Grant Circle goes to one lane on Sunday, 5/21
/Image from DDOT's proposal, the white dots represent the location of concrete barriers, closing off the inner lane and restricting New Hampshire Ave south to one lane into the Circle. Click/touch to enlarge.
The DC Department of Transportation is planning to test the single-lane concept in Grant Circle starting Sunday, May 21st at 6pm until noon, Saturday, May 27th.
After numerous resident complaints about safety around and near the Circle, DDOT presented three different proposals to change how Grant Circle traffic patterns might work. The first is the one-lane approach. The concern with one-lane, according to DDOT, is that it may create new problems with drivers using other neighborhood streets to avoid the Circle entirely, as traffic could pile up.
The other two concepts keep a two-lane approach, but add new safety measures like thinning the width of the lanes, adding elevated crosswalks, bike lanes, and more.
DDOT's press release is below.
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The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will temporarily close one travel lane continuously in Grant Circle NW from 6 pm Sunday, May 21 through noon Saturday, May 27. During this time, DDOT will also temporarily close one northbound travel lane on New Hampshire Avenue NW between Upshur Street NW and Grant Circle.
The closure is needed for a traffic study designed to improve transportation safety for all Grant Circle users, and to slow speeding drivers. During the study, Grant Circle operations will be reduced to a single travel lane, and crosswalks into the Circle will be shorter.
DDOT will collect data and make field observations to measure the impacts to traffic operations. DDOT will also be conducting step out surveys to measure compliance with yielding to pedestrians in uncontrolled crosswalks.
The work on Grant Circle is part of a larger effort by DDOT to move toward Vision Zero, where the District will reach zero fatalities and serious injuries to travelers in our transportation system by 2024.
DDOT will use orange barrels to close the lanes, and warning signs will be installed to warn motorists of the lane closure on New Hampshire Avenue.
Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are advised to stay alert while traveling through these locations, and to be observant of DDOT's personnel.
