Make Our Streets Safer for Everyone & Support a Better North Carolina Ave
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Learn More
What is DDOT proposing for the 1300 block of North Carolina Ave and why?
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Take Action
Sign the petition, email community leaders, and share your support!
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Avoid Misinformation
Some of the debate has been misleading, find out what’s really planned.
Support the neighbors on the 1300 block of North Carolina Ave!
Sign the WABA petition to close the gap!
How can I help make our streets safer?
1. Sign the WABA petition to support the project!
2. Email community and project leaders with your support!
Amber Gove - ANC Chair & 1300 block resident
Charles Allen - Ward 6 councilmember
Will Handsfield - DDOT representative & community resident
3. Tell others how important this is!
4. Email us with your support!
Send your messages, ideas, pictures, videos, or voice memos to neighborsforncave@gmail.com
5. Attend community meetings
Join your neighbors at the next TPS meeting on 9/20 or come to an ANC meeting: Check the calendar
Everyone deserves safer streets!
Drivers, Bicycles, and Pedestrians all benefit from well designed neighborhood streets
Vision Zero
Slowing traffic and providing safe spaces for pedestrians and bicycles will reduce injuries and deaths
Avoid the misinformation!
Get the truth on what DDOT is proposing and how it will actually affect your neighbors
Support the neighbors on the 1300 block of North Carolina Ave!
Sign the WABA petition to close the gap!
What are the goals?
DC has set the goal of making neighborhood streets safer and eliminating road fatalities with Vision Zero by creating spaces where all residents from 8 to 80, including drivers, pedestrians, and bicycles, can feel safe!
The C St NE transformation project will add dedicated bike trails and lanes, providing all road users their own dedicated spaces and slowing traffic to a safe speed. The 1300 block of North Carolina Ave was left out of this project, leaving a gap between C St NE and the larger network of bike lanes around Lincoln Park. DDOT is working to remedy this by slowing traffic on the street and closing the bike lane gap.
Why is this important?
Capitol Hill is a great neighborhood, and we want our streets to be safe for everyone! The 1300 block of North Carolina Ave is centrally located near Lincoln Park, the new RFK Fields complex, and multiple schools for kids of all ages. We want our neighbors from 8 to 80 to have safe spaces to walk or bike. It is critical that we slow down traffic and provide a fully connected network of sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes throughout the area! While one block may not seem to make a big difference, every street matters in making our city safer, and organizations such as AARP have advocated that providing spaces for all users makes everyone safer.
What is being done?
In January 2021, DDOT approached the community with several proposals. Since that time, updates have been presented at several neighborhood meetings, with the stated goal of selecting a design by the end of 2021 and implementing it in 2022. DDOT is proposing reconfiguring the traffic pattern on the block by restriping the road to add bike facilities in both directions and adding raised crosswalks, which will enhance both pedestrian and bicycle safety.
These proposals include various options with different priorities that provide space for bike facilities. Some focus on maintaining traffic flow and reducing parking, and others focus on supporting neighbors and converting the street to one-way traffic. All options proposed provide a safer space for drivers, pedestrians, and bicycles. DDOT is committed to an ongoing dialogue with the neighborhood to determine what priorities are most important.
Community leaders expect to discuss the plan and their recommendations to DDOT at the next ANC Transportation and Public Space committee meeting on September 20th, 2021.
Support the neighbors on the 1300 block of North Carolina Ave!
Sign the WABA petition to close the gap!
Avoid the Misinformation
Is DDOT trying to “seize our street”?
No!
DDOT has been in active conversation with the community on the C St NE project for years and in recent months has had multiple meetings with the neighbors of the 1300 block to solicit and listen to feedback. They have committed to ongoing discussion with the community about implementation.
Will DDOT divert traffic and remove parking?
No!
DDOT has proposed six possible designs and has worked with the community to develop more. DDOT has stated that they are committed to putting bike facilities in both directions. As a result, one proposal removes a parking lane to maintain two-way traffic, while other proposals convert the street to one-way for cars to maintain parking, including handicap spaces, for residents.
Are the residents united against this proposal?
No!
Some residents are concerned that safer streets for everyone will inconvenience them. By ensuring that pedestrians and bicycles are considered equal users of public spaces, this reduces the priority given to drivers. Traffic studies have shown that a one-way traffic pattern would add about 3 minutes to drivers’ trips, but some residents who are used to the road being focused on drivers are unhappy about this. Making the road one-way would eliminate dangerous turns for bicycles, continue bike facilities that would otherwise end abruptly, and slow traffic at crosswalks for pedestrians. In addition, the volume of traffic diverted would be very low. More on the traffic diversion study can be found in the 7/19/21 DDOT presentation.
Is DDOT ignoring resident concerns?
No!
DDOT has had several meetings with the community and solicited feedback, both in meetings and directly with neighborhood leaders and project developers. Several residents have put forward proposed alternatives in an effort to maintain parking and two-way traffic, which DDOT is reviewing. DDOT has stated that they are committed to adding dedicated bike facilities in both directions.
Won’t a one-way street encourage drivers to speed more?
No!
In all of DDOT’s proposals, the width of the vehicle lanes is narrowed to 10ft! Narrower lanes have been consistently shown to slow drivers. In the one-way proposals, the narrower lanes together with parking on both sides will give drivers a tighter feeling, encouraging them to drive more slowly. In addition, all proposals add raised crosswalks, including in the middle of the block at the intersection with A St NE, which will also encourage drivers to slow down. Together, these improvements will slow traffic, making the street safer for all drivers, pedestrians, and bicycles.
Are shared use arrows (“sharrows”) a good compromise?
No!
Several resident proposed two-way traffic, with a bike lane in one direction and shared use arrows in the traffic lane going the other direction. Unfortunately, this prioritizes drivers only and falls short of being equally good for drivers, pedestrians, and bicycles. Shared use arrows have been shown to have minimal effect on drivers who are not already inclined to safely share the road and do not provide a low-stress environment for bicycles.
Would an advisory bike lane, such as those on Kentucky & Tennessee Aves, work here?
Advisory bike lanes are a new type of bike facility being trialed by DDOT around Capitol Hill. They provide suggested spaces for bikes along both sides of the street and a narrower central lane shared by two-way traffic. They work best on low volume streets with an equal amount of traffic in both directions. The 1300 block of North Carolina carries more than 75% of its car traffic in one direction with a higher volume than either Tennessee or Kentucky Ave, making advisory bike lanes a poor fit for the street.