August 3, 2007
New Plan for Intersection of 16th and U Streets NW
Anyone who has tried to use one of the many crosswalks at the intersection of 16th and U Streets NW during rush hour knows that it can be a pretty dicey proposition. With New Hampshire Ave. running through it in opposite, one-way directions, and a number of confusing turns available to drivers, you really have to look four different ways at least twice before you can step out in to the road on the SW and NE corners.
Flickr user Eye Captain uploaded this proposal from DDOT's U Street planning meeting last week. Here's what he reports was said about the potential changes:
Note the change in the NE corner; they plan to eliminate the cut-through for west-bound traffic turning north on New Hampshire. This will make it safe for people in the crosswalk. They are considering doing the same for the SW corner. They also suggested making the SW entrance for NH Ave a bit further south, so cars must first cross the intersection, and then turn right.
Sounds like a good idea. Think it'll work?
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Now if they could only eliminate bikes from the intersection things would be safe. I saw a brazen rider refuse to stop on the red going west on U st at 8:15am this morning. He scooted behind the bus, slowing for the stop and the car in front of me came so close to hitting the red light runner that the bicyclist gave them the finger.
ahhh... I'm such a troll... but it happened.
They should just close off New Hampshire to traffic between 16th and 14th. The only people who use it are folks who live on that block, and they can just access the area via V Street.
Hey guest 1, bicycles are here to stay and DDOT is not going to prohibit them from any intersection. Just learn to deal with it, ok?
The New Hampshire stuff is just messed up, and that won't really change. But I love the left turn lanes on U street. We also need those on U and 14th, and U and 18th just needs to be completely redone somehow.
Wait a second, guest 3. If that cyclist ignored the rules of the road, he SHOULD be chastized. I appreciate that it's actually a great thing that people bike to work, etc., but they should have to follow the rules of the road as well. Above all else, that means stop running reds when cars are around!!!!
I find it appaling that the rider felt the need to flip the car the finger when it sounds like he was the one at fault.
You want to share the road? Share the rules!!!!
Aren't we about due for a cars-vs-bikes fustercluck? Been a couple weeks, hasn't it?
Alright, I'll start. People who aren't pedestrians are worse than Hitler. Have at it.
The part about NH Ave southbound was the most important of the issues. That is the major morning traffic route where 16th southbound drivers sense a "straight through the intersection holier-than-thou" momentum vs. pedestrians despite enormous signs that indicate they must yield.
boo marylanders.
I think it's great that they are eliminating the cut-through at the NE corner--way too many drivers have no idea what they are doing there, and more times than not I've seen a driver use the cut off to get to New Hampshire, while another driver makes a right on red from U onto 16th, and then bears right onto New Hampshire--all at the same time, creating a confusing and dangerous situation for pedestrians and drivers.
I don't know what would improve the SW corner for pedestrians, other than having drivers actually use their turn signals to indicate they are coming at you on New Hampshire (and speaking of, whatever happened to using your turn signal to indicate that you are going to, you know, turn?).
guest [3] you sound like a tool. give it a rest.
HAHA!!!! He/She does sound like a tool.
And maybe guest 1 has a good point. That's already a crazy intersection. Adding bikes to the situation only makes it more dangerous. Maybe making them cross U at 15th or 17th would be better for all parties involved.
Cue the "BAN ALL CARS" response...
Not a day goes by where, at best, a bicyclist tears through a stop sign or red light right in front of me, and at worst, the Lance almost hits me. I agree - "share the road, share the rules". Too often I find they want it both ways - they're a vehicle so they're entitled to a full lane, but they're not a car, man! They don't have to stop, they're just pedestrians on wheels!
re: turn signals-
you can't see a turn signal over your shoulder when you cross the whole of NH ave, unless walking backwards or with your head turned to the rear. The rate of speed there means one could sneak up on you or more common, change from a straightbound lane and surprise you if you don't quadruple check.
"Share the road, share the rules"
Is there a bumper sticker I can put on my car, and bike?
except on Sundays, when the double-parking on that westbound stretch of U street takes away 1.5 of the rightmost lanes (and thus the right turn lane), it looks like it would work. I'm glad to see the cut-through go away, though I can't envision moving the start of New Hampshire further away. Isn't there a Starbucks there? We can't lose a Starbucks! There will be like, only two left after that.
