New curb cuts and raised crosswalk, sans markings, crossing Albemarle Street at 32nd. (Sept. 25, 2023 photo)
by Paul Harrison
A raised crosswalk and curb cuts have been installed at Albemarle and 32nd Streets, a location where many seniors and young families cross to go to school, the Metro, shopping, or Soapstone Park.
Raised crosswalks are a combination of a painted crosswalk and a speed hump, and they make it safer to cross the street. Other recently installed examples in the neighborhood are behind Sidwell Middle School at the intersections of 37th and Van Ness and Upton Streets.
ANC 3F also worked with DDOT on raised crosswalks on 37th Street behind Sidwell Friends. These were installed at the Upton and Van Ness intersections in 2021. (photos by the author)
The triangle-shaped markings indicate the change in the crosswalks’ elevation.
We are lucky to live in a neighborhood whose natural beauty, Metro access, and retail destinations can make walking a healthy and enjoyable transportation option. Unfortunately, the area’s semi-suburban layout and history mean that sidewalks and crosswalks aren’t always there when schoolchildren, seniors, and the rest of us need them. That’s why a group of neighbors has been working consistently under the auspices of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 3F and its Streets and Sidewalks Committee to identify and solve the gaps in our walking infrastructure.
The intersection of 32nd and Albemarle has long been high on the list.
Despite its lack of markings, the T intersection at 32nd has been a popular (and legal) Albemarle Street crossing for years. (2013 FHC photo)
Stripes and other signs and markings will complete the look of the new raised crosswalk across Albemarle. (Sept. 25, 2023 FHC photo)
Getting this crossing improved started with identifying it to DDOT and conducting an online survey of neighbors to gauge interest. We took representatives from DDOT, Mayor Bowser’s office, and Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin’s office to the intersection to show them how many people crossed there, how vehicles speed through our neighborhood, and how the intersection serves as the walking gateway to Soapstone Park.
The intersection is in ANC 3F Commissioner Teri Huet’s single-member district. Follow-up with DDOT from her, fellow Commissioner Courtney Carlson, and the Streets and Sidewalks Committee helped keep focus on getting this done. We were particularly appreciative of how the safety and engineering team at DDOT worked flexibly to design the crosswalk and curb cuts around the existing stormwater catch basin, which couldn’t otherwise be moved.
Later this year, DDOT plans to install two speed tables (wide, traffic-calming humps like the raised crosswalk) on the 3100 block of Albemarle Street.
Our neighborhood still has many sidewalk and crosswalk gaps, and the appearance of quiet suburban side streets can hide the fact that it just takes one distracted or impatient driver to discourage people from walking or even injure or kill pedestrians. Neighbors interested in the Streets and Sidewalks Committee’s ongoing work are encouraged to hear more about it and learn how to participate during the monthly ANC meetings.
Paul Harrison is chair of the ANC 3F Streets and Sidewalks Committee, and is an at-large member of the DC Pedestrian Advisory Council. He lives with his family on the 3000 block of Albemarle Street.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Chuck Schilke says
I live a block away, and cross Albemarle Street at the intersection with 32nd at least 6 times per day.
I haven’t heard of anyone being injured at this intersection, but this has been an awkward crossing for years, and if no one has been injured here, it is a small miracle.
Besides pedestrians who are crossing Albemarle Street being at risk from cars going both east and west down Albemarle, the corner of Albemarle and 32nd is a well-used turnaround for cars coming from Connecticut east on Albemarle Street who then do a U-turn in part by going slightly north on 32nd Street and returning via Albemarle Street to Connecticut Avenue. The U-turners often do so quite rapidly.
Another issue the raised crosswalk should mitigate is that, when a pedestrian is crossing Albemarle Street from either the north or the south, in the process of looking both ways when you cross Albemarle, particularly if you look east first as is necessary in the morning due to cars proceeding from east to west on Albemarle Street, when cars are coming rapidly down the hill from Connecticut Avenue heading east, the interval between looking one way and then the other can at times be too short for comfort and safety. The raised crosswalk should slow traffic and help to prevent this problem.
This intersection is further complicated by cars from the apartment building parking lot to the west of 32nd coming up the hill from the building’s underground garage onto 3nd Street and often turning South on 32nd.
Particularly in combination with the Stop sign at Albemarle and 30th which was installed a year or so ago, the raised crosswalk with built-in partial speed bump calms traffic in this area, and greatly increases the safety of this intersection, and at some point will keep someone from being injured, so it is really a boon.
We should probably monitor traffic in this area to see whether calming the traffic on this stretch of Albemarle has the negative byproduct of complicating traffic at the west part of the corner of Albemarle and Connecticut..
Thanks to everyone who made this raised crosswalk possible.
Max Hirshfeld says
This is a good beginning, but this intersection should be a 3-way stop. Now that the raised sidewalk has been installed, perhaps the sidewalks committee can work toward addressing this as well.
Green Eyeshades says
Thank you for this hyper-local coverage of DDOT’s slow but eventual response to years of pressure by ANC3F and its Streets and Sidewalks committee.
Congratulations to the Streets and Sidewalks committee! We now have the brand new, very wide striping on the new raised crosswalk at 32nd and Albemarle! The very wide, bright white stripes were painted on in just a few hours today.
Max Hirshfeld says
After further thought, the raised sidewalk at 32nd and Albemarle is misplaced and should have been installed further eastward on Albemarle. The placement at a corner where there should be a 3-way STOP sign configuration makes the right turn onto Albemarle from 32nd Street problematic and dangerous should cars be approaching from the east. These traffic-calming measures are much more logical in mid-block settings and should be installed in several spots along Albemarle and along Brandywine Streets. Combining the two efforts (speed bump AND crosswalk) without an accompanying full STOP are not enough to slow traffic. A much more important placement would be at the busy crosswalk near the Forest Hills Park tennis court.