16 Sep 2010

Capitol Hill Crossings Get Schooled in Reform, Too

image uploaded by wine me up on Flickr

After reading last week’s column on Things We Take For Granted on Walking to School, some people spoke out on their concern for pedestrian safety between stopping and smelling the roses.  With more and more small children, many of whom cannot be seen readily from behind the hoods of autos and many of whom are impulsive, despite the best efforts of caregivers, walking to school during busy commuting times, traffic flow patterns are an important lifestyle and safety issue here on the Hill.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons that DDOT has made the determination to increase the pedestrian crossing times at the treacherous 11th and Pennsylvania Avenue SE intersection to help kids cross the street in the morning.  New timing will be implemented by the end of the month, says DDOT spokesman John Lisle.

DDOT engineers  had been doing an assessment at 11th and Pennsylvania Avenue SE after the complaints made last week. But some people have also suggested Pennsylvania Avenue, where the morning walk signal is so short the white  image of the stick figure walking is more like a disco strobe light, be treated like two streets, with the large median strip in the middle designed for that purpose, or, as a “pedestrian refuge,” as one person put it.

Of course, as has been pointed out for roads like Constitution Avenue NE, altering traffic lights at one intersection can have unintended consequences  blocks away, and all changes do create a “ripple effect,” one person close to the issue noted. Cars that are trying to catch green lights may speed up too fast or a series of green lights may increase traffic speed as cars breeze through without expectation of interruptions. Therefore, DDOT likes to go in with a plan and a lot of research and input. Changes, like the crosswalks on 10th and 12th Streets along Independence Avenue SE — which I and other neighbors had been lobbying for since 2002 — were finally installed this spring, eight years later. On the week I moved off Independence, ironically, but a month after another car had turned over in the middle of the intersection.

Helping with this tangle of intersection safety problems in Ward 6, is a database Councilman Tommy Wells has recently set up. Wells recently convened a Ward 6 Pedestrian Advisory Working Group to identify pedestrian safety issues throughout the ward.

“One of the projects we’re working on is developing an inventory of specific pedestrian issues. Among the issues being catalogued are crosswalks that need striping for visibility; recommendations for conversion to all-stop intersections; intersections with insufficient crossing time; sidewalk hazards; signage needs; and areas in need of lighting improvements,” said Anne Phelps, Wells’ policy advisor (and fellow Maury parent where she has done a lot of work on traffic safety issues).

” Our goal is to provide a comprehensive catalogue of requests to DDOT, one that the Councilmember can regularly followup on with DDOT,” she said.

So, if you want to detail issues with any and all intersections that are tricky, dangerous, seemingly thoughtless, and seem otherwise ill-suited to the current and changing needs of Hill residents, Anne says you can email her here  aphelps@dccouncil.us and she’ll add the details to the database.

Cross safely out there and get to the other side!

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5 responses to “Capitol Hill Crossings Get Schooled in Reform, Too”

  1. Jill says:

    Holy cow- well done Liz!!! I will make sure to share this post with other Watkins and Tyler families!

  2. jenny says:

    I love the stop sign at 12th and Independence! It has literally changed my life, as we can actually walk to Lincoln Park from Watkins! Amazing!
    Thanks for fighting for this change. Gives me hope that more can be done to make the neighborhood safer for pedestrians.

  3. goldfish says:

    Liz — great article. Crossing PA Ave at 11th with my impetuous little ones has often been heart-stopping experience. But even without them, I have never been able to get all the way across PA Ave in one light cycle; it is too fast. (In case your wondering, I am quite agile).

  4. S says:

    I feel like the stop signs at 10th & Constitution and 12th & Constitution NE have changed my life-used to avoid crossing those streets whether walking or driving!

  5. Heather Schoell says:

    Nicely done, Liz! Remeber how bad it was when Const was one-way during rush hour? Small steps, one at a time. Next maybe a toll on MD drivers, to be divided among Cap Hill schools? Can you make that happen? : )

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