DDOT’s final design for Dave Thomas Circle.

For more than five years, I’ve advocated for improvements to DC’s plans for Dave Thomas Circle so that they would better serve the needs of local residents, pedestrians, and cyclists. On November 15, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) released its “final” design for the intersection, construction of which will begin next summer.

It’s a good time to take stock of the progress advocates made, explain where we and (DDOT) fell short, and identify lessons for future large capital projects.

Progress was made

Let’s start by identifying the progress we achieved during the design process. DDOT’s “concept 6” proposal in April 2019 to the final design proposed Nov. 15.

DDOT’s April 2019 design concept for Dave Thomas Circle. 

DDOT’s final design for Dave Thomas Circle.

Pedestrian and livability improvements:

  • Added missing crosswalks at 1st Street NE and 2nd St. NE (not pictured)
  • Expanded sidewalks along Florida Avenue under Amtrak/Metro overpass (not pictured)
  • Elimination of two-step crossing movements across Florida Avenue
  • Elimination of slip lane by ATF building
  • Closure of the O Street access road
  • Design of and investment in three new public spaces

Cyclist improvements:

  • Continuous curbside PBLs on Florida Avenue from 13th Street NE to 1st St. NE/Eckington Pl.
  • Northbound extension of the 1st St. NE protected bike facility to R street NE

Vehicular safety and access:

  • Speed limit reductions on New York Avenue between Florida Avenue NE and 4th Street NW.
  • Automated speed enforcement on Florida Avenue
  • Restoration of direct eastbound vehicle access along Florida Avenue and north/south access between Eckington and NoMA
  • Road diet on Eckington Place

Many of these improvements were the product of sustained advocacy, investment, and pressure from residents and organizations. I’m grateful for DDOT’s willingness to come to the table and listen to some pointed criticism, and I’m even more grateful for the adjustments that came out of those conversations. In a few cases, expressing public dissatisfaction was necessary to secure change. The NoMA BID and NoMA Parks Foundation deserve particular credit for working tirelessly with DDOT to deliver public spaces worthy of this increasingly urban setting.

Work in flux

There still are some additional details to be hammered out. DDOT has indicated that it will consider bus priority improvements along Florida Avenue—just not in this project. DDOT is also aware of the need to extend bike facilities west of the circle on Florida Avenue. DDOT also has yet to reach an agreement with community groups regarding the maintenance of public spaces at the intersection as well as the regular closure of the road between Eckington Place and 1st Street for public events like a weekend market.

Missed opportunities

All of those improvements are great, but that doesn’t mean we should be satisfied. The final design is ill-suited for its location, one of the most dense residential neighborhoods in DC. The design probably won’t help DC make significant progress towards reducing private vehicle modeshare or reducing vehicle emissions. And the road design features will not address unsafe vehicle speeds (though lower speed limits and more enforcement may help). While we should celebrate how far this project came, we also need to take stock of its fundamental flaws.

We ended up with this result because they reflect what DDOT set out to do. The principal aim of this project was to reduce driver confusion — not to design an intersection that would maximize safety or sustainability goals.

The major design features of this project (and accompanying tradeoffs) were then set in stone when DDOT submitted plans to the Federal Highway Administration for review — a step that occurred before meaningful engagement with the community on key design features. Once the Feds found that DDOT’s concept would have no significant impact — a technical term that precludes DDOT from having to undertake a more rigorous review process—the design was only ever going to change at the margins

DDOT’s response to criticism of this approach has been that they presented several concepts for years before proceeding to NEPA review. The reality, though, is that all of those concepts were focused exclusively on how to direct vehicle flow—not more fundamental considerations like how much space to devote to vehicles in this urban setting or whether to prioritize sustainability. In short, DDOT never presented DC residents with options that would have altered the vehicle-centered essence of this intersection.

The result is an intersection design that is measurably better than what exists now but that also seems destined to become obsolete in less than a decade. Even though we know more residents and office workers are coming to this part of the city, this project will do relatively little to move people more efficiently. Congestion will still be king—it’ll just be a little more orderly. And although we’re finally lowering speed limits and increasing enforcement of them, the road design that drivers experience will continue to send the opposite message.

Lessons learned

So what can we learn from this endeavor? Here are a few thoughts:

  • Advocates need to be proactive in lobbying DDOT as early as possible, preferably when concepts are being developed. The design process in projects like this can happen after key decisions are made. Advocates cannot wait for DDOT to explain the tradeoffs. They have to assess and influence the concepts early.
  • DDOT should develop concepts capable of delivering citywide mobility and sustainability goals in every capital project. If the only concepts that are considered during the federal review process are ones that don’t change vehicle volumes, DC is never going to reach its safety and sustainability goals. The process that played out here was not unlike any hiring process in which only white dudes were interviewed. Inputs go a long way towards determining outputs. At the very least, DDOT’s vision zero and sustainability professionals should be permitted to put forward one concept for public review that maximizes progress towards DC’s safety and sustainability goals.
  • To advance mobility and safety, advocates and DDOT need to focus on corridors, not just intersections. The biggest leaps in safety on this project will be along Florida Avenue NE, which was the subject of a companion corridor-long streetscape redesign. The New York Avenue corridor was not subject to modification in this project, which limited what changes could be made at the circle.
  • DC should invest more in urban planning in conjunction with large capital projects. The main reason the redesigned intersection will be more compatible with its urban setting is that the NoMA BID was able to invest in planning. That’s a win for this area, but it’s not replicable in every part of the city. DC policymakers would be wise to give the Office of Planning more funding to work in parallel with DDOT on major capital projects so that placemaking—not just roadway engineering—is valued.

The work of an advocate is never done

Dave Thomas Circle isn’t going to be “fixed” in 2024. But it’ll be better than it would have been thanks to the efforts of a lot of advocates and the willingness of DDOT’s project team to make substantial (if not fundamental) improvements to the design along the way.

There are going to be more opportunities to improve Florida Avenue, New York Avenue, and corridors like them in the future. If we’re going to stop our planet from burning and put an end to traffic violence in DC, we and DDOT need to get more out of large capital investments like this one.

Conor Shaw is an attorney at a nonpartisan ethics watchdog. Conor grew up on Capitol Hill and now lives in Eckington, where he is president of the Eckington Civic Association. Conor wants our streets to be safer for all—and especially cyclists and pedestrians; our local businesses to thrive; and our housing policies to promote affordability, diversity and yes—density.