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Upton Street might get speed humps in answer to an 8th grader’s call for traffic calming

Upton Street at a quieter time, and the Holder siblings.

The Holder kids could teach us a thing or two about civic engagement. More than a year ago, the three siblings set out to solve the problem of speeding on Upton Street east of Connecticut Avenue.

That included:

  • Writing a letter to Council member Mary Cheh
  • Collecting neighbor signatures on a petition calling on DDOT to study the problem
  • Presenting that petition at an ANC 3F meeting, after which the commissioners passed a resolution calling for a DDOT study
  • And the oldest sibling, 8th grader Pilar Holder, wrote an opinion piece for Forest Hills Connection. “Our most critical concern is cars coming down our street at insanely fast speeds,” she wrote.

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    The result? DDOT did investigate, and it found that westbound travel speeds warrant traffic calming measures. It is recommending speed humps. DDOT’s Donise Jackson, a community engagement specialist, reported at the September 2018 ANC meeting that Upton Street could get two speed humps on the 2900 block. DDOT will need written agreement from the neighbors directly adjacent to the planned locations.

    In her op-ed, Pilar Holder wrote, “We need a change because we would not want anything bad to happen to anyone.” Thanks to the Holder kids’ efforts, it looks like that change is on its way.

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