Comments on U Street's worst pedestrian hazards will soon disappear - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by Boston

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:39:06 EDT

The designers did a great job in capturing the historic significance of U Street and at the same time making major pedestrian upgrades. Business shall flourish when this is completed!

Comment by kwest

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:08:13 EDT

@Redtopp - to accommodate who, really? Me and my family, that's who. And the thousands of other people who live in this neighborhood. Where do you live?

I live at 16th and U. The sidewalks along U are narrow and uneven, making negotiating them even with our small troller difficult. Not to mention the many elderly folks that still live in the neighborhood who have to traverse them with walkers and wheel chairs. The street parking they are getting rid of (only a few spaces from the drawings, by the way) are all metered parking, so residents don't use them anyway. A handful of missing spaces won't effect businesses one bit, nor disrupt residential parking any more than it already is.

Streetcars will reduce traffic and parking problems (suburbanites think riding streetcars is cool!), including the numbers of buses, which is good for ground level air pollution, which is good for my son (and you and me, too).

Your argument against bicycles is simply laughable.

You might be a long time DC resident, but opinions like yours are why U Street has been in this deplorable conditions for such a long time.

Comment by Redtopp

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:48:07 EDT

How long is this going to take? What impact will it have on the business owners; they never saw the need to widen the streets in Georgetown because they didn't want to disturb all the folks over there or create any problems for those shoe/clothing/specialty stores and eateries. there already is pracatically no parking space available around that area after a certain time at night; cops just sit and wait to give out tickets-- it's gonna be one big mess...all to accommodate who really??? the answer to that question is blatant! As for the streetcars...we need them why? that little idiotic idea of a streetcar over on Benning Road is the joke of the residents here and really serves no purpose; as for making room for bicycles... all they do is clog up traffic; run red lights; cut in front of cars, impede traffic..Money could be spent far better in DC than this...just my opinion. Long time DC resident.

Comment by David

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:18:43 EDT

Personally I think the "decorative design elements" on H Street are pretty cheezy and contrived. Let's move ahead with the projet and worry about street art later.

It would be great to see streetcar tracks and bus priority as part of this project. Unfortunately, this project has already been delayed several years and streetcar tracks would delay it even more.

Comment by Ward 1 Guy

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 01:39:24 EDT

Removing parking on U St. will drive businesses bonkers and will force visitors to use the residential areas for parking, so residents will also join in the fight against this.

Perhaps this proposal should come with some better performance parking on side streets and relief for existing residents who do not have off-street parking. Families and people with disabilities need to park near home even if they are occasional car users. The area needs better signage to pay lots for use by visitors who insist on driving. Right now U St. on a weekend night has huge numbers of vehicles just circling looking for parking.

Comment by Anon

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:38:11 EDT

@7r3y3r - I cant even picture that turn in my head. Im not sure I've ever made it.

Comment by MLD

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:04:50 EDT

@7r3y3r

I agree, trying to cross U Street at the U-Florida split is unnerving. The walk signal is displayed but people hang a right there to continue on U and don't watch for pedestrians. granted, the fact that people can cross there at that time doesn't make a lot of sense from a driver perspective, since U Street is the major street after that point and I think MOST cars are going towards U rather than continuing on Florida.

Comment by 7r3y3r

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:24:17 EDT

@Anon - I meant drivers on Florida turning right on to U Street (heading northeast, then east), not Florida to 18th (southwest, then west & north). They have a green light to proceed straight on Florida. For turns on to U St, they are making a right hand turn in which case they should yield to pedestrians in the cross walk who have the walk signal. They often don't. I think a blinking yellow right arrow would help help clarify this for drivers.

Comment by Anon

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:14:50 EDT

@7r3y3r - Coming from Florida and turning right onto 18th Street, drivers do have the right of way when their light is green. It is a light specifically for that dog leg onto 18th and when it is green, the walk sign is red.

Comment by greent

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:03:47 EDT

"Perhaps this will slow down the traffic screaming off of 16th southbound onto NH in the morning."

Hear hear! This is a frogger intersection every morning. Coming down the hill, the cars maintain their (over the limit) speed, and do not pause at all for the crosswalk, taking the right turn as if they were going straight.

Will be interesting to see what happens with the buses. I cannot bellieve they are leaving the stairs on U. Giving public land to a building to use for private stairs, then taking more public land to make up for this "loss" seems rather stupid to me.

Comment by Brianne

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:23:50 EDT

Andrew: I asked about the street car rails last year when they held a meeting on this and they explained to me that the new street car will not be running the same route as the old street car. I believe it's meant to connect to U Street, but not run all the way down U Street.

