Park View, D.C.

On December 21st, the District Department of Transportation notified Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners across Washington that they plan to establish No-Turn-on-Red restrictions at 101 signalized intersections across the city. These intersections were identified based on factors and criteria identified in the federally mandated Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the DC Municipal Regulations, which identify factors including an intersection’s complexity, level of pedestrian activity, potential for significant conflicts, and crash history, to name a few.

Intersection of New Hampshire Avenue, Georgia Avenue, and Rock Creek Church Road, NW

In reviewing the list of intersection where DDOT intends to make this change, the areas in and closest to Park View include the following signaled intersections:

• Georgia Ave., New Hampshire Ave., & Rock Creek Church Rd.
• Georgia Ave. & Otis Place
• Georgia Ave. & Randloph St.
• 14th St. & Columbia Rd.
• 13th St. & Kenyon St.
• 14th St. & Kenyon St.

Drivers will want to pay attention to all impacted intersections, though, as intersections further away from the area also will have an impact. I’ve mapped out the impacted intersections based on the DDOT list as many may find the information in map form more useful.

Overall, I like the directly DDOT is going with this as it has been my observation that many who turn right on red are more focused on seeing if the coast is clear of oncoming traffic and not always paying attention to pedestrians and others who are in crosswalks they are turning onto.

That said, I hope DDOT will use this opportunity to evaluate if a better city-wide policy is needed. I’m not entirely convinced that drivers will be able to remember which intersections will allow and which will deny them the opportunity to turn right-on-red. I’m equally doubtful that there is a solid plan for enforcement. For example, the intersection of Georgia Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, and Rock Creek Church Road already does not allow left-turns at any time and signs are clearly posted — yet I have seen drivers do this with no consequences beyond drivers behind them using their horns and expressing anger as they pass by.

Intersection of Georgia Avenue and Otis Place, NW

This entry was posted on December 31, 2018 at 11:06 am and is filed under DDOT, Streets and Trees, traffic, Transportation. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: DDOT, pedestrian safety, traffic, transportation