Photo by Greg DuRoss.

The bicycle trap streetcar grates we told you about in May have been fixed. Reader Greg DuRoss has found another little transportation snafu: a multispace meter blocking an already-narrow sidewalk.

The southern side of U Street’s 1300 block is a busy one. In addition to the regular heavy foot traffic on U Street, this particular block leads up to the Metro station entrance. The crowded conditions become worse midblock by staircases that extend onto the sidewalk, further narrowing its width.

As part of its pay-by-license parking pilot program, DDOT installed a payment kiosk in the middle of this narrowed sidewalk. But whenever someone is using the kiosk, the sidewalk becomes all but impassable. Because of the crowded conditions, some pedestrians have taken to walking in the street.

Bulb-out planned for this block.

This won’t be a permanent problem. The U Street reconstruction plan, slated for FY 2011, includes a sidewalk extension bulb-out at this location. Also, this particular kiosk is scheduled to be removed in October 2010 at the completion of the parking pilot.

Still, it’s too bad the pilot kiosk’s location unnecessarily squeezes pedestrians on an already overcrowded sidewalk. In an email, DDOT representative Aaron Rhones stated that while “we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this meter has caused,” there is no plan for moving the kiosk to a less disruptive location on the block because “the spacing does meet ADA compliance.”

This misses the point. The issue at hand is not whether the siting meets ADA requirements; it’s whether the kiosk unnecessarily blocks the sidewalk. While it’s important that parking payment kiosks are easy to find for motorists looking to pay the meter, there’s no reason why this piece of sidewalk furniture should sit like an oversize bookshelf in the middle of the pedestrian right-of-way.

This kiosk won’t be around for long, but some parking solution will ultimately replace the pilot on U Street. Hopefully DDOT can better keep sidewalk capacity in mind when placing any future kiosks.