Comment by 7r3y3r

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:53:58 EDT

Anyone know why 17th St widens at the intersection of U Street? http://www.ustreetnwupgrade.com/project-overview/u-street-at-17th-street/

And personally, I hate the redesign of 18th/U/Florida. http://www.ustreetnwupgrade.com/project-overview/u-street-at-florida-avenue/. Leaving the cut ins at the NW corner of U & 18th and NW corner of U & Florida are not pedestrian friendly. I suppose they might have kept the cut in at U & 18th for the buses, though. Anyway, I still would have preferred this design: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/898/crossable-intersections-in-adams-morgan/.

And I hope the signals for the drivers turning right onto U Street from Florida indicate that you're turning right and that pedestrians have the right of way. I live at that intersection and fear crossing the street because drivers take a right as if they were going straight (read: driving fast and hard). I've almost been hit so many times that I now cross the street while staring at the oncoming cars instead of in front of me. It'd be nice if there was a yield arrow or something.

Comment by David R.

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:34:36 EDT

@danmac - Yes, we do need permeable pavement, and to take opportunities to build design elements like rain gardens into any landscaping (there are some great examples on 1st St NE in NoMA). It'll mean a long-term cost savings.

Comment by KA

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:32:18 EDT

I hope DDOT is working with DC Water to incorporate green infrastructure components to the project to not only manage stormwater, but to help make U street more green.

Comment by Anon

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:03:45 EDT

Damned atucorrect... Retime the lights on U

Comment by danmac

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:51:32 EDT

Why isn't the City using these projects to do low impact development to reduce the need for billion dollar tunnels to reduce rainwater overflow into the Anacostia and Potomac rivers? All street projects should be using permeable surfaces for roads and sidewalks.

Comment by Anon

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 07:17:22 EDT

While they are at it, why don't they regime the lights from Georgia ave to 16th street. They are timed in both ways so that cars hit nearly every light. When one turns green, the next turns red.

I'm sure some of you think these anti car measures are the right thing to do to discourage car use. But that's just silly.

Comment by Froggie

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 06:42:42 EDT

Richard (but no one else) touched on this, but will DDOT add bike parking with this, since they're switching to multi-space meters? Alexandria recently switched to multi-space meters in Old Town, and one of the immediate results was a newfound shortage of bike parking.

Comment by tour guide

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:41:06 EDT

Remove parking. Create both east and west bound bike lines. Create bus only lanes. Expand bike parking. Add bus shelters. Goodness, give priority to efficient forms of transport.

Comment by Tom Coumaris

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:56:40 EDT

They need to block or make one-way-in that blind alley entrance that projects cars onto unseen pedestrians next to Goodwood in the 1500 block south side. That alley complex has an entrance on T.

The DC AG could do a big favor in it's suit against the owner of the gas station at 15th & U for monopolies, if they closed it for a mixed-use mid-rise. That gas station has four curb cuts.

Four feet isn't much. I still say narrow U and give it's full sidewalks back.

Comment by tt

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:14:51 EDT

make it necessary for drivers to creep forward into the crosswalk to see around these pedestrians

I didn't know the obesity problem had gotten this bad.

Comment by Ward 1 Guy

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:08:37 EDT

+1 to bus accommodations. Can the U St. bulbouts help at all?

On the subject of wheelchair accommodations maybe they can install padding so when Metro Transit officers throw patrons head first into the pavement they don't need so many stitches.

Seriously, there are a lot of wheelchair users in this neighborhood and I want to cry every time I seem them trying to navigate this neighborhood. I hope the sidewalk widening will help.

Comment by CJ

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:50:49 EDT

Sorry, the stroll across U, not down 14th

Comment by CJ

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:49:56 EDT

I'm really looking forward to this rebuild. We're at 16th and T now, and the evening stroll down 14th is pretty full contact. I'm worried about the traffic bottleneck at 18th and florida after they take a lane from U street, but I'm reserving judgment.

We checked with Estrada's office re the bike path, and it's slated to go back in, it's just not shown here on these renderings. We were told that the innovative bike crossing and boxes at 16th and NH that we have now were tried out in anticipation of this rebuild.

Comment by David C

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:09:15 EDT

And aggregate gets slippery when wet.

Comment by Eric

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:05:49 EDT

I *HATE* exposed aggregate concrete. It makes many things that are otherwise glorious look cheap. Case in point: Meridian Hill Park. I'll take the blue-gray consistent concrete sidewalk over exposed aggregate any day, if only to save money for brick or stone later on.

Comment by Gavin

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:46:27 EDT

These changes sound great. I hope they do a better job accommodating pedestrians during construction than they're doing on the 18th Street rebuild, which feels a bit like playing Frogger.

