DDOT's Interim Plan to Fix a Stretch of Florida Ave NE

DDOT map showing the full project area

Greater Greater Washington has a story on the District Department of Transportation's interim efforts to abate some of the dangerous conditions on Florida Avenue NE. For greater detail you can take a look at DDOT's materials from the June 20th open house. Plans have been in the works (albeit moving slowly) to fix Florida Avenue NE for years. Due in part to public outcry and a series of recent crashes, DDOT has begun implementing temporary measures to address the issue. You've probably noticed some of the pylons DDOT has placed at certain locations along the corridor, but construction on interim measures is set to begin in earnest next month. As described in both the meeting materials and the GGW post, the changes will include repurposing an existing travel lane in each direction between 3rd Street and West Virginia Avenue NE, and repurposing an existing travel/off-peak parking lane in each direction between West Virginia Avenue and Staples Street NE. The hope is that the interim improvements will help to "address safety concerns along the corridor by reducing vehicle speeds, improving pedestrian crossings, and providing protected bicycle infrastructure."

Unfortunately, we'll still have to wait a while before the full project can come to fruition. The Florida Avenue NE Multimodal Project is still in the final design phase and will then move to the procurement phase, with construction slated to begin in spring of 2021.