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A new report from the District Department of Transportation studies the locations and frequency of crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians. The report, which covers a period stretching from 2010 until March 2012, finds in particular that in some locations, the frequency of crashes has increased since the installation of bike facilities.
The report also documents which intersections around the city experience the greatest number of pedestrian and bike incidents. Intersections that recorded at least 12 crashes, four injury-inducing incidents, or five injuries in a year were deemed hazardous; and while no location saw 12 crashes, plenty qualified along the other metrics.
The intersection of Martin Luther King Junior Avenue and Howard Road SE led among pedestrian crashes, with six injury-inducing crashes and eight injuries recorded in one year. For bikes, 14th and U Streets NW was the most treacherous, with seven injury-related crashes and seven total injuries in one year.
Additionally, a report compiled by the planning firm Kittelson & Associates, Inc. found that bike crash trends have fluctuated since the installation of cycle tracks along Pennsylvania Avenue and 15th Street, and not always for the better. Along Pennsylvania, Kittleson found that there were 16 bicycle crashes in the first 14 months after the creation of the cycle track as opposed to nine crashes in the four preceding years. But on 15th Street, the trend was reversed, with 13 crashes in the 14 months after the construction of the two-way bike lanes as opposed to the 20 crashes in the four years beforehand.
Meanwhile, the intersection of 16th Street, U Street and New Hampshire Avenue has seen more bike crashes since the introduction of bike lanes and signal lights for cyclists. However, Kittleson reported in all three cases that the sample sizes were too small to determine if the increased or decreased frequency of crashes following the introduction of cycling infrastructure are definitive trends.
