Sharraxaadda
In general, east-west auto traffic in this part of the city is hampered by extreme north-south favoring light timings on all roads, harming locals to help commuters moving through the area to downtown. This intersection is a special problem because traffic entering the intersection from New Hampshire does not have a stop and cars, bikes, and pedestrians coming across on V St. are at great risk -- a tragic accident waiting to happen.
Fixing this intersection could provide a much needed east-west route for local traffic. Alternatively, fix light timings on 15th St., which are ridiculous. See Euclid and 15th St. especially, which is a very poorly timed light.
3 Faalladas
Lucy Barber (Isticmaale Diiwaangashan)
Steven Glazerman (Isticmaale Diiwaangashan)
I'm no traffic planning expert but the very simple fix is to put a stop sign on southwest-bound New Hampshire.
The more expensive (and maybe infeasible?) fix would be to somehow bend the sections of New Hampshire that intersect with V St. so they have a more north-south orientation, to increase visibility in the intersection. The area has such a lovely tree canopy that I wouldn't want to mess with that. And the road is very wide in both directions. Maybe instead make the section of New Hampshire two-way. Residents would hate that, but cyclists and drivers would rejoice. But realistically? Just add the stop sign.
The other very easy fix to the more general problem is fix the light timings on 15th St. at Euclid. I get that we want to move traffic quickly in and out of downtown toward the suburbs, but do we really need every single intersection along Georgia Ave, Sherman Ave, 14th St, 15th St, and 16th St. be timed so as to make east-west travel impossible?
15th St. northbound only needs favored access in the evening rush. Why does the light take more than 60 seconds at Euclid in the morning for northbound traffic on what is essentially a side street? We don't.
There are other intersections that could also get some east-west love, like Irving and Georgia Ave, which is the main route by which people in NW travel to NE DC in this part of the city, not to mention a critical route to Washington Hospital Center.
If the city really wants to develop the AFRH area around North Capitol, it will need to move people east-west to access it. Adjusting the light timings in selected intersections would be a good first step. Adjust it and they will come.
La xidhay Steven glazerman (Isticmaale Diiwaangashan)