(click on letter for larger view)
Above is a letter, dated 12/22/08, from Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells to Interim DDOT Director Frank Seales urging DDOT to reduce the number of C Street, NE west-bound lanes from 3 to 2 immediately after the Benning Road Reconstruction Project is completed.
CM Wells has been supportive of our efforts for years, making his first site visit to C Street, NE back in April 2007 to listen to residents safety and quality-of-life issues related to commuter and commercial traffic volumes, vehicular speeds and poor residential street geometry.
In his letter (above), Wells states, "Residents and community groups, including the Rosedale Citizens’ Alliance, believe the first step to addressing this [C Street, NE] commuter corridor is reducing the number of west-bound lanes between 21st and 16th Streets NE from three vehicular lanes to two. I concur."
(Conceptual C Street, NE West-bound Lane Reduction, click on image for larger view)
HERE is our concept to close one of the 3 west-bound C Street, NE lanes. The idea is to make it less appealing to use C Street as a commercial and commuter cut-through corridor and dispersing these vehicles into the Greater Capitol Hill neighborhood street grid and make it more appealing to use existing east-west major-arterial commercial corridors that directly connect Kennilworth Ave/I-295 and point east to downtown. These major-arterials include: Benning/H Street, New York Ave, Pennsylvania Ave, proposed 11th Street Bridge (I-295/I-395 connection) and M Street, SE.
Also, to encourage out-of-district commuters to use existing under-utilized mass-transit systems, such as the Stadium/Armory Metro Station. Another alternative is for DC Government to consider providing reduced or free RFK Stadium vehicle parking for motorist using the metro-rail or metro-bus system.
In the letter, CM Wells goes on to state, "I urge DDOT to begin designing this new reduced-lane configuration so that it may be implemented once the Benning Road project is complete." Currently, the Benning Road Reconstruction Project is scheduled to be completed by December 2009. So, we would like the lane reduction to be implemented in January/February 2010. That gives DDOT a 12-14 month design and implementation period from the dated letter.
A HUGE thank you to CM Tommy Wells and his staff for their continuous time, support and attention to our efforts. We are very fortunate to have a representative like CM Wells who, not only embraces the value of a "livable, walkable community", but is in the forefront leading the community and DC government to ensure such a noble cause move towards realization.
Lastly, below is the letter RCA's Transportation Committee sent to CM Tommy Wells on November 21, 2008 requesting CM Wells send a letter of support to DDOT Interim Director Frank Seals.
