See this meaty four-page document from the MidCityEast initiative.
You may recall that both the DC Office of Planning and the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) participated in MidCityEast.
The four-page document below is from the DDOT portion of MidCityEast.
R e a d i t.
These are scanned PDF's. I believe that the MidCityEast team will be providing a better version of this four-page document soon, which I can reference here on the blog.
Notice on page 3 under "proposed plan" the draft recommendation to implement "mini-roundabouts along 1st Street NW from New York Avenue NW up to Bryant Street NW. One might assume that the mini-roundabouts would not be considered for intersections already served by traffic signals, such as 1st & New York Ave NW, 1st & Florida Ave NW and 1st and Rhode Island Ave NW.
Have no clue what a mini-roundabout is?
Here are some Googled-references:
From the FHWA: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/roundabouts/fhwasa10007/
Pretty pictures to look at: https://www.google.com/search?q=mini-roundabouts&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=5jpLUu3mOdXI4AOanIHICQ&ved=0CDYQsAQ&biw=2191&bih=1192&dpr=1
Intersections that would get a mini-roundabout would have the all-way stop signs removed and the crosswalk lines moved back from the intersection, it would appear.
What do you think?
5 comments:
Scott, sorry I couldn't attend but was there any real discussion of that idea proposed to cover N Cap. street? That seems to have the most traction on their website over the past few months but don't really see anything to address that here.
As for the mini roundabouts on 1st street, I'm not sure I understand what that will accomplish. If anything I would be concerned that changes to that street would result in more accidents rather than less. I am always concerned with the number of cars that simply blow through a stop sign but how will introducing mini roundabouts make any drivers better? With the city installing all of these new traffic cameras and the stop sign cameras, why not simply focus one or two along this corridor instead?
Mat
I grew up in the UK where roundabouts of many sizes are a common and effective way to enable traffic flow and in turn contribute to fuel efficiency. I support this idea for using mini roundabouts with the these two questions: 1) Will DC drivers be conscious of pedestrians as they approach the roundabout being that they don't have to stop anymore? Bloomingdale is a pedestrian friendly (more-or less) neighborhood and should continue to be so. 2) Will the roundabouts have an impact on the properties adjacent? i.e., the intersection may need to be made a little larger to accommodate the roundabout and changes in pedestrian crosswalks.
I live on First street and support the mini-roundabouts. The following link has useful information and statistics on how roundabouts improve both safety and traffic flow: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/roundabouts/qanda#roundabouts
Update on Livability Study - I just checked with DDOT and this is not yet online due to the shutdown - some of the study funding is federal.
I like the idea of mini-roundabouts. They force cars to slow down, but don't require them to stop.
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