Resolution on 44th and Davenport Streets

by | Jul 8, 2012

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 3E

TENLEYTOWN     AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK    

FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS

c/o Lisner Home 5425 Western Avenue, NW Washington, DC  20015 

www.anc3e.com

RESOLUTION SUPPORTING INSTALLATION OF FOUR-WAY STOP SIGN AT 44th AND DAVENPORT

WHEREAS:

  1. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) on June 14, 2012 to install a four-way stop sign at the intersection of 44th and Davenport Streets, NW.
  2. The NOI states the following, in pertinent part:

There has been a recent site study that revealed increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic volumes at this intersection. The sight distance is in conflict and the existing controls are no longer adequate. Therefore, in the interest of pedestrian and vehicular traffic safety, an independent determination has been made by the Transportation Operations Administration to install additional Stop signs making this intersection an All-Way Stop sign control.

Since the District Department of Transportation’s policy is to provide maximum protection for pedestrian and motorist alike, the Transportation Operations Administration has made a determination to install STOP signs on Davenport Street, N.W. as well as on 44th Street, making this an “ALL-WAY STOP” sign controlled intersection.

  1. DDOT conducted a study of the broader neighborhood in 2010 “to take a big picture look at the street network and identify concrete actions to increase transportation and safety options.”  The final report for the study, Rock Creek Livability Study II (RCW II), issued in early 2011.
  2. Many recommendations from RCW II, including notably installation of a four-way stop sign at 46th and Fessenden Streets, NW, which this ANC had requested before RCW II, have not been implemented.
  3. Yet, DDOT continues to issue NOI’s for installation of other stop signs in ANC 3E’s jurisdiction based on analyses conducted after RCW II and without clear notice to the ANC that such analyses were being conducted.
  4. In this instance and at least one previous recent instance involving a traffic safety matter in ANC 3E’s jurisdiction, DDOT supplied a report detailing its analysis (“Report”) – as opposed to the largely conclusory statements contained in the NOI – to a private citizen who had requested the study be conducted, but not to the ANC.
  5. ANC’s have a statutory charge to review and offer advice concerning DDOT NOI’s, and DC agencies have a statutory charge to make available pertinent documents and analyses to ANC’s.
  6. DDOT’s failure to provide Reports to ANC 3E impedes the ANC’s ability to serve its constituents ably.
  7. By providing Reports to citizens who request traffic studies while withholding them from the neighborhood’s elected representatives, DDOT fosters neighborhood divisiveness where neighbors disagree about the desirability of DDOT’s recommended course of action.
  8. By issuing NOI’s for installation of stop signs at selected intersections before issuing NOI’s for installation of signs already recommended by what the agency described as a “big picture” traffic study, DDOT creates a sense of agency irrationality, with priorities seemingly set randomly.
  9. The Commissioner for the Single Member District including the subject intersection has asked residents living nearby whether they believe installation of a four-way stop sign at the intersection is warranted.  Several neighbors responded, and all believe the intersection is dangerous and a four-way sign should be installed.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

  1. Based on the unnecessarily limited information available to it, ANC 3E believes installation of a four-way stop sign at the subject intersection would increase safety without creating undue burden, and thus supports the course of action outlined in the NOI.
  2. ANC 3E respectfully calls upon the Director of DDOT to order that NOI’s for short-term recommendations from RCW II be issued as soon as possible, and, absent emergent circumstances, before other NOI’s for signage and related traffic-calming measures are issued.
  3. ANC 3E respectfully calls upon the Director of DDOT to order that Reports be provided as soon as they are issued to the ANC, and that the agency formally notify the ANC when it embarks upon the study of any intersection or street within the ANC’s boundaries.

The resolution passed by a vote of 5-0-0 at a properly noticed meeting held on April 12, 2012, at which a quorum was present, with Commissioners Bender, Frumin, Quinn, Serebin, and Sklover in attendance.

 

ANC 3E

 

__________________

by Matthew Frumin

Chairperson