I just can't understand or explain what is going on with this intersection. It is much worse than it was originally, and now it is even worse than when they first re-did it. Seems like no-one feels accountable for it.

I absolutely hate what the city did to this intersection. By any measurement it's MORE inefficient than it was prior to construction. Traveling eastbound or westbound is an absolute ridiculous task of sitting for 10-30 minutes to travel six blocks. I'd like the engineer who designed it and the person who signed off on it to sit in this mess everyday and see how they'd like it.

I wish we didn't have to have this much traffic moving through our neighborhood, but I think DDOT has done a decent job of balancing pedestrian / quality of life issues with the needs of crosstown and inbound-outbound traffic. Way better for residents of Eckington and the emerging NoMa neighborhood.

This issue is a bit larger than a simple SeeClickFix ticket can manage so I'm marking this one closed.

SheLikesCake:

I completely agree. This is bizarre. What is going on here? The situation has been made worse, not better, than it was before. There must be better ways to help pedestrians without clogging the intersection with traffic, which not only inconveniences drivers but also reduces quality of life for surrounding residents, who now have all sorts of angry drivers idling in their streets.

Erik Moe,

Are you with DDOT? How do you think it is best to resolve this? I appreciate the need for pedestrian safety (I am usually one myself), but this design is like a textbook example of what not to do. It is really strange....

This item has not been resolved. A commentator said that he was unaware of the difficulties this had created so was marking it closed.

Because of this problem with the design:

1) There are a lot of drivers who intentionally block the box to reduce the number of lights they sit through.

2) Numerous drivers deliberately get in the wrong lane to reduce the number of lights they sit through. For example, drivers who want to go outbound on NY Ave get in the lanes marked Eastbound FL Ave and then prevent the FL Ave traffic from getting through.

No, I'm not with DDOT. I just live nearby and get email alerts for issues that people file in my neighborhood.

I'll unsubscribe from this thread, but you are welcome to continue the debate. I just closed the issue because I think this is far too big an issue for a SeeClickFix ticket.

On exit I'll just reiterate that I do feel far more comfortable walking/biking through this intersection than I did a few years ago.

Thanks for the reply, Erik. Since biking and walking are my normal modes, I can appreciate your points. Since I have to drive through that intersection each day, however, it has given me a different perspective. What do you think the best forum would be for trying to improve the situation? Thanks.

@Erik, I certainly appreciate quality of life improvements, speaking as a resident of the H Street, NE/Atlas District where construction is finally coming to a close for the trolley. However, you mention a balance that has come with the new traffic pattern in favor of residents and pedestrians that I see differently.

As @DWS001 mentioned, the challenge of making it through a single light causes drivers to block the box from all directions, aggressively change lanes, and make illegal U turns which I think further complicates pedestrian and neighborhood life. I would hope that DDOT has some success measurements in place to gauge the performance of the new intersection and have plans to make adjustments when the poor performance is demonstrated over time. This cannot go on forever. Until then, instead of traveling on Florida to get to and from home, I'll continue to play Ring Around the Rosey to avoid Florida entirely :-)

No action that I am aware and tired of getting reminders. I have stopped taking this route.