Comment by Lance

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:44:43 EDT

@Andrew If the Florida Ave streetcar line gets built, this will happen. I'm shocked that the project isn't giving this any consideration.

I'm not. Our streetcar project has been hijacked by the developers. They're already almost finished developing U Street, why would they need a District-taxpayer-subsidized Streetcar project there to help them get people to buy their stuff?

If we were using the streetcar to help ease congestion ---- as they have done in Europe and elsewhere --- then yes, we'd be finding a way to get the tracks built in there now. But as I've been warning now for maybe a year, the problem is that these parts of the streetcar system are so way off in the planning horizon that few of us will be around to enjoy them (if they actually come to be), and hence why you don't see any real planning occuring for them.

Comment by Lance

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:38:20 EDT

This project is long overdue. The only thing about it I'd have to question is the 16th / New Hampshire ingtersection. As others have pointed out, it doesn't seem to take into account the bike paths. Also, my experience with the bulb-outs on Swann Street NW have left me less than enthusiatic with them. Yes, they provide a smaller distance for pedestrians to cross (a good thing) but they also make it necessary for drivers to creep forward into the crosswalk to see around these pedestrians so that the driver can proceed. This is not a good thing as it blurs the defined spaces between pedestrians and drivers. My experience is with an intersection with relatively fewer peds and relatively fewer vehicles than 16th and U ... it also uses stop signs vs. traffic lights. So, it may be different.

Comment by Jasper

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:31:44 EDT

Wohoo. Steps in the right direction. It is hard walking there.

Comment by MDE

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:31:09 EDT

As U street is a corridor for one of Metro's most highly used bus lines, I'm surprised/saddened to see that there are no bus priority treatments in the plan. How will having only one lane eastbound on the 1700 block impact the 90 buses? Are they talking about peak period parking restrictions to help those buses along?

Comment by MLD

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:53:22 EDT

Streetcars on U Street are so far away that the road surface will need to be redone then anyway.

H Street was done so that they didn't have to do another street project a year after completing the street rebuild. Streetcars on U are probably a decade away.

Comment by andrew

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:47:24 EDT

I'd hate for stuff to be installed just to be torn up again a few months or years later.

If the Florida Ave streetcar line gets built, this will happen. I'm shocked that the project isn't giving this any consideration.

Comment by OctaviusIII

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:37:41 EDT

@andrew: I believe the 14th & U intersection will be addressed in the 14th Street Great Streets project. However, given that this project is happening concurrently with two others that intersect it, I'm surprised that there is little coordination.

U is going to get the following, as far as I know: treatment at 14th & U, treatment at 18th & U, and streetcars. I'd hate for stuff to be installed just to be torn up again a few months or years later.

Comment by David

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:17:33 EDT

I am also worried about the sidewalks bordering 14th and U Street. Some of the tree boxes, for example right at the surrounding bus stops on the North side of U Street and the East of 14th, are not only empty mud pits, but they serve to narrow the walkway and create a hazard for people exiting busses (into said mud pits). I hope that DDOT goes to the drawing board with some of the offending tree boxes, paving over and moving them where necessary.

Comment by andrew

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:11:06 EDT

(And, seriously. Can we raise money or something to add decorative features to this project? The 14th & U intersection is in dire need of some sort of special treatment or landmark. It should be one of the most important street crossings in the city, and instead it's pretty dismal and depressing.)

Comment by andrew

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:08:53 EDT

Why aren't they starting from the west end of the street? The conditions down there are far worse than the east end.

Also, as a future streetcar corridor, let me add my outrage that the tracks are not being installed as part of this project (nor on 18th St in Adams Morgan).

If we're actually going to build the streetcar, this is a missed opportunity, and source of unnecessary waste. Let's try to plan for the future for once.

Comment by RichardatCourthouse

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:03:58 EDT

If they're putting in multi-space meters, they should make sure some alternative provisions are made for bike parking.

Comment by charlie

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:03:14 EDT

I'd just ban parking during peak hours, or convert it all to valet.

Comment by MLD

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:02:33 EDT

Then again, the design for the intersection at 15th doesn't have the cycletrack on there, so maybe they just failed to include any bike lanes that exist.

Comment by MLD

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:58:33 EDT

The absence of the bike lane in the intersection diagram also worries me. I do like the reconfiguration of NH south of the intersection; it looks like the turn will be more restricted. Perhaps this will slow down the traffic screaming off of 16th southbound onto NH in the morning.

Comment by OctaviusIII

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:55:46 EDT

The New Hampshire-16th-U intersection diagram does not include the bike lane. That's a bit worrisome, as eliminating some of the space at that New Hampshire stretch would make northbound biking a bit more harrowing than it already is.