Survey: Does the Connecticut Ave. crossing at Chesapeake need a pedestrian signal?

Watch out for more HAWKs. DDOT recommends installing two more of these pedestrian-activated signals on Connecticut Avenue between those in Cleveland Park and Chevy Chase, DC. And after a community meeting last week announcing the recommendations, DDOT Pedestrian Coordinator George Branyan said a third HAWK signal could be justified.

Branyan’s presentation covered the ten unsignalized crossings between Appleton and Legation. DDOT’s plan includes scrubbing some crosswalks and moving bus stops. (Read more about DDOT’s reasoning here.) It’s important to note that even without the markings, these would still be legal pedestrian crossings. And at Ellicott and Legation Streets, DDOT would install HAWK signals.

Branyan said one of the takeaways from the meeting is that the Chesapeake intersection could a candidate for a HAWK signal and deserves another look. The distance from Brandywine to Davenport is nearly 1,000 feet, the largest gap between signals in the study area.

People cross at Chesapeake for the Forest Hills playground and bus stops, but DDOT’s pedestrian counts did not approach levels seen at Ellicott Street, which is getting a HAWK signal. However, the counts were done just before the playground closed for renovation last summer, which may have skewed the numbers. Branyan is going to try for another pedestrian count at that intersection in June.

What a pedestrian count can’t tell DDOT is how much pedestrians would use the intersection if up to six lanes of traffic could be stopped when someone needs to cross. That’s where this survey comes in. Please take a moment to fill it out and we’ll share the results with DDOT.