Thursday, February 18, 2010

C Street NE Workshop this Saturday 02.20.10 @ 10AM

When: February 20, 2010 @ 10AM

Where: Maury ES, 1250 Constitution Ave, NE (gymnasium, doors on 13th St.)

What: The second workshop in a series of 4 scheduled meetings (two stakeholder workshops and two public meetings).

Bill Schultheiss, Project Manager, Toole Design Group, will present 4 conceptual designs. The workshop group will discuss and vote on a preferred conceptual design based on pedestrian/student/cyclist safety, environmental benefits, improvement to residents' quality of life, community connectivity and potential traffic impact. Bill will also review the next steps for the project.

HERE is a list of participants' suggested items from the 1st workshop.

Contact: Bill Schultheiss, Project Manager, Toole Design Group - wschultheiss@tooledesign.com

Project Overview: DDOT has begun a transportation and environmental study of the C Street and North Carolina Avenue corridor from 21st St. to 14th St., NE. The study is a result of community requests for safety and environmental improvements to the C St NE corridor. Results and recommendations from the study will be used to develop a preliminary design for the District’s first sustainable green street to efficiently and safely move people via foot, bicycle, transit and motor-vehicle. It is DDOT’s goal that this project be a community driven study that strives to attain an integrated infrastructure balancing the functions of mobility, safety, community connectivity, urban design and environmental sustainability.

The project will define means to improve safety for residents and school children, reduce storm water runoff and reduce traffic speeds. The findings and recommendations of the study will be reported back to the community for review and comment.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

THIH Covers the 01.12.10 C Street NE Public Meeting

Sharee Lawler, with the The Hill is Home, has covered the ongoing C Street, NE project and has written another great post about the January 12, 2010 C Street NE Project public meeting (1st of 2 scheduled meetings). You can read the post here.

As always, thanks Sharee and The Hill is Home for the continued support!

Monday, February 01, 2010

RCA's C Street NE Mobility & Streetscape Design Suggestions

The following are mobility and streetscape design suggestions based on discussions with participants at the January 2, 2010 C Street, NE Workshop

Assembled by Rosedale Citizens' Alliance (RCA) Transportation Committee Members - Ken Granata & Rob Stephens

MOBILITY

1. C & 21st Streets Intersection – connection between bike lanes/sidewalk and the existing Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (ART) Portal (northeast corner of intersection)
• Signage - informing about ART, Kingman & Heritage Islands Park and future Environmental Center
• Vegetation

2. Reduce at least one west-bound vehicular lane and one east-bound vehicular lane along C Street and North Carolina Ave from 21st to 14th Streets

3. Reduce width of remaining east- and west-bound vehicular lanes along C Street and North Carolina Ave from 21st to 14th Streets to the minimum required lane width as mandated by DDOT

4. Provide bulb-outs at all C Street and North Carolina Ave intersection where pedestrian cross-walks are located
• Provides shorter pedestrian crossing
• Allows pedestrians and motorists to better see each other
• Creates roadway “choker” points
• Provide vegetation areas within the bulb-outs, as configuration allows

5. Provide raised crosswalks at major intersections
• 21st St
• 19th St
• 17th St
• 15th St
• 14th St/Constitution Ave
• 17th Place (see item 7 below)

6. Consider removing 18th Street intersection and signal to reduce spill-over traffic onto and through 18th Street and improve C Street traffic flow
• Create a median-barrier similar to existing cross-street barriers (20th St, 18th Pl, 17th Pl, 16th St and 14th Pl)
• Considering 17th St and 19th St will be reconverted to two-way streets, 18th Street residents will experience minimal access reduction
• No cross-street to the south only Eliot-Hines access ramp
• 18th Street extends only two blocks to the north

7. C Street & 17th Place - consider adding a new raised pedestrian crosswalk with cross-walk light
• 17th Place is a major de-facto point where many students transit to/from Eliot-Hine JHS.

