Comments for “14th St Road Safety Audit”
-
Need to add a green left turn arrow and NOT permit left turns on other traffic signal colors. Cars speed by each other, nearly crashing, and do NOT even slow down when about to hit someone! Tons of honking at each other too, during the (so far) near misses. People risk their lives when turning at that intersection!
-
Not just this specific location but ALL along 14th in this stretch, cars frequently turn on their hazards and block the bike lane. I have to navigate around at least 2-3 cars every time I bike from Columbia Heights all the way down to Downtown DC area. Protected bike lanes are necessary
-
14th + U is a major transfer point between the 52/54 and the 90/92/96 routes. It is also a very hot intersection, with few trees. Planting more shade trees to cool the intersection and counter the urban heat island would make this intersection safer for people waiting for the bus and more pleasant for everyone.
See: https://dcgis.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=fea6079cf9bc4310a8b6c94f8c2bf1da
-
I'm placing the comment here but it applies to the whole corridor --
The Metrobus 54 route is the single most-crowded route Metro runs, with an average bus load of 79%, and 27% of trips over-capacity (that is, standing room only with crush conditions). The next most crowded route, the 70, has only 21% of trips over-capacity.
The 52 is the fifth most crowded route, with an average bus load of 69%, and 16% of trips over capacity.
Overcrowded buses are a major safety issue for Metrobus customers. Overcrowding leads to immediate physical risk for individuals on the bus (i.e., getting crushed, airborne illness, heat exhaustion, missing your stop, pickpockting risks) and those waiting (longer wait times in heat as crowded buses go past, inability for ADA customers to board). Additionally, overcrowding is unpleasant an leads people to choose to not ride the bus, meaning more car congestion that puts cyclists and pedestrians at risk.
The three ways to fix overcrowding are to run articulated buses, run more service, or both. Right now, we cannot run articulated buses, partly because the bike islands on 14th from N Street to Florida Avenue are too short. (Metro is working on addressing the other reason, turn radius near Takoma Metro).
We also cannot increase frequency easily. A plethora of near-side stops, long traffic light waits, car congestion, and blocked bus lanes near Irving Street mean that any additional service we put on the street is liable to be bunched with existing buses, negating the benefit of more service. Again, the location of the bike islands today makes it hard to fix this near-side stop issue, but it is vital to improve bus safety on the corridor.
-
In the southbound direction, the shared bus-bike lane comes to an abrupt end at Euclid Street. Three modes of travel -- bike, car, and bus -- must suddenly merge into a single travel lane. This creates unsafe conditions for cyclists--who must merge into traffic-- and drastically reduces the effectiveness of the bus lane. Worse, it happens at a place where the road begins a long downhill, meaning cyclist and car traffic tends to be speeding forward and not paying attention to the merge.
A safer condition would be extending the bus-bike lane all the way to Florida Avenue down the hill. That would allow cyclists to continue to have a protected place to ride until they get to the bike lane. Buses would continue to enjoy a faster trip separated from car traffic, and the hill would mean they would not be held by bikes. The on-street parking on this section of 14th is duplicative to spaces on side-streets and alleys and that space -- plus the large medians--would allow for a bus-lane here.
-
Unprotected bike lanes on 14th Street are unusable because they are full of cars. These bike lanes are very dangerous because riders must pull into traffic.
-
This is an issue for all of 14th Street, but the bike lanes are practically useless. Cars and trucks block the lanes without consequence, forcing people on bikes to enter dangerous traffic. Taxis are some of the worse offenders, and I've almost been hit (within an inch or two) by taxi drivers merging into the bike lane from illegal parking spots and travel lanes without signaling.
-
Drivers making left turns from the north lane on U Street onto the west lane of 14th street often speed up when making the turn, endangering pedestrians on this crosswalk. I have to cross here almost daily to get groceries, go to the bank, and go to other parts of the city, and it's by far one of the most dangerous parts of my commute.
-
I've experienced drivers making dangerous right turns here when crossing the street. I would love to see them have to make a slower, sharper turn so pedestrians can cross safely.
-
This intersection is probably one of the most dangerous for me as someone who only walks, rides the bus, or bikes. While I've had several close calls biking south on 14th St, I've had many near-misses with drivers at this intersection. It's especially hard to navigate to the Capital Bikeshare station on the corner because the curb cut is super narrow, causing conflict between crossing pedestrians, drivers blocking the crosswalk as they try to turn onto Rhode Island Ave, and people using. bikes.
-
This intersection is too wide open. As a bus rider, pedestrian, and someone who also uses bikeshare to get around, I often avoid walking and biking through this intersection because of a few close calls with drivers focused on other drivers during left turns, almost hitting me. I would love to see the streetspace dedicated to cars on this intersection reduced so I can feel safe crossing and getting to my destinations more directly.
-
Could convert 1400 block of Clifton to one-way WB to match 1400 block of Fairmont (one-way EB). Would simplify intersection and signal timing.
-
Slip lane often causes issues for pedestrian crossings, high vehicle speeds.
-
No turn lanes (here and elsewhere) create backups and weaving for left-turning vehicles
-
4 vehicle travel lanes are not necessary, especially north of U Street where volumes are lower. Could accomodate a 4>3 road diet.
-
Right turning vehicles often block crosswalk.
-
Near side bus island is a right-hook hazard for bike lane.
-
Vehicles often get backed up on either side of S Street due to narrow width of 2-way street. It is designated as a local but is not designed or does not function in that way.
-
Unsafe unprotected and unsignalized crossing
-
Lots of challenges with freight loading and double-parking, especially interaction with the bike lane and crosswalk.
-
All-pedestrian signal phase/diagonal crossing would be very effective in this location.
-
Near-side bus stop and island is a major right-hook hazard for the bike lane, and the turn radius from NB 14th onto florida is aggressive even after the streetscape.
-
Look at ways to improve how we manage ped/bike conflicts with SB vehicles exiting the circle on the westbound Mass Ave surface roads. Drivers often disobey the red right turn arrow -- not necessarily more than they do elsewhere, but because the travel lane is combined right + thru, peds/cyclists can't easily tell if a 20mph approaching car is going to stay in the circle or bust right without signaling.
-
Its hard for southbound bicyclists to navigate into the protection behind the bus stop when coming downhill at speed.
-
No crosswalk but bus stop on east side. We noticed a number of pedestrian crossing at this location.