[Lincolnparkdc] Plans for 1300 NC Ave NE

Fri Aug 13 16:33:13 EDT 2021

Linked here along with the recording and Q&A responses in case anyone needs it:
https://anc6a.org/agendas/

Please forward to any Google Groups that Will and I and not a part of.

---------------------------
Amber Gove
Chair, ANC6A
Commissioner, ANC6A04
email: 6A04 at anc.dc.gov
Twitter: @AmberGove

On Aug 13, 2021, at 1:28 PM, Handsfield, Will (DDOT) <William.Handsfield2 at dc.gov> wrote:

My mistake, the ANC 6A meeting was on July 19th, but this is the presentation which was shared there, and which the ANC has put on their website.

From: John Hirschmann [mailto:hirschj154 at gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2021 1:13 PM
To: Handsfield, Will (DDOT) <William.Handsfield2 at dc.gov>
Cc: lincolnparkdc at lincolnparkdc.info; Gove, Amber (SMD 6A04) <6A04 at anc.dc.gov>; Marche Maine <markrichardgrace at gmail.com>; NC Ave Bike Infrastructure <nc-ave-bike-infrastructure at googlegroups.com>; Allen, Charles (COUNCIL) <CAllen at DCCOUNCIL.US>
Subject: Re: [Lincolnparkdc] Plans for 1300 NC Ave NE

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the DC Government. Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know that the content is safe. If you believe that this email is suspicious, please forward to phishing at dc.gov<mailto:phishing at dc.gov> for additional analysis by OCTO Security Operations Center (SOC).

Will

I am not aware of a July 15th presentation or a link to it. I only know of the presentation to ANC6A later in the month.

John
John F Hirschmann
hirschj154 at gmail.com<mailto:hirschj154 at gmail.com>
Sent from my iPad

On Aug 13, 2021, at 13:03, Handsfield, Will (DDOT) <William.Handsfield2 at dc.gov<mailto:William.Handsfield2 at dc.gov>> wrote:

John,

Thank you for the email.  Please reference slides 28, 29, and 30 of my presentation from 7/15 for the intersection and 1400 block concepts you were looking for.  There are three concepts, one that can work with a 2-way traffic pattern on the 1300 block, and two patterns that can work with a one-way traffic pattern.  I have confirmed that these could all be done as change orders to the C Street project, which is starting on the east end, and moving west.

These are sketch plans, and when we receive guidance from the ANC on which option they would like to see advance, we will work on developing construction plans to make the most appropriate one happen.

From: John Hirschmann [mailto:hirschj154 at gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2021 12:50 PM
To: lincolnparkdc at lincolnparkdc.info<mailto:lincolnparkdc at lincolnparkdc.info>
Cc: Marche Maine <markrichardgrace at gmail.com<mailto:markrichardgrace at gmail.com>>; NC Ave Bike Infrastructure <nc-ave-bike-infrastructure at googlegroups.com<mailto:nc-ave-bike-infrastructure at googlegroups.com>>; Handsfield, Will (DDOT) <William.Handsfield2 at dc.gov<mailto:William.Handsfield2 at dc.gov>>; Allen, Charles (COUNCIL) <CAllen at DCCOUNCIL.US<mailto:CAllen at DCCOUNCIL.US>>
Subject: Re: [Lincolnparkdc] Plans for 1300 NC Ave NE

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the DC Government. Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know that the content is safe. If you believe that this email is suspicious, please forward to phishing at dc.gov<mailto:phishing at dc.gov> for additional analysis by OCTO Security Operations Center (SOC).

Amber

Thank you for your note of Tuesday. I found myself with time this morning to pursue one of the links you provided which allowed me to drill down to the detailed construction drawings for this project. You provided a link to cstne.com

In particular, I went to the C Street Design Plans July 2020 and looked at the detailed drawings.  I presume since I found nothing with a more recent date, that these are drawings the contractor now engaged used to bid the project for a fixed price and is committed to bid against those specs.

I‘m attaching one page from those drawings for the intersection of 14th and North Carolina NE.

Several things immediately struck me.

Will in his presentation last month to your ANC said he was still trying to sort out how bike lanes would work in the 1400 block of North Carolina, yet these drawings show very specific plans/drawings already in place. In fact, I was struck by the fact he was very comfortable discussing plans for the 1300 block, he was very uncomfortable discussing the 1400 block.  It doesn’t seem to make sense to discuss detailed plans for 1300 block, unless you know you can solve the 1400 block, in fact till NC joins a wider C Street, east of 15th Street. The plans for eastbound bicyclists seem much clearer and protected than those going west.

