Viewing By Entry / Main
According to a recent WaPo article, the city is exploring the idea of closing the northern section of 395 to eliminate access to/from NY Ave & 3rd Street. This stunted highway has been the subject of debate since way back in the day when they wanted to level Shaw to take it all the way up to MD. I'm really glad they didnt do that. (check out an excellent exhibit at the National Building Museum for the skinny on that & Urban Renewal...hey! you can walk there!) And more recently when the tunnel under NY Ave idea was percolating. What do you all think the closure of that top stretch of 395 would do for traffic, etc? Certainly the intersection of 3rd & NY and its environs is ...er...a challenge for pedestrians. With many new people moving into the Triangle, & businesses opening up shop drawing walkers from all over, maybe this could be a good thing. With Northwest One development under way, it could be linked to the Triangle with smarth growth practices. But then take into account where the cars are going to go...Mass Ave probably. Is that better? And how would this fit into the other 10 plans they have for the area? Consider what we have now & sound off:
Speaking of pedestrians, Charles Allen from Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells Office (who blogs:) sent notice of a public meeting for the pedestrian master plan. you can view the actual plan here.
Comments
absolutely, close the tunnel. then use it as part of a separated <a href="http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=1004">blue line</a> through the city that would alleviate congestion in the entire metro system.
with the reconstruction of the 11th street bridges, there will be a direct route for those cutting through town to take that is all freeway. they won't have to use new york avenue as a defacto freeway anymore. a lot of people seem concerned that this would lead to a lot more traffic in the neighborhood. i believe that things would get better on new york avenue and the surrounding streets by following through on these plans. it would not get worse...
Posted By IMGoph / At 7/8/08 8:40 AM
with the reconstruction of the 11th street bridges, there will be a direct route for those cutting through town to take that is all freeway. they won't have to use new york avenue as a defacto freeway anymore. a lot of people seem concerned that this would lead to a lot more traffic in the neighborhood. i believe that things would get better on new york avenue and the surrounding streets by following through on these plans. it would not get worse...
Posted By IMGoph / At 7/8/08 8:40 AM
Agree with IMGoph. Truncating I-395 could be a good idea. But I don't think it makes sense before the reconstruction of the 11th Street bridge is complete. The city needs to make the SE Freeway path through the city much more attractive to drivers. Giving drivers a vastly better option is crucial. Just inducing a little more inconvenience to the NY Ave option (by making them travel a few blocks south to Mass Ave) won't be enough to deter them.
The Mount Vernon Triangle blog had some discussion on this recently. First discussed the proposed closure and then touched on a possible reuse of the tunnel.
http://mvtriangle.blogspot.com/search/label/I-395
Posted By FourthandEye / At 7/8/08 8:52 AM
The Mount Vernon Triangle blog had some discussion on this recently. First discussed the proposed closure and then touched on a possible reuse of the tunnel.
http://mvtriangle.blogspot.com/search/label/I-395
Posted By FourthandEye / At 7/8/08 8:52 AM
I knew there was some reason this was in my brain! your post is way better :)
Posted By Si Kailian / At 7/8/08 9:05 AM
Posted By Si Kailian / At 7/8/08 9:05 AM
It's good to get the discussion going in as many forums as possible. Heck, I retread some ideas from David Alpert's blog. Different groups will have different slants. The Mount Vernon Square residents might see less wrong way traffic on M & N if this comes to fruition. The Triangle residents would be wondering what affect we would see to our segments of New Jersey Ave and 4th Street that connect Mass Ave to NY Ave near the interstate.
Posted By FourthandEye / At 7/8/08 9:41 AM
Posted By FourthandEye / At 7/8/08 9:41 AM
I want them to close it down. The MD-VA commuters need to use the alternate 295/395 connections and quit clogging up New York Avenue. Every afternoon, westbound New York Avenue is bumper-to-bumper from at least North Capitol Street (and sometimes to Florida) with the commuters trying to get to the 3rd Street tunnel. Let us take back New York Avenue for the DC residents. This would go a long way on addressing our transportation/pedestrian issues in the area. When I spoke to Fox5 the other day, I was the only one for the project - which wasn't strange - she was interviewing people in cars heading down the tunnel - of course they were going to say they wanted to keep it the way it was - it was their shortcut through the city!
Posted By Rob A / At 7/8/08 1:22 PM
Posted By Rob A / At 7/8/08 1:22 PM
run the a new metro line along ny avenue from metro center directly out to cheverly and onto addison road with stops at ft lincoln, bladensburg road, ivy city, ny/fla, ny/nj and metro center. use the existing rail lines from ivy city to new carollton/addison road. that will get commuters downtown faster and save them dough. let maryland pay for it. haha
Posted By richard rogers / At 7/8/08 6:28 PM
Posted By richard rogers / At 7/8/08 6:28 PM
I would be interested to know the number of south-bound drivers that use the Third Street access locally to get onto 395, and what impact closing off that access point would have on the other corridors (9th street seems like it would take most of that traffic). But if we know definitively that the vast number of NY Ave drivers are only coming through to get from MD to 395 and down to VA, then it does seem to make sense to shut it down. A truly creative proposal for how to use that space would likely go a long way toward convincing me it's an idea worth pursuing.
