Descrizione

The east-west alley between 2nd & 4th, and V & W NW is, for all intents and purposes, a road. It's wide. It's well-paved. Parking lots open onto to it. It serves as the natural extension of W Street (which for some reason, continues in actuality about a half-block up). As a result, cars treat this alley like a road - and SPEED through it, sometimes up to 40 mph. Children also play in this alley. There is public housing for seniors on this alley - so elderly folks walk in the alley... slowly, and with walkers. It is just a matter of time before someone gets hurt or killed in the alley. We have begged and pleaded with the Streets Department, and with City Council, to install speed bumps in the alley. And we have been told that the city doesn't install speed bumps in alleys. We've been told that it has to do with water drainage issues. Please forgive me, but this seems like policy for policy's sake, and is ridiculous. Other cities have "split" speed bumps, with a break in the middle for water to flow through. Posted signs for speed limits, or stop signs do not work. Speed bumps do. We have them on all of the roads around - which is why when drivers get into the alley, the gallop through, like mustangs on the open range.
Summer is here. I'll be curious to see what the headlines are by the time autumn rolls around. Will they say "Granny mowed down by speeding car" and "Toddler in coma after being struck by speeding vehicle"? OR will they say "DC Streets Department breaks ranks with business-as-usual and installs speed bumps in an alley."