I also noted there is clearly Provision for a left turn lane for westbound NC at 14th St NE. But you indicated this was being reviewed.  Also why would you retain a traffic island on the West side of the 14th/NC intersection if you plan to make the 1300 block of NC oneway westbound?

In summary, it appears Plans for the 1300 block are being done without an awareness of what has already been planned and contracted for just to the East of it?

Doesn’t give you a lot of confidence DDOT knows what it is doing.

John

<image001.png>
John F Hirschmann
hirschj154 at gmail.com<mailto:hirschj154 at gmail.com>
Sent from my iPad

On Aug 10, 2021, at 20:51, Amber Gove <amberanc6a at gmail.com<mailto:amberanc6a at gmail.com>> wrote:
Thanks Mark (and please forward to any groups that I am not a part of).

Just to fact check—none of the proposed DDOT designs for this block would match 17th SE (East Capitol to Potomac SE) which uses painted bike lanes which regularly get used as passing lanes.  I completely agree that 17th needs a complete redesign. In fact DDOT has already asked for time at a future joint meeting with 6A and 6B to discuss.

<image0.png>

I’ve added a screen shot (hope it comes through) of Option B as an example, but I’d encourage residents to review each of the proposals and ask questions. All of the proposed designs have a much narrower travel lane than what is currently on 17th SE.

Thanks and please do weigh in with comments on the designs DDOT has shared.

Best,
Amber

---------------------------
Amber Gove
Chair, ANC6A
Commissioner, ANC6A04
email: AmberANC6A at gmail.com<mailto:AmberANC6A at gmail.com>
Twitter: @AmberGove

On Aug 10, 2021, at 8:05 PM, Marche Maine <markrichardgrace at gmail.com<mailto:markrichardgrace at gmail.com>> wrote:

Sharing with the wider community.  If you've not received ANC Commissioner Gove's email here it is.
I'd like to point out a DDOT contradiction, they acknowledge the North Carolina Ave speeding problem by NOT considering the sharrow option ..."Sharrows are not considered a safe treatment for a street with this volume/speed of vehicles..."
But exacerbate it by creating a wider one-way west bound lane. If you need a visual example of what their ineptitude will do look at 17th street south bound. It is a wide one-way with a chronic, seriously dangerous speed problem.
Dear Neighbors,
For those who don't know me, I'm the Commissioner for the area that includes Lincoln Park and the 1300 block of North Carolina. Since several of you asked for additional information, I'm sharing a high level summary from the most recent public meeting. If you were not able to join us, the recording is available here<https://zoom.us/rec/share/O6TWIo1jdse0ErV7-x0xmggEC34J4_T9N8hp1BhqxvPBLsqq0P4ORTWEEkrpsXeW.fXAVr-qvLpaNvl1v?startTime=1626735621000>. The agenda with slides from both the July and January meetings is here<https://anc6a.org/wp-content/uploads/TPSA0721.pdf> and detailed Q&A responses from DDOT are here<https://anc6a.org/wp-content/uploads/July-2021-TPS-QAs.pdf>. Minutes will be posted next month.

Below are a few highlights from the July public meeting, in which DDOT shared SIX potential designs and reiterated their commitment to “filling in this missing segment in the bike network, improving pedestrian safety and reducing vehicular speeds.”  One set of designs (Options A1 and A2) would remove about 25 parking spaces on the south side of the block. The other four proposals (Options B through E) would retain nearly all parking but convert this block to one-way westbound, rerouting eastbound drivers to either East Capitol or Constitution.

Clarification of Process. At the top of the meeting, TPS Chair Dundon and DDOT’s George Branyan provided an updated timeline and where we are in the process. We are still very much in the development phase, so now is the time to engage to ensure that the final design meets our needs and that of the broader community. We will have at least one more public meeting before the Notice of Intent and official public comment period.

C Street Project. DDOT is seeking to add bike facilities to this block because construction on the 1400-1600 blocks of North Carolina is scheduled for Sept 2022 as part of the C Street Project. The $16M project will remove a vehicle travel lane in each direction, add raised crosswalks and greenspace, and install a fully protected bike path to connect the Anacostia River Trail to Lincoln Park. Or nearly so. At some point in the decade between initial concept and final designs, the 1300 block of North Carolina Avenue NE was dropped from DDOT’s plans. No one at DDOT has been able to explain to me how or why this happened. See project details here: www.cstne.com<http://www.cstne.com>.

