Snow Shoveling, Community Meeting on Safety, and More Updates!
Hi Neighbors,
I hope this message finds you well! While some of us are looking forward to the snow and the DCPS snow day tomorrow, others like me are already dreaming of spring. As we prepare for snow, I wanted to remind everyone of the importance of shoveling snow and ice from the sidewalks around our homes. Not only is it required by DC law, but it’s also vital to keep our community safe. DC law mandates that property owners remove snow and ice from sidewalks within the first eight hours of daylight after a storm ends. However, we also know that shoveling can be a challenge, especially for some of our neighbors. If you know someone who may need help with this task, please consider offering assistance or having them reach out to organizations like Serve DC, DC’s Volunteer Snow Team. You can find more information about their snow requester FAQs here: Snow Requester FAQs.pdf. You may also want to check out Snow Safety Tips For Shoveling Snow | snow for useful guidance.
Safety Concerns Along Connecticut Ave
Commissioner Peter Gosselin and I are hosting a community meeting this Thursday, February 13, 2025, at 7:00 PM via Zoom, to discuss safety concerns along Connecticut Ave. We’ll be joined by local business owners, as well as representatives from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). This meeting is in response to several car break ins along the Avenue. Please join us to share your thoughts and concerns. You can register for the meeting using the link here: Zoom Registration Link
Community Engagement with DDOT
As mentioned last month, Commissioner Peter Gosselin and I will host a community engagement session with DDOT in late spring or summer. In the meantime, any resident can submit a Traffic Safety Input (TSI) to DDOT. To submit a TSI, residents can go to 311.dc.gov and select the "Traffic Safety Input" option. After providing all necessary details, including information, photos, and a description of the concerns, the TSI will automatically be populated in DDOT’s TSI dashboard under the "future consideration" tab. Requestors will receive an automated email stating that the 311 ticket is "closed." Please note that this simply means the request has been routed to DDOT’s system and is "closed" on the 311 interface side. You can view DDOT’s TSI dashboard here: Traffic Safety Input. The TSI Prioritization Model analyzes data based on several factors, including crash patterns, location on high-injury network, equity, proximity to schools, transit hubs, recreation centers/parks, and senior centers, roadway characteristics (engineering design of the street). The data is scored and used to create an internal ranking for selecting locations for safety improvements. Each quarter, about 200 locations are selected, with selection periods broken down as follows: FY25 Q1: October 2024, FY25 Q2: January 2025, FY25 Q3: April 2025, FY25 Q4: July 2025. If a location isn’t selected during a particular quarter, it remains in the system for future consideration. The prioritization model is dynamic, meaning that intersections will eventually be selected based on ongoing data analysis, but it’s difficult to predict exactly when each location will be addressed.
Nevada and McKinley - Safety Survey Results
Thank you to everyone who completed the survey about safety at the intersections of Nevada and McKinley. I really appreciate your feedback! You can view the survey results here: Survey Results. The written responses from the survey are highlighted below with some ideas for improvement. We will share the feedback with DDOT in late spring or summer.
Written Responses to the Nevada and McKinley Intersection Survey:
Do you have any additional thoughts or suggestions about improving safety at this intersection outside of a stop sign camera?
Curb extensions or raised crosswalks in lieu of a camera. Any traffic calming measures could possibly be folded into DDOT's work to accommodate Metro buses on McKinley Street—the buses eventually need stop closer to Lafayette Elementary after the detour down Nevada Avenue.
Perhaps continuing the speed bumps that were installed on mckinley (they are currently only between broad branch and nevada)
No, but the intersection at Morrison and McKinley is even more dangerous. Drivers on Morrison often don’t realize that drivers on Nevada have no stop sign. I have seen several accidents here and scores of near misses over the years.
A stop sign camera would trigger incorrectly on many full stops and end up costing area residents significant amounts of money without any improvement in safety. As seen in the existing stop sign cameras in other wards
Stop sign cameras are notoriously ineffective, leading to fines even when the driver has stopped. There is no need to create problems where none exist.
The pedestrian walk areas should be painted brightly, double backed stop signs, raised crosswalks, stop signs at other intersections approaching this intersection (Morrison and Nevada for example) would help bc cars gain speed and this would lessen their speed approaching this intersection.
Camera sounds like a great solution long term. Perhaps occasional police car parked at first to get people’s attention and write some citations. We’ve seen so many near crashes here, and a few actual crashes. Thank you!! Live at XXXX Nevada.
I like the stop sign camera idea. I think people need to be hit with monetary fines in the form of tickets to get their attention. I live within X houses of this intersection and am shocked at how many people I have seen -- particularly adults, not teenagers -- blow through these stop signs. thank you!
Accidents happen regularly -- a DC ambulance and a car collided this week, at 10:58 1/22/25.
Consider traffic engineering to increase stopping and safety: raised crosswalks, double backed stop signs, flex posts, repaint cross walk, stop signs every block on Nevada to 1) prevent drivers from gaining too much speed and 2) have drivers be in routine of stopping at all intersections. etc.
I personally do not think a camera is needed.
One big issue is the house at the NE corner. The bushes are overgrown into the sidewalk, which makes things inconvenient for pedestrians (especially anyone with a stroller or in a wheelchair) and cuts down on visibility.
One could consider raising the crosswalks on Nevada, like what has been done at the Northhampton/Broad Branch intersection. Raising them on McKinley would be more challenging I think because of the buses. "
I would prefer that a stop sign camera is not installed at this location. I have heard from those with similar cameras in their neighborhoods that the cameras are over-sensitive and they have received multiple tickets even though they did stop at the stop sign. Perhaps a "children crossing" sign would help. Or an advanced warning sign before reaching to stop sign that notes there is a stop sign ahead. Another option would be flashing lights during the times children are going to/from school.
Install a raised crosswalk similar to the ones that are at the intersection of Northampton and Broad Branch. Remove the small tree in front of the stop sign going south on Nevada to make the stop sign more visible.
We have a systemic problem with drivers not coming to complete stops at any and all stop signs in DC. It is not unique to that intersection. When I wait for the bus at McKinley and ChCh Pkwy, almost none of the cars come to a complete stop. I see it everywhere I go. I’d prefer more raised crosswalks.
Speed bumps or intersection daylighting
As a driver and pedestrian who frequents this intersection, I have observed many bikers blowing through the stop signs and not yielding to cars or pedestrians, usually at a very fast speed.