Davenport Street east of Linnean Avenue would become a one-way street under a traffic safety plan proposed by DDOT.
The agency would limit vehicle travel on this narrow and winding section of Davenport to eastbound traffic heading to Broad Branch Road. DDOT is also planning to install speed humps, and to use flexposts and pavement markings to create pedestrian walkways.
Residents of this stretch of Davenport Street have been pressing the DC government for years for safety improvements due to speeding drivers and high vehicle traffic volumes during some dayparts. In 2014, they succeeded in getting DDOT to install a narrow pedestrian walkway on one side of the street, but from the driver’s seat, the raised path can be indistinguishable from the street asphalt, and it’s often blocked by overgrown vegetation or buried under leaves.
The latest calls for safety improvements resulted in an onsite meeting in September between Davenport Street neighbors and officials from DDOT, Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin, and ANC 3F. DDOT also conducted a traffic study, and affirmed what residents have been saying all along: that non-local traffic is speeding by, especially during the morning rush.
DDOT published its notice of intent on November 15th, and is collecting written comments until 5 p.m. on December 31st. Comments can be sent to christian.pineiro@dc.gov or amha.kelemework@dc.gov.