DDOT states that the purpose of the Connecticut Avenue NW Multimodal & Safety Project is to reduce crashes while enhancing safety for all modes, and to support the District’s commitment to its Vision Zero initiative. The project area extends 2.7 miles along Connecticut Avenue NW from Calvert Street NW to Legation Street NW, along the path where the reversible lanes operated.
On March 19, 2020, the official start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) deactivated the operation of the Connecticut Avenue peak hour reversible lanes.
According to DDOT, Connecticut Avenue Reversible Lane Operations and Safety Study was initiated in December 2019. Data analysis, concept development and evaluation, traffic forecasts and operations analysis were conducted between Spring 2020 and Fall 2020. Throughout 2020 and early 2021, approximately 40 stakeholder and agency presentations took place prior to Public Meeting No. 1 that occurred on March 30th and April 1, 2021. comment period for Public Meeting No. 1 concluded on May 8, 2021. The Mayor and DDOT announced a decision on December 15, 2021 for a preferred concept. Concept C is the preferred concept and will be advanced to the design phase. Connecticut Avenue Reversible Lane Operations and Safety Study was initiated in December 2019. Data analysis, concept development and evaluation, traffic forecasts and operations analysis were conducted between Spring 2020 and Fall 2020. Throughout 2020 and early 2021, approximately 40 stakeholder and agency presentations took place prior to Public Meeting No. 1 that occurred on March 30th and April 1, 2021. comment period for Public Meeting No. 1 concluded on May 8, 2021.
ANC 3/4G held a properly noticed public meeting on April 26, 2021 to discuss the Connecticut Avenue Reversible Lane Study and DDOT’s Proposed Alternatives. The Commission voted to support Concept C in its resolution, “ANC 3/4G Resolution Regarding DDOT’s Connecticut Avenue Reversible Lane Study Supporting Concept C.” Chair Randy Speck provided his individual comments on April 28, 2021 as a supplement to the Commission’s resolution which can be found here. ANC 3/4G-05 Commissioner Chang provided her comments on concerns regarding Concept C here.
The other three Ward 3 ANCs (ANC 3C, 3E, and 3F) also voted to support Concept C–a news article can be found here.
The reversible lanes will not be reactivated. The recommendation to permanently remove the reversible lanes is included in the preferred alternative, Concept C, which was officially approved by the Mayor and DDOT on December 15, 2021. You can find the Mayor’s announcement here. Concept C is the preferred concept and will be advanced to the design phase.
The project removes the peak hour, peak direction reversible lanes on Connecticut Avenue, adds protected one-way protected bicycle lanes on each side of the street, adds left and right turn lanes at signalized intersections, adds pedestrian refuge islands, evaluates all bus stop locations holistically along the Corridor, considers the addition of HAWK signals at various locations, reduces the posted speed limit on Connecticut Avenue from 30 mph to 25 mph, plus other safety improvements.
DDOT’s project page can be found here.
**UPDATE November 14, 2022**
ANC 3/4G invited DDOT to attend the November 14, 2022 public meeting to provide an update to our community on the Reversible Lane and Multimodal Safety Improvement Project. Ed Stollof, manager at DDOT’s Planning Branch who leads this effort gave the presentation and others from DDOT were also present to answer questions in the Q&A, over chat, or live, included Christian Pineiro, Ward 3 Community Liaison for DDOT and on this project’s outreach team; Sean Burnett, DC Bike Lane Program; Charlotte Ducksworth, consultant on community engagement; and Jamee Ernst, transportation planner.
You can find the presentation here, the video recording of the public meeting to look for the DDOT presentation that begins at 7:29 pm here, and Q&A and Chat Log of the meeting here. The Meeting Information page houses all of these links as well as the meeting agenda and minutes, which will be approved at our next public meeting.
**UPDATE June 21, 2022**
Two public meetings will be held in June for DDOT to provide an update on the project, present information regarding the selected concept (Concept C), and introduce the project elements. The public meetings provide an opportunity for the public to provide input on the preliminary elements of Concept C prior to the initiation of the design phase. The public notice for these meetings can be found here.
For your convenience, the public meeting schedule is provided below for both the virtual meeting and the in-person meeting.
–> What: Connecticut Avenue NW Reversible Lanes and Multimodal Safety Project Public Meeting
When: Virtual Public Meeting – Tuesday, June 28, 2022
General Meeting: 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
Where: Join through Webex
Attendee Meeting Link: rebrand.ly/ConnAveRevStudy
Webinar Number: 2313 486 8372
Webinar Password: June28!
Call-In Instructions for Dial-in Option (audio only):
Dial the US Toll – Washington D.C. Phone Number: +1-202-860-2110
Dial the meeting’s Access Code: 2313 486 8372, followed by the # key.
The Webex system will prompt you for an Attendee ID, this is not required.
Press the # key to join the meeting.
***The virtual meeting will also be broadcast live on DDOT’s Facebook Page***
–> When: In-Person Public Meeting Wednesday, June 29, 2022
General Meeting: 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
Where: University of the District of Columbia (UDC)
4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW
The meeting will be held in the Student Center Building, 3rd Floor Ballroom
Nearest Metro Station is Van Ness-UDC Metro Stop on the Red Line
L2 Chevy Chase Circle Bus also drops off directly outside the Student Center
For more information about the project, please contact DDOT Project Manager Ed Stollof at Edward.Stollof@dc.gov or Deputy Project Manager Cynthia Lin at Cynthia.Lin@dc.gov. Please visit the project website at ddot.dc.gov/page/connecticut-avenue-nw-reversible-lane-safety-and-operations-study.