And on top of all this, they want to convert to diagonal parking on U?
oh but the diagonal parking is two blocks away from this intersection. it's like a whole different neighborhood! one is east dupont and one is u street/cardoza!
kidding. it is pretty ridiculous.
good move, tired of the people going west off of U onto 16th North that use that NH Ave cut through.
U st needs dedicated bus lanes and wider sidewalks
i think the "bulb out" treatment on the northeast quadrant of the intersection looks great. They should do the same fro the southwest quadrant. Phyisical barriers like that are the only way to get drivers to behave around pedestrians.
monkeyrotica sez:
Starting a flamewar with Hitler? What is that, Godwin's Paradox? (On search, I find that this phenomenon has been named Quirk's Exception. Heh.)
My sense is that the SW corner's turn onto NH from U Street hasn't been the issue that the NE corner's has been. On moving the entrance down, though, are they proposing to cut into the park that's on that corner?
Any intersection or street that allows our fine DC taxis on them is dangerous in my book.
You may be able to drive like a douche bag in Ethiopia, but last I checked we're in the U.S.
Oh, and I second the opinion about bikers being required to follow the same traffic laws that vehicles follow. That is unless you're one of the douche bags who rides your bike on the sidewalk, expecting people to get out of your way. If you think that it's OK for cyclists to run through red lights and stop signs, don't go cryin' to mama when you get flattened like the greasy pancake that you are.
one time a saw a bike go THROUGH a stop sign and I was liek omg soo mad!! you guyz wouldnt beleieve it it was craazy. true story.
Can anyone confirm that a blind pedestrian and his dog were hit by a bike courier around 16th and K? I've heard this story from multiple people and saw an injured blind man with injured dog at that intersection, but I can find no information online.
I feel your pain guest-23. I think you should note the intersection and you and guest-1 can see about getting bikes banned from those intersections. Guest-1 saw a cyclist run a red light this morning. It was very tramatic....
Guest 23: Did the person who ran the stop sign get nailed by a car and bleed to death? If not, maybe next time. We can only hope!
i like the revisions of the intersection. i like the idea of moving the new hampshire ave southern entrance from 16th street a little further south, basically forcing one to turn right onto 16th from u and then turn right again onto southbound new hampshire ave. seems safer although it may take longer. i hope there are other intersections on the list, especially, 16th and columbia and harvard and argonne place and mt pleasant street. i hear the city planners are thinking of making that intersection into a traffic circle. could be interesting...
Isn't this kind of intersection why DC has traffic circles?
Why doesn't DDOT just bite the bullet and put a circle in there. Perfect mix of traffic calming, bike stopping (I rarely see even the brazen messengers attempt to skip red lights or even ride the circle), and (to a lesser extent) pedestrian frendly, if designed correctly.
That said, the taxis will still make it as dangerous as Baghdad at night, so we have to ask ourselves "why bother"?
-- DC Madam
sure is a lot of animosity towards bikes on this post today, even though they (dare I say it) do have the moral high ground in any broader debate on transportation.
True, some bikes do run stop signs and red lights, but for every one bike who does, there are 100 taxis, SUVs, and commuters (driving alone, I might add) careening down the road making ever attempt to run over bikers and pedestrians alike. What's the hurry, you're just going to sit in traffic anyway. More bikes, less cars. nuff said.
"True, some bikes do run stop signs and red lights, but for every one bike who does, there are 100 taxis, SUVs, and commuters (driving alone, I might add) careening down the road making ever attempt to run over bikers and pedestrians alike."
I vote we blanket DC with speed and red light cameras. The fines (most going to out-of Districters, natch!) would more than pay for the infrastructure costs. Once we've tamed the two-ton death machines, then we can go after the bikers.
I see bikes on the sidewalk all the time. Riding against traffic. Sailing through red lights. Turning or weaving with no hand signaling (other than the occassional middle finger). Riding 2 and 3 abreast. Forget driving behind a bike going up a hill at 3 miles an hour. It's awful.