Posted By Erich Zimmermann / At 7/9/08 8:03 AM
Posted By Erich Zimmermann / At 7/9/08 8:03 AM
Close it. 99% of the vehicles going into and coming out of the tunnel are out-of-state [MD & Va]. I'm tired of them using my front yard as a commuter pass through, especially on my dime. Plus they can't drive, causing numerous accidents at every intersection between the tunnel and MD, so bad that DC's worst intersections are all between the MD line and the tunnel. Fill it and build it. I also like the idea of turning NY and NJ Ave it into a circle with a park in the middle!
Posted By Scott NJ Ave / At 7/9/08 11:01 AM
Posted By Scott NJ Ave / At 7/9/08 11:01 AM
Scott I'm with you - the idea of a circle at NY/NJ is brilliant!
Posted By Rob A / At 7/9/08 12:16 PM
Posted By Rob A / At 7/9/08 12:16 PM
I love circles. In the UK they have em everywhere, even on their highways. hey, bring back truxton circle a few blocks west?! hehe, that would wreak havoc with the neighborhood monikers.
Posted By Si Kailian / At 7/9/08 12:59 PM
Posted By Si Kailian / At 7/9/08 12:59 PM
I guess it depends on what sort of circle.
If you have UK style roundabouts, without all the traffic lights and weird road layouts that they seem to love in DC, and just stick with the simple rule of priority to traffic already in the roundabout, it is often great for efficient traffic flow. The downside is that roundabouts on busy main roads are usually not very pedestrian friendly. In the UK they often build pedestrian underpasses that become covered in graffiti and smell like pee, and end up housing the homeless population.
Complicated DC style traffic circles such as Logan Circle and Dupont Circle, while aggravating to drive through, are probably better for pedestrians.
Posted By Charles Walker / At 7/9/08 6:17 PM
If you have UK style roundabouts, without all the traffic lights and weird road layouts that they seem to love in DC, and just stick with the simple rule of priority to traffic already in the roundabout, it is often great for efficient traffic flow. The downside is that roundabouts on busy main roads are usually not very pedestrian friendly. In the UK they often build pedestrian underpasses that become covered in graffiti and smell like pee, and end up housing the homeless population.
Complicated DC style traffic circles such as Logan Circle and Dupont Circle, while aggravating to drive through, are probably better for pedestrians.
Posted By Charles Walker / At 7/9/08 6:17 PM
I'd prefer the opposite... turn the entire NY Ave from 3rd St. to Bladensburg into an expressway. Bury it in the residential section between 3rd and North Capitol. Making it difficult for people (including residents like us) to get into or out of DC is not smart.
Posted By Jeff Masek / At 7/10/08 5:50 AM
Posted By Jeff Masek / At 7/10/08 5:50 AM
The tunnel should end at Mass Ave.
From talking to DDOT officials the thinking is that the improvements to the beltway, 295 and the wilson bridget means that traffic can go quicker that way and that the capacity can be handled.
Ending the tunnel at Mass Ave would not encourage drivers to come down NY Ave since it would be slow to get over to Mass Ave AND when combined with driver education would divert this traffic to the roads it is meant to be on like the Beltway.
Posted By Sam Farmer / At 7/10/08 3:41 PM
From talking to DDOT officials the thinking is that the improvements to the beltway, 295 and the wilson bridget means that traffic can go quicker that way and that the capacity can be handled.
Ending the tunnel at Mass Ave would not encourage drivers to come down NY Ave since it would be slow to get over to Mass Ave AND when combined with driver education would divert this traffic to the roads it is meant to be on like the Beltway.
Posted By Sam Farmer / At 7/10/08 3:41 PM
circles all the way out new york avenue:
NY/NJ, NY/FLA, NY/Brentwood parkway, NY?WVA(existing) and NY/Bladensburg Rd.
Posted By richard rogers / At 7/10/08 4:58 PM
NY/NJ, NY/FLA, NY/Brentwood parkway, NY?WVA(existing) and NY/Bladensburg Rd.
Posted By richard rogers / At 7/10/08 4:58 PM
I like Jeff Masek's idea. Closing the tunnel is obviously going to make traffic worse by slowing down commuters (from MD, VA, and DC). Social engineering never works. Just look at Boston's roads including the Big Dig. Worst driving in the nation. Traffic circles = total chaos. Try getting to Cambridge from anywhere else; you have to drive through the center of Boston. Contrast that with NYC where you can get around fairly quickly because of the elevated highways (in Brooklyn for instance) and the freeways (West side highway).
Of course we have a NIMBY attitude, everybody does. But no highways does not mean there will be no traffic. The traffic will be there no matter what.
Posted By ed six / At 7/11/08 7:58 AM
Of course we have a NIMBY attitude, everybody does. But no highways does not mean there will be no traffic. The traffic will be there no matter what.
Posted By ed six / At 7/11/08 7:58 AM
Through your front yard on your dime? I'm pretty sure the tunnel was there when you moved in. This is kind of like those people in G-Town who want to close the Whitehurst freeway. Some of us DC residents do like to drive and use the 3rd street tunnel every day. If you don't like NY Ave. traffic you shouldn't have moved there.
Posted By Jeremy / At 8/26/08 7:54 PM
Posted By Jeremy / At 8/26/08 7:54 PM
"If you don't like NY Ave. traffic you shouldn't have moved there."
I'm glad that the residents, who helped shut down that video store, did not have that attitude. People should always feel like they can advocate change for the better.
Posted By PSG / At 8/27/08 12:16 PM
I'm glad that the residents, who helped shut down that video store, did not have that attitude. People should always feel like they can advocate change for the better.
Posted By PSG / At 8/27/08 12:16 PM
