The Golden Triangle BID hired the consultants HNTB to conduct a streetscape study for Connecticut Avenue between Farragut and Dupont. That stretch has some of DC’s fanciest stores and extremely heavy foot traffic, and should therefore be a prime shopping and restaurant district. But the street itself leaves much to be desired, with relatively few trees and some very wide, not so pedestrian-friendly spaces.

The most noticeable change recommended is to install a tree-lined median in the center. The avenue currently has three lanes in each direction and a center lane; it would be better both aesthetically and for pedestrian safety to use that center lane for landscaping, trees, and a pedestrian refuge to stop while crossing. The median could also feature some artwork (as in the below picture, but the art would not necessarily involve multicolored cubes).

Concept sketch for Connecticut Avenue. Image courtesy of HNTB.

There is already a median just north of N Street, but as the HNTB report points out, that median is raised above eye level, creating more of a visual wall than a friendly green space, and inducing cars to drive faster rather than watching out for pedestrians. If possible, the report suggests lowering that median at some point in the future.

The study also gives examples of street furniture that could unify the avenue and make it more visually appealing. These include nicer vending carts, “newspaper corrals” to combine the free and pay newspapers that currently occupy clashing and often low-quality boxes on the street, bike racks, benches, grates and manhole covers, and more.

Potential street furniture possibilities. Left: one type of newspaper corral. Center and right: two

potential styles of vending carts. Images courtesy of HNTB.

The biggest question of the night: where will the money come from? This plan isn’t going to spring into being overnight. Golden Triangle BID is applying for some grants to build the median, which would be a noticeable first step. Other components, such as more trees, better sidewalk pavers, or the street furniture will come over time, perhaps sooner, perhaps later, perhaps never. But the median alone would be a great improvement.