8. Keep some type of median barrier for all or most of C Street and North Carolina.
• Determine what is the minimum size/width of a median for grass, shrubs and/or trees (i.e. vegetation) to thrive using two scenarios – a) natural - self-sustaining vegetation (only from rainfall and storm-water runoff) and b) artificial – supplemental watering from city, residents and/or others

9. Remove sweeping west-bound turning lane at North Carolina Ave and Constitution Ave
• Relocate and reconfigure exiting island to the curb-line
• Create sharper angled turn to slow vehicular movement

10. Remove C Street turning lane at 16th Street (turning movement onto 16th Street)
• Create green space
• Relocate, but keep, residential parking in front of C Street residences
• Decrease pedestrian crossing distance

11. Remove portion of C Street turning lane (turning movement onto 15th Street) between 16th and 15th Street
• Create green space
• Incorporate into bulb-out at 16th Street (west side) to reduce pedestrian crossing distance

12. Consider removing the west-bound turning lane at C Street on to 21st Street
• Minimize potential spill over onto 21st Street and the north side of neighborhood

13. C Street and North Carolina Ave west-bound split (mid-block between 17th & 16th Sts) – provide only one west-bound vehicular lane
• Increase island green space
• Reduce one west-bound C Street vehicular lane
• Decrease pedestrian crossing distance

14. Create physically separated bike-lanes (cycle tracks) along C Street and North Carolina Ave bike-lanes from 21st Street to14th Street.
• Located between curb-side tree boxes and vehicle parking
• Separated from vehicle parking by a minimal (2’-3’) width median with porous pavers (cobbles, bricks, etc.)

15. Prohibit commercial trucks and motor-coaches, greater than 1-1/4 tons GVW
• Based on the DDOT’s August 2004 Motor Carrier Management and Threat Assessment Study (http://ddot.dc.gov/ddot/cwp/view,a,1249,q,609850.asp)


STREETSCAPE

1. Any right of way width captured by the removal of vehicular lanes should be used to create additional green-spaces (natural ground surfaces to support vegetation).
• Most of the additional green space should be used to increase the width curb side tree –boxes instead of a wider median.
• Adding green-space (enlarging tree-boxes) will increase distance between residences and vehicular traffic.
• Residents are more likely to water and maintain green-spaces adjacent to their homes than the median.
• This does not preclude having green “islands” or wider green medians in certain sections where it is required or needed as a traffic calming feature.

2. When presenting options regarding street profiles/cross-sections that include areas with vegetation, present only options that are realistic and sustainable given the area size/width, type of vegetation and watering. Include features that will make it easy for residents to voluntarily water and/or maintain green areas adjacent to their homes. Be explicit and realistic regarding who is expected to provide water and maintenance (i.e. nature, city, residents or others).

3. C & 21st Streets Intersection – gateway elements to alert motorist that they are entering a neighborhood.
• “Welcome to…” sign
• Prominent median with vegetation
• Consider designating median space for future art work (sculpture)
• Consider textural/visual intersection roadway surface
• Consider raised intersection including crosswalks

4. Provide pedestrian oriented lighting
• Low light pollution
• Energy efficient
• Architecturally appealing

5. Provide roadway lighting that complements the neighborhood
• Low light pollution
• Energy efficient
• Architecturally appealing

6. Provide brick sidewalks
• Consistent with the Capitol Hill neighborhood
• Concrete base

7. Provide granite curbing
• Consistent with the Capitol Hill neighborhood

8. Provide porous hard surfaces- sidewalks, roadways and, if possible, bike lanes.
• Bike lanes surfaces should provide a smooth, safe and enjoyable ride.

9. Streetscape elements (not necessarily profile) such as materials (textures, colors), signage, lighting, vegetation, etc. should be consistent and complementary along the C Street and North Carolina Ave corridor.
• Unify neighborhoods
• Connect neighborhoods to the Anacostia River

10. Reduce or even eliminate storm-water run-off discharge into the existing regional storm-water system
• Capture and use any storm-water runoff to support the corridor streetscape vegetation