Courtesy Matt Stiles/NoMa Traffic Disaster.

Courtesy Matt Stiles/NoMa Traffic Disaster.

A new blog called “NoMa Traffic Disaster” has taken up the task of documenting the traffic disaster that has swallowed NoMa since construction began earlier this year.

Matt Stiles, a data journalist at NPR, created the blog, which is not at all affiliated with his employer, last month. From Stiles:

The traffic situation in NoMa is a mess, and a lot of people who live and work in this neighborhood don’t feel like the city or the real estate developers are doing enough to direct traffic. When It takes 25 or more minutes to make a city block, that’s a problem.

Stiles adds that he uses public transportation or his bike to travel from Brookland to the NPR building, located at 1111 North Capitol Street, but is subjected to “honking, frustrated drivers throughout the day.”

His blog has already documented extreme congestion, a stuck tractor-trailer and cars attempting to travel in the wrong direction on the now one-way portion of M Street.

Construction on First Street NE by the D.C. Department of Transportation began in May of this year. As NoMa Bid wrote at the time, the nine-month project turned First Street NE into a one-lane road.

Construction hours in the area will be Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. During construction, only one southbound lane on First Street, NE will remain open to traffic and curbside parking will be halted along this corridor. However, access to adjacent businesses and residences in the area will be maintained. Traffic control signs will be in place to guide travelers in the corridor and direct traffic to alternative routes. Motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists are urged to stay alert and use caution when traveling by the work zone.

It seems that “traffic control signs” aren’t quite cutting it. NoMa Bid will hold a public safety meeting tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the ATF building. DCist will be there and will update this post with more info.

Update: We neglected to mention that First Street is not so great for pedestrians either.

Filed Under: ddot, NoMa, noma bid,