When Paint Isn’t Enough
I took it as a great sign for Gabe Klein’s relatively new tenure as head of DC’s Department of Transportation when I saw that the street was being repainted at the weird intersection of 5th Street, I Street, and Massachusetts Avenue near where I live. Basically the idea was to give a bit of the street back to pedestrians in this growing, walkable urban neighborhood thus siding with the interests of most DC commuters and considerations of public health and environmental sustainability:
Unfortunately, as our intrepid neighborhood blogger points out, the main response of motorists to the change has been to keep driving across the new striped road surface even though I’m pretty sure every adult Americans understands that those stripes mean “don’t drive here.”
Fortunately, there is a short-term solution to this problem. So-called “quick curbs” like the one recently installed to improve pedestrian safety at the “death star” intersection at 15th Street, Florida Avenue, and W Street. Quick curbing around our intersection could take DDOT’s reasonable plan and give it some efficacy.
16 Responses to “When Paint Isn’t Enough”
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July 20th, 2009 at 8:37 am
If I understand the photos correctly, what’s being done here is similar to what’s been done at Broadway and 24th in Manhattan.
For maximum efficiency, I would suggest the DC DOT follow New York’s lead fully and install large concrete planters to actually render the painted-off areas inaccessible to cars.
July 20th, 2009 at 8:59 am
How about sticking a few large rocks in the striped area? (I’m actually serious – this seems like the kind of self-help that would encourage/signal to/force cars not to drive across the zone, without requiring permanent mods to the roadway. Also, it’s more constructive than some of the other things that irate pedestrians could do with those rocks.)
July 20th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Some of those “severe tire damage” thingys would be fairly affordable as well.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:13 am
“I’m pretty sure every adult Americans understands that those stripes mean ‘don’t drive here.’”
Then I must be Belgian. Because I clicked the link and saw the pictures, and I honestly would have no idea at all what those stripes mean. They look an awful lot like the stripes in the crosswalk. But you can certainly drive in the crosswalk. At least some times, stripes mean that pedestrians have the right of way. But if there are no pedestrians, drivers can proceed.
I agree that the larger plan here might make sense. But I don’t think you have to be an idiot to be confused at that intersection.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:43 am
How about a good old fashioned traffic light? Or maybe a ‘one way’ sign. The problem at this intersection is that there is a strange hodgepodge of stop signs and blinking yellow traffic lights. If you drive down to about 11th or 12th and Mass. they do a combination of one way with traffic lights.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:51 am
For maximum efficiency, I would suggest the DC DOT follow New York’s lead fully and install large concrete planters to actually render the painted-off areas inaccessible to cars.
Oh, there’s no shortage of them in DC; unfortunately, the Federal Government has monopolized them to surround all of their buildings and impede pedestrians on sidewalks. DDOT will have to settle for quick curbs. (I hear they’ve got some on order to take care of a problem intersection on NH(?) Ave.)
July 20th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Google Maps is awesome, but how often does it update its satellite images? Because I’m looking at that intersection, but the bits shown as solid white in the picture in the original post and in the link look like normal pavement on Google Maps.
OK, I think I’ve figured it out. Google Maps hasn’t been updated since before the repainting. That sucks. I see what you’re complaining about with the intersection, too. The southern triangle looks pretty good, it already looks big enough for pedestrians to comfortably stand in, but the smaller northern one is scary. I almost can’t believe that cars were ever allowed to turn left from Massachusetts onto I without going onto 5th first.
Waiiit a minute, I St. gets interrupted. In your picture there, both of the east-to-west streets are I St. That’s fucked up. Now that I zoom out the map a bit more, there’s another break like that less than four blocks further in both directions.
No wonder I had so much trouble when I tried to drive in DC. I drove to (near) Philadelphia and back for a wedding this weekend, and when I got home I was so pumped just because for the first time, I made it through DC without any wrong turns at all.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:57 am
chappy,
Altering the road layout with bump outs does a better job of promoting pedestrian safety than upgrading signalization, while simultaneously having less of in impact on the capacity of the intersection to handle traffic volume, and also providing opportunities to make it more comfortable and appealing to pedestrians by installing street furniture and, most importantly, street trees.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:35 am
While I support making things pedestrian-friendly, that change really doesn’t do that as much as make it car-unfriendly and confusing. If you expect all left-hand turns to be made at the intersection of 5th and Mass, then put in a center turn lane there (which will probably offset the pedestrian gains) and proper signage. Unless you have a physical barrier around those painted areas this is an accident waiting to happen.
July 20th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
@ Joe from Lowell,
Have you ever been in this intersection. There are no trees to speak of. Now, maybe ‘bump-outs’ are cheaper than traffic lights, so I could buy that.
July 20th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
That’s what I’m talking about – you build the bump-outs, and you can add street trees into the now-larger sidewalk.
July 20th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
joe from Lowell, just had a weird moment where I realized that a)I’m posting in threads both here and Balloon Juice with you, b) you’re the “joe” from H&R who “canceled his subscription” about the same time I did for the same reasons, and c) you probably live in my neighborhood.
I’m hoping this isn’t tied to my recent insomnia.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
We have another resident of the Merrimack Valley’s finest burgh?
I live by the new water tank in the Highlands. You?
July 20th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
ah, I am waaaaay off- thought you lived or worked in DC not too far this intersection, there was something in one of the BJ threads that made me think you were a DC resident.
July 20th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I went to school there in the 90s.
July 20th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Is it bad that MY’s sanctimonious anti-auto postings have driven me to the point where I chuckle nastily after reading this?