**UPDATE April 11, 2022**
DDOT’s CT Ave Multimodal Project Status Update can be found here, and copied and pasted below for convenience (except for the graphic illustration in the original above).
Project Description
CONNECTICUT AVENUE MULTIMODAL PROJECT PROJECT STATUS
The Mayor and DDOT have selected a preferred alternate (Concept C) for the corridor on December 15, 2021. The project contains elements of a comprehensive strategy to address speeding, enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety, bus safety, and vehicle safety. Concept C removes reversible Lanes, adds protected bicycle lanes on the east and west sides of Connecticut Avenue, reduces the Connecticut Avenue posted speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph, provides speed enforcement cameras, and includes safety improvements such as adding left and right turn lanes, implementing No Turns on Red, adding pedestrian refuge islands and realigning intersection approaches to make them safer.
Ongoing Activities
Concept Development Plans
- The first iteration of Concept Development plans for the project was presented to the project’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) on April 6, 2022. The CAC offered suggestions to enhance the Plan. DDOT’s consultant will evaluate the suggestions based on technical feasibility and will incorporate the CAC’s suggestions into the Plan, where possible.
- The Concept Plans will be presented to an Interagency Committee in April 2022. The Interagency Committee will review and comment on the Connecticut Avenue Concept Development Plans. DDOT’s consultant will incorporate the Interagency Committee’s suggestions, if possible, based on technical feasibility. The Interagency Committee is comprised of DDOT subject matter experts in planning, engineering, safety, design, and construction. Representatives from other District of Columbia and external agencies (e.g., State Historic Preservation Office, National Park Service, District Department of Energy and Environment, MPD, FEMS, and others) are also included on the Interagency Committee.
- A revised set of Concept Development Plans will be prepared by late April 2022. DDOT intends to place the revised set of plans on the project website in early to mid-May. Continued concept development plan refinement will occur throughout 2022.
- DDOT will prepare for a Public Meeting to be held in approximately mid-June (pending calendar reviews of ANC, and other meetings). The primary purpose of the Public Meeting will be to show the public the conceptual plan sets, to date.
- In this first set of conceptual plans, please note that the number and allocation of parking and loading spaces along each blockface is illustrative. Traffic. DDOT will review and identify current traffic issues that may require traffic calming solutions based on observations of cut-through traffic, speeding and non-compliance with traffic control devices. Parking. DDOT plans to engage approximately seven parking task forces (each task force will review smaller sections of the Connecticut Avenue corridor) over the summer (2022) to evaluate and recommend optimized parking and loading solutions. Recommendations will be reviewed by DDOT and presented to the Community Advisory Committee and to the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions for consideration.
Racial Equity Impact Analysis. The Mayor’s Office of Racial Equity is conducting a Racial Equity Impact Analysis (REIA) for the Project. The results of this analysis are expected to be available this spring/early summer. Based on the results of the REIA, potential project elements may be included in the project design based on identified racial and other inequities.
Environmental Documentation. DDOT will be completing the required environmental documentation for the project between during 2022.
Remove Reversible Lane (RL) Infrastructure. DDOT is in the process of removing the Corridor’s reversible lane infrastructure. This item is an integral part of the master project. In March 2022, DDOT removed all static signs which directed drivers to use the reversible lanes. The agency is currently completing a signing and marking plan. Completion of removal of the RL pavement markings is estimated to be complete by early summer.
Reduce Speed Limit on Connecticut Avenue from 30 mph to 25 mph. DDOT will replace all 30-mph speed limit signs with 25 mph signs within the Connecticut Avenue corridor. This item is an integral part of the master project. All 25-mph signs should be in place by early summer. Three Notice-of-Intents (NOIs) were distributed to the ANCs in the corridor (ANC 3C, 3F and 3-4/G). The NOIs were distributed on March 24, 2022, and the 10-day comment period concluded on April 6, 2022. Two ANCs provided supportive comments of this action and one ANC did not respond. Individual comments were substantially supportive of this action.
Continued Community Engagement. DDOT will continue robust community engagement with residents, businesses, and ANCs in the corridor during the final concept development/planning phases of the project and throughout the design and construction phases.
Analysis of a Potential Extension of the Protected Bicycle Lanes. Analyses of a potential extension of the PBLs at the northern terminus of the corridor (Legation Street to south of Chevy Chase Circle) will be initiated. The original project limits were set because the limits of the RLs ended at Legation Street. During the public comment period, suggestions were made to extend the PBLs. DDOT will conduct and analyze detailed traffic and parking data to understand the traffic and parking context within the extended area. DDOT will evaluate the potential PBL extension based on effects on traffic operations, safety, pedestrian, bicycle and transit modes, and other factors. Based on the evaluation, DDOT will make a recommendation on whether to include, or not to include, the PBL extension in the project. DDOT will engage the community including residents, businesses, the ANCs, and other organizations throughout the study period.
Concept Plan Refinements. DDOT will continue refine the concept development plans between summer 2022 and early winter 2023 prior to starting the design phase. DDOT will request the community’s continued input during this calendar period.
Concept Design Plan Refinement Continued Community Engagement (02/2022-01/2023)
Project Design (01/2023-01/2024) (*Seven (7) months post-design for construction procurement)