enforcing no-parking rules for bike lanes. The Post called this a “crackdown” but adding only 20 enforcement officers with a budget of $1.4 million does not impress me.
Buried in the same story is news about possbily substantial increases in the numbers of red-light cameras and speeding cameras. Forest Hills should immediately ask our Councilmember to ensure that our portion of Connecticut Avenue gets additional cameras of both types, to attempt to rein in the outrageous speeding through our neighborhood.
“Mayor Muriel E. Bowser included $2.8 million in her 2020 budget to hire 40 traffic officers within the District Department of Public Works; half would be devoted to enforcing bike lane laws.
“The enforcement, officials hope, will help change a hazardous practice by many drivers to park or idle on the bike lanes to deliver goods or drop off and pick up passengers.
“The crackdown is part of an enhanced effort to deter bad behaviors that contribute to road injuries. It ultimately aims to put a break on the rising number of fatal traffic collisions. Last year the District logged 36 traffic deaths, up from 31 in 2017, and the highest in a decade, according to records. There have been six traffic-related deaths this year.
“The city is also overhauling its red-light and speed camera program, which is two decades old.
“In January, the city implemented tougher penalties for more than two dozen traffic infractions, including speeding, and set new restrictions on left turns and right turns on red at dozens of intersections. An additional set of new rules announced in February clarified that stopping, standing and parking in bike lines, as well as loading and unloading passengers and other obstructions of bike lanes, are prohibited. The fine for drivers who park in bike lanes was recently raised to $150 from $65.”
[snip]
“The Department of Public Works issues tickets for parking violations, including illegal parking in bike lanes. D.C. police officers also are tasked with enforcing traffic laws, including bike-lane violations. And the city’s automated traffic enforcement program — which deploys speed, red-light and stop-sign cameras — has been an arm of the D.C. police department since its launch in 1999.
“Now, the city plans to transfer that program to the District Department of Transportation, a change officials say will expedite the deployment of more speed and red-light cameras. Bowser’s budget includes $250,000 for the purchase of more cameras next year.
“Marootian, the transportation director, said the agency is already working to identify new locations where cameras could be deployed.”
Green Eyeshades says
This is the link to the Post story on Saturday:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/dc-plans-to-step-up-enforcement-of-bike-lane-scofflaws/2019/04/19/c56a9cee-5f8b-11e9-9ff2-abc984dc9eec_story.html
Green Eyeshades says
Apologies to WAMU, which had the story about the Mayor’s budget request a full month earlier than the Post:
https://wamu.org/story/19/03/20/more-bike-lane-enforcement-and-a-redesign-of-dave-thomas-circle-in-bowser-budget-proposals/
WAMU, however, did not mention the significant changes in the automated traffic enforcement program covered by the Post on Saturday, which I hope our neighborhood will take advantage of immediately.
Green Eyeshades says
According to The District Line dot Org, Mary Cheh is doing something to improve the safety of bike lanes:
“Mary Cheh plans to introduce legislation on Tuesday — named after Salovesh — to “hasten/expand our protected bike lane infrastructure,” she tweeted. Charles Allen also said on Twitter he would introduce some sort of related legislation.”
Mary Cheh did just introduce a minor bill this morning directing DDOT to include more bike lane safety in its construction activities.
Charles Allen will introduce an emergency bill today to mandate immediate action to make Florida Avenue safer.
Green Eyeshades says
Yesterday, WAMU covered new bills introduced in DC Council that will mandate many changes to protect pedestrians and bicycle riders. It was not clear to me how soon those bills may be passed. At least one emergency bill (plus matching temporary bill) was passed by DC Council yesterday to mandate bike safety improvements on Florida Avenue, NE.
According to WAMU, the bills introduced yesterday will mandate 20 changes. The following changes among those 20 are desperately needed on Connecticut Avenue in our neighborhood and on our streets feeding into the Avenue:
“Requires sidewalks on both sides of all streets and makes connections to any existing sidewalks within .1 mile.
“Requires DDOT to consider four-way stops as the starting point for designing residential intersections with two-way streets….
“Speeds up the approval process for DDOT to make critical infrastructure repairs at high-risk areas.”
[snip]
“Bans right-on-red turns throughout all of D.C. The District moved to ban right on red at 100 intersections last year.
“Creates a Citizen Traffic Safety Enforcement Pilot program to test training and empowering citizens to enforce parking laws in crosswalks, bicycle lanes, fire lanes and bus stops.
“Restricts speed limits to 25 mph on most minor arterial roads and 20 mph on local roads. ‘We know that if a collision takes place, with every 5 to 10 mph faster, we know that faster is more fatal.’
“Clarifies the Mayor can impound cars parked illegally in crosswalks and bicycle lanes and allows parking enforcement staff to mail tickets when a driver leaves before receiving the ticket.”
[snip]
“Allows parking enforcement to target repeat reckless drivers by impounding parked cars with five speeding violations at 31+ mph over the speed limit or violations for passing a stopped car yielding to pedestrians in a crosswalk.”
Since I included only eight of the 20 changes, the remaining dozen changes are in the WAMU article at this link:
https://wamu.org/story/19/05/07/more-than-20-ideas-to-curb-rising-traffic-deaths-included-in-major-d-c-legislation/