DC’s top ten most hated intersections, according to 311 data

After the tragic death of a cyclist earlier this month at 10th Street and Michigan Avenue NE, it came to light that residents had requested traffic safety assessments for that specific intersection at least twice in the years leading up to his death. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) also conducted two separate studies in the area in which residents asked for bike and pedestrian safety improvements. Unfortunately, even in the face of significant resident outcry, DDOT often has a bias for endless studies over action, and neither the TSA requests nor the studies appear to have resulted in any changes to the streetscape. What if DDOT was more responsive to resident feedback about the dangerous and unpleasant roads in our city? Where would they focus infrastructure improvements?

For this analysis, I looked at all 311 requests at intersections from 2015 to 2020. I included not only requests for traffic calming and traffic safety investigations, but also requests for other traffic safety-related infrastructure such as new signs and markings, roadway marking modifications, and school crossing guards. Here are the top 10 intersections in DC that residents have told DDOT they hate the most.

10. (tie) 14th Street and Columbia Road NW (Ward 1; ANC 1A03)

• Number of requests: 13
• Number of crashes reported by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) within 30 meters of this intersection since 2015:
  • 79 total
  • Eight pedestrians
  • Four bicyclists

Of the 13 traffic safety-related requests for this intersection, three asked specifically for traffic safety investigations, with the remaining 10 related to roadway markings. There’s no way to see the details of each request, but it’s possible the residents were upset with the incredibly frustrating nature of trying to ride in unprotected bike lanes that are often used as drop-off/pick-up zones for ride-share vehicles. In addition, 14th St between Harvard and Quincy has been ranked one of the most dangerous streets in the city for bike and pedestrian crashes. Unlike every other intersection on this list, DDOT has actually made major pedestrian, bike, and transit-friendly changes to this area in the past year, so it will be interesting to see if there’s a corresponding drop-off in resident 311 requests.

9. (tie) 7th Street, K Street, and Massachussetts Avenue NW (Ward 2; ANC 2C01)

• Number of requests: 13
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 119 total
  • Eight pedestrians
  • Seven bicyclists

As far back as 2010, DDOT was planning for a multimodal redesign of the Mount Vernon Square area that addressed pedestrian safety, since “[t]he unique roadway configuration and vehicular circulation around the Square combined with the heavy commuter traffic creates an environment that is unfriendly [to pedestrians].” The proposed one-way loop concept never came to pass, and an average of three people on foot or bicycle continue to be hit by motorists every year at just this one intersection. Despite the high number of crashes, and the known pedestrian-unfriendly environment, all of the traffic safety requests for which resolution notes were available were met with responses of either “not enough information to determine next steps,” or “caller should contact MPD directly for enforcement issues.”

8. (tie) 21st Street, I Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW (Ward 2; ANC 2A07)

• Number of requests: 13
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 35 total
  • Four pedestrians
  • No bicyclists

Like 14th Street and Columbia Road, the requests at this intersection were primarily for roadway striping/markings. Of the two traffic safety investigation requests, one was forwarded to the Public Safety Division and one was closed with the resolution note: “This is not a Traffic Calming issue. Citizen should contact MPD for enforcement.”

7. (tie) Branch Avenue and Southern Avenue SE (Ward 7; ANC 7B05)

• Number of requests: 14
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 52 total (may be an undercount, since some crashes may have had the reports written by Prince George’s County police)
  • No pedestrians or bicyclists

Details: Along with the usual requests for traffic safety assessments, which are resolved by telling the requestor to contact MPD for enforcement, there is one request that DDOT does appear to have taken action on: a submission from 2016 asking for new crosswalk markings to be installed. Satellite photos from a few years ago versus ones taken more recently clearly (Google Maps and Open Street Map) show that the crosswalks here were upgraded from the “traditional” style to the safer “ladder” style within the last few years.

Among traffic safety-related 311 requests, requests for crosswalk re-striping seem to be by far the type that most often generate an action from DDOT. This isn’t completely surprising as DDOT doesn’t keep records of crosswalk locations, and depends on resident requests to know when it’s time to re-stripe them.

