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Props to DDOT
Intersection 18th, U and Florida Ave, NW
Last week a reader sent in video of cars and buses blowing through red lights at the new intersection of 18th, U and Florida Ave, NW. DDOT informs me that there has been an increase in MPD enforcement and the OP confirms that “they have indeed been ticketing people today and yesterday”.
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this is great! welcome back! 
Hope you get her back soon
Stacys
9:08pm
Unfortunately, many of the older residents would prefer empty storefronts over anything...
I had a Yorkie and it pains me to recall thoughts of when my see you next Tuesday gf left...
Paco1963
5:38pm
I hope your prayers are answered.
how about a red light camera and a sign that say no right on reds much like they have in lincoln park..
I was about to suggest additional signage — I hadn’t thought about a red light camera, but that also sounds like a good idea.
They weren’t there this morning and yes everybody was turning on a red from Vernon into 18th. Don’t really mind, just very annoying to be given the finger when you have a green crosswalk and they are not even trying to look at the light because they are on their cellphone.
But they won’t be changing the timing of lights to ensure proper traffic flow of course… I obey the law to the fullest, but some lights in DC are just plain annoying. Can’t speak on this area though, I don’t really drive through “SOMO”.
It would be nice if DC would be willing to adjust light timing to allow for proper traffic flow…..
Amen. That is one of the worst intersections in DC. Only about 3-4 cars ever make it through the light.
Another issue at this intersection is that the left lane of U St. at Florida, heading east, has become a marked left turn only lane. But people continue to go straight through the intersection from the left lane. If it hasn’t caused a crash yet, it will. Hope they’re looking out for that one, too.
Perhaps they could also deal with the mess at Georgia Ave/Kansas Ave/Upshur St.
+1. The change with the timing of the lights has led to backups and whole light cycles going by without people being able to move because of backed-up cars from another street in the way.
Agreed. It worked pretty well before the Great Streets construction. Once that finished, they never could get the timing back the way it was. It’s still pretty messed up now.
Agreed! The timing of the lights suck for pedestrians too. You are pretty much forced to walk against the light or have to stand through two long cycles to cross from Kansas to the other side of Georgia. It is plenty of time for cars to make it through (mostly) with one light cycle but peds are out of luck. Also, the light at Upshur and 9th is just too long to make pedestrians stand and wait while zero cars are going through the intersection.
They need to make it so the lights in the little triangle sections are timed with same as the major intersection lights.
yes that intersection is a disaster if you have to cross Georgia
RANT: Another bad alignment up there is at 14th, Arkansas and Taylor. Bad delays inbound each morning. The eastbound Arkansas traffic has a left turn green arrow to go N on 14th, but the westbound side has no advance green arrow to go S on 14th. This causes terrible delays in the morning as cars wait to go L for south on 14th after the oncoming traffic has clogged the intersection. It would be so easy to add a left turn land on westbound Arkansas along with an advnace green that corresponds with that of the eastbound side…
RAVE: good to know that (other) city agency workers read these posts! Way to go DDOT!
Glad to hear that there was a response. Good work everyone!
Next to cab drivers, Metrobus drivers are some of the worst offenders out there when it comes to dangerous, illegal maneuvers in traffic. I can’t count the number of times I’ve witnessed them running stop lights and/or narrowly missing pedestrians. But has anyone ever seen a Metrobus pulled over for a traffic violation? I haven’t.
I agree with this statement. However, I always feel kind of bad for metrobus drivers, not only because of the ridiculous people they have to deal with sometimes ON the bus, but because of the horrible, rude and selfish drivers they have to deal with OUTSIDE the bus. Basically, if a bus driver isn’t aggressive, they could be stuck at a bus stop forever waiting for cars to zoom past them. Nobody wants to let a bus in front of them when they are driving, I see it all the time. And when/if I do stop to allow a bus to pull in front of me, I get people yelling, honking, giving me the finger, etc. It’s pretty much chaos out there.
Also, I hardly ever see ANYONE getting pulled over for a traffic violation. I thought they did everything by camera now.
Good for them. I hope they next address the dangerous situation they’ve created on 14th St NW. They have allowed construction to close the heavily-used southbound bike lane in 4 separate places within the space of a mile. This forces bikes to merge into car traffic constantly, which is one of the most dangerous parts of bicycling. Someone got hit by a truck this morning at one of the merges.
Either close the lane entirely, or revoke the public space permits and move the construction staging and dumpsters to the other streets.
Agreed. It’s awful down there and totally unsafe for everyone – bicyclists, drivers and pedestrians. The construction sites have utterly taken over nearly the entirety of the bike lane between U St and Rhode Island.
Does anyone know who to contact to register a complaint? This surely can’t be legal.
What about 12th or 13th… don’t know where those are?
That’s not the point. There are no warning signs that the lanes up ahead are completely closed to bicyclists. Baracades and large trucks suddenly appear in the middle of rush hour without warning. This seems to be a recent development.
As a scooter ride, I’m completely in support of getting these construction companies out of the bike lane. It’s creating huge legal liabilities.
I sent the following to DCRA (handles the bldg permits) and DDOT (maintains the bike lanes). Feel free to steal:
ddot@dc.gov and dcra@dc.gov
“Hi,
I’d like to draw attention to a very dangerous situation that has developed on 14th Street NW.
The construction sites along 14th St NW between U Street and Rhode Island have completely taken over the south-bound bike lanes. They have erected barriers to prevent cyclists from using the lanes and have placed their Dumpsters and idling trucks in the lane. At four points along this route, cyclists are required to merge into the right-most southbound lane of fast-moving vehicular traffic. This is creating extremely dangerous conditions for cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians.
There are no warning signs alerting bicyclists of these dangers or notices to use alternate routes. Furthermore, I sincerely doubt that it is legal for these construction companies to appropriate the bike lanes, thus exposing the city, private vehicles drivers, and the construction companies to a significant degree of legal liability in case of an accident.
As a District resident, I urge the DCRA and the DDOT to please send inspectors out to these sites immediately to rectify the situation.
Many thanks for your time regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
zero_sum”