As for drivers, I think a casual observation from these past 10 years of living here tells me that only 8.63 percent of turns are preceeded with a flashing signal. They drive 60 mph or 15 mph. They speed up to prevent other drivers from merging into their lane. They scream and swear frequently. They come to sudden stops for no apparent reason, as if they're channeling an urgent memo from the Polaris constellation. They double-park and block traffic and refuse to yield to emergency vehicles.
Pedestrians who are tourists never walk at the crossing light. They drop shit in the middle of traffic and stop to pick it up and act shocked if you're shocked they're in your driving lane. They won't look up from their laminated maps to see that they're in the middle of the effing street. They are surrounded by 5 of their children who walk in a haze around them like confused electrons, meandering from one side of the road to the other.
Pedestrians who live in DC walk more slowly than my dead grandmother after her hip surgery, just to piss off the drivers. They walk diagonally, spending as much time on the asphalt as possible.
Here's a thought -- maybe the infrastructure in this town doesn't really work and we're all just responding to it?
This is about one intersection -- can we leave the bikes-cars slugfest for another time.
I like the ideas in the rendering. Its a start. The biggest problem on U St. for pedestrians around this area is narrow sidewalks. You can't even navigate a baby stroller on them. I would get rid of a lane of traffic, create a center turn lane, and widen the sidewalks. Tough decision to make, but it must be done to make this a better place for people.
Wow Everett! Nice to see you're an equal opportunity hater. Not just a bike hater like the others.
Isn't this thread supposed to be about improving the functional design of 16th and U street?
but for every one bike who does, there are 100 taxis, SUVs, and commuters (driving alone, I might add) careening down the road making ever attempt to run over bikers and pedestrians alike.
Really? 100 vehicles for every rule-breaking cyclist are actively attempting to run over bikers and pedestrians? Do they all just have really bad aim?
Thank you, anonymous Guest #34! I'm not a hater, I'm an observer. Big difference. I'm just saying we're all equal opportunity offenders out there, so the bike vs. car thing is really just a red herring.
Now I'm gonna go home and sleep with my wife!
Isn't this thread supposed to be about improving the functional design of 16th and U street?
DCist could post an article about doughnuts and it would turn into one or more of the following:
bikes vs cars; pedestrians vs bikes; yuppies vs rock-throwing/firework-lighting youth/double-parking churchgoers; monkey vs public transit, Hillman vs. smokers/the homeless/DC government; everyone vs the City Paper; or DC vs MD/VA.
And probably something about Starbucks.
-sqdc
SQDC--
Shh!!! You're not supposed to reveal that to everyone!
I HATE Starbucks! Overpriced and over-roasted beans!
Props to Everett for the Clue movie ref.
Only interesting thing in this whole damn comment thread.
funny you should mention donuts, because i just finished a study released the the Center for Irresponsible Statistics the proved conclusively that both donuts and mass transit contribute significantly to priapic embolisms as well ascancer of the butthole.
I haven't even read the whole comment thread, but I got far enough to be pretty infuriated.
I rely on my bike to get everywhere in this city. Having recently been HIT by a car (I was going straight through a green light, had the right of way, and was hit very hard by a woman turning left coming from the other direction) I find the posts making light of bikers being flattened really troubling. I know you're joking, but you'd be surprised how many people get seriously injured by cars.
Yes, bikes occasionally do things like run reds and stop signs. Usually that's because it's safer - if you're at a stop light on an uphill and can safely cut the red, you will, rather than having to muscle your way up the hill in heavy traffic going faster than you. Running the red gives you a good head start. Etc.
People in cars also don't follow road rules. And cars, for bikes, are these gigantic steel death machines.
Apparently this is a commonly hashed out argument, but because I'm typing with a broken hand that was a result of some lady who didn't check before turning left (and I was very lucky to have only broken my hand), I really needed to speak up. The trick to cohabitating on the road? Keep your head.
The real trick to cohabitating is to always yield to the vulnerable, and respect the powerful. But the press of the moment gets us every time...
The real intersection that needs a fix is U St., Florida and 18th street. Too much of a problem and much more in need of a solution.
speaking of that intersection, there's a lovely old house on the NE corner, between NH and U, that looks abandoned. When is something going to restore it to it's apparently former majesty?
I hear that house is slated to be a Starbucks...
oh, and bikes vs. cars is even more boring and pointless a topic than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Just sayin.