6. (tie) I Street SE/SW and South Capitol Street (Ward 6; ANC 6D02)

• Number of requests: 14
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 121 total
  • Two pedestrians
  • Six bicyclists

South Capitol Street at this location is a seven-lane major arterial that serves as an on/off-ramp for 395 and carries 15,000 cars per day, making it a difficult place to cross on foot or bicycle. Unfortunately, there’s no other choice for the 40-50% of neighborhood residents without a car (according to Census data) if they want to access the parks, restaurants, pharmacies, and other neighborhood amenities surrounding this intersection. The placement of arterials like this in neighborhoods where residents are forced to cross them on foot is dangerous and degrades quality of life, so it’s no surprise it leads to lots of complaints. But despite the high numbers of crashes and unhappy residents, DDOT doesn’t seem to have any plans in the works to improve conditions in this area.

5. (tie) Benning Road and Minnesota Avenue NE (Ward 7; ANC 7F01)

• Number of requests: 14
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 211 total
  • 11 pedestrians
  • Six bicyclists

This intersection has been known for many years as one of the city’s most dangerous places for pedestrians. DDOT has been studying the intersection since 2015 and finally appears to have made some improvements in 2019. Unfortunately, whatever changes were made didn’t have much impact; the intersection continues to experience an average of 30-40 car crashes, two pedestrian crashes, and one bicycle crash every year with no sign of a downward trend.

4. (tie) Connecticut Avenue and Porter Street NW (Ward 3; ANC 3C05)

• Number of 311 requests: 14
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 49 total
  • One pedestrian
  • One bicyclist

This is yet another case of an intersection that’s been a known problem for a long time, but despite the endless studies and frequent 311 requests from residents, DDOT hasn’t actually taken any action to improve it. Let’s hope that changes when DDOT finally settles on a plan for Connecticut Avenue and the long-awaited updates to this corridor begin to move forward.

3. 3rd Street, Riggs Road, and South Dakota Avenue NE (Ward 4; ANC 4B08)

• Number of requests: 16
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 83 total
  • Two pedestrians
  • One bicyclist

Even more so than South Capitol and Eye Street, this intersection is a commuter-focused arterial (carrying 30,000 cars a day on Riggs and 20,000 on South Dakota) that cuts off neighborhood residents from easy access to restaurants, shopping, and parks. Once again people requesting traffic safety measures seem to have mostly gotten the brush-off, with resolution notes like “Contact MPD for enforcement” or “Not enough information to determine best course of action.” In 2018, DDOT responded to one requestor assuring them that the intersection would be studied as part of the Signal Optimization Project, but this intersection doesn’t seem to have made the final cut for an improved signal.

2. Good Hope Road and MLK Jr Avenue SE (Ward 8; ANC 8A06)

• Number of requests: 20
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 127 total
  • Five pedestrians
  • Three bicyclists

The intersection of Good Hope Road and MLK Jr Avenue SE sits in the middle of Historic Anacostia’s commercial district, near convenience stores, restaurants, pharmacies, banks, and government offices. But the neighborhood has a low rate of car ownership (as of 2019, just under 50% of households had a car); meanwhile, MLK Jr Avenue and Good Hope Road both carry a high volume of commuter traffic from Maryland, with an average of about 14,000 vehicles per day passing through on each road. As with South Capitol/Eye St and Riggs Rd/South Dakota, this is a recipe for high rates of crashes and constant resident complaints. Nevertheless, DDOT does not appear to have any plans in the works to improve this intersection.

1. Florida Avenue NE and New York Avenue NE (Ward 6; ANC 6C06)

• Number of requests: 35
• Number of MPD-reported crashes since 2015:
  • 224 total
  • No pedestrians (hard to believe, but true!)
  • Five bicyclists

And finally, to absolutely no one’s surprise, the number one most hated intersection in DC is Dave Thomas Circle. The intersection of Florida Avenue and New York Avenue NE has racked up 35 separate traffic safety requests since 2015, most of which appear to have been closed with a note that the request wasn’t sufficiently clear to act on and the resident should call the clearinghouse. The requests that did merit a response usually got either directions to contact MPD for enforcement, or a curt acknowledgement that the intersection is indeed terrible. For example, this resolution note from 2016 (likely referencing the Florida Avenue Project, which completed its study in 2017 and will begin construction in 2022): “DDOT is well aware of the traffic issues at this location and will be implementing traffic calming measures, accordingly. Closing.”