Demand for Traffic Calming. Residents reiterated their concerns related to speeding and requests for traffic calming measures, and DDOT committed to adding more calming measures to the designs. All designs narrow the vehicle travel lanes from 12 feet to 10 feet wide, which has been shown to reduce speeds, especially when physical barriers are used. They also all add a raised crosswalk mid-block-- a legal crossing that will allow better access to the triangle park. We also saw new designs for the intersection at the 1400 block of North Carolina that will eliminate the left turn lane and improve the bike connection for that block.

Demand for Parking, including Accessible Parking. DDOT again presented a set of one-way designs that retain nearly all parking-- proposals B through E. Handicapped parking would also be retained on both sides of the block in the one-way designs.

Alley Access. DDOT reiterated that alley travel/access would not change with any of the plans. For the one-way plans, entrance to the 1300 A/East Capitol alley would only be allowed by turning left from westbound North Carolina.

More information/data. Many neighbors requested additional information on the impact of the one-way conversion and other data/study results. Several studies were shared in the chat, so please take a look at those. For those who missed it, the 20 page circulation study was attached to the TPS agenda. From additional emails I've seen, DDOT estimates that the rerouted traffic would mean a 5% increase in the number of daily vehicles routing via 13th/Constitution or East Capitol over baseline (pre-pandemic data).

Alternate Designs. DDOT also committed to sharing written clarification as to why they do not plan to advance the alternate proposals with Sharrows or Advisory Bike Lanes. Short responses I've seen to date from DDOT on these are that a) Sharrows are not considered a safe treatment for a street with this volume/speed of vehicles (and DDOT is trying to move away from Sharrows) and b) Advisory Bike Lanes work well when there is roughly equal vehicle traffic in each direction, which is not the case for this block (which is 80% westbound).

Want more details? Please sign up for our ANC6A listserv (links below) and feel free to email me (6A04 at anc.dc.gov<mailto:6A04 at anc.dc.gov>) and project director Will Handsfield (will.handsfield at dc.gov<mailto:will.handsfield at dc.gov>) your questions and comments.

Stay safe,
Amber

--
-----------------------------
Amber Gove
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, 6A04
Twitter: @AmberGove
Email: AmberANC6A at gmail.com<mailto:AmberANC6A at gmail.com>
6A04 Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/anc-6a04-residents
6A Official Announcements: https://groups.google.com/g/anc-6a
_______________________________________________
LincolnParkDC mailing list

To post to the list address your message to: LincolnParkDC at lincolnparkdc.info<mailto:LincolnParkDC at lincolnparkdc.info>
When replying, please consider whether to reply to the sender only, or to the list, which is the default.
Not all replies are appropriate for the entire list.

Please do not send administrative requests to the list. Please click on the following link to
switch to digest mode, change your password, or otherwise manage your subscription:
https://vps.woteki.com/mailman/listinfo/lincolnparkdc_lincolnparkdc.info

If you need assistance managing your subscription, please address your request to: towncrier at lincolnparkdc.info<mailto:towncrier at lincolnparkdc.info>
Please do not address assistance requests to the list. Thank you for your cooperation.
_______________________________________________
LincolnParkDC mailing list

To post to the list address your message to: LincolnParkDC at lincolnparkdc.info<mailto:LincolnParkDC at lincolnparkdc.info>
When replying, please consider whether to reply to the sender only, or to the list, which is the default.
Not all replies are appropriate for the entire list.

Please do not send administrative requests to the list. Please click on the following link to
switch to digest mode, change your password, or otherwise manage your subscription:
https://vps.woteki.com/mailman/listinfo/lincolnparkdc_lincolnparkdc.info

If you need assistance managing your subscription, please address your request to: towncrier at lincolnparkdc.info<mailto:towncrier at lincolnparkdc.info>
Please do not address assistance requests to the list. Thank you for your cooperation.
<ANC 6A North Carolina Ave NE Presentation 7-15-21.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lincolnparkdc.info/pipermail/lincolnparkdc_lincolnparkdc.info/attachments/20210813/24bb07a7/attachment.htm>