Ward
1 Comprehensive Plan - Transportation
1212.1 The Wards transportation system consists of a modern transit
system, with subway and bus services, a comprehensive highway and street
system, and special services for the elderly and handicapped. Transportation
systems historically play a major role in shaping land uses.
1212.2
Ward 1 is the smallest of the eight (8) wards, but because it is located
just north of central Washington and has a large population, it
requires and contains extensive transportation services. The Ward 1
transportation routes serve as conduits to the Downtown retail and
employment centers.
1212.3
Major commuter routes in the ward include 16th Street, Rock
Creek Parkway, Connecticut Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue,
Massachusetts Avenue, and Georgia Avenue.
1212.4
Traffic circulation west of 16th Street in Ward 1 is affected by the
Rock Creek Parkway. Only Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues, Park
and Klingle Roads, and Calvert Street provide cross-park
service. As a result, congestion, particularly at Calvert Street
and Connecticut Avenue, is a significant problem during rush hours.
1212.9 The principal defect in transit service in Ward 1 is the
limited east-west service. Primary routes for east-west travel across
Rock Creek Park are one half (1/2) to one (1) mile apart. Park and
Klingle Roads, Calvert Street, Connecticut Avenue, and Massachusetts
Avenue are
the only routes across Rock Creek Park.
1212.17
The overall transportation goal for the District is to provide a
transportation system that meets the needs of its residents, employees,
and visitors and ensures the effective functioning of the District.
(see report)
Klingle Road is a significant cross-town route for many DC citizens,
and is particularly important for the elderly and those who depend on
automobiles for their transportation needs. In 1990, Klingle Road
carried an average 3,200 vehicles per day.
Without Klingle Road traffic is increased on Porter Street, Connecticut
Avenue, Devonshire, Tilden, Calvert, Macomb, Newark, Cathedral, Ordway,
and through the National Zoo.
In order to make up for the lost transportation capacity of Klingle
Road, it will become necessary to widen other cross-town routes, such as
Porter Street.
Porter Street west of Connecticut Avenue is narrow, overburdened, and
badly in need of repair.
Klingle Road passes underneath Connecticut Avenue, avoiding the
bottleneck at Connecticut Avenue and Porter Street.
Repairing Klingle Road will alleviate the bottleneck and increase
pedestrian and motorist safety at Connecticut Avenue and Porter Street.
Repairing Klingle Road will reduce lines of traffic headed West up the
hill on Porter Street to Connecticut Avenue and will reduce the
associated idling while cars wait to get through the bottleneck.
Public transportation across town is insufficient.
Repairing Klingle Road will significantly reduce driving time between
nearby neighborhoods and across town.
The rhetoric that repairing Klingle Road will invite significant
commuter traffic has no factual basis -- on the contrary, anecdotal
evidence reveals that Klingle Road was never crowded during rush hours.
Further, assuming commuter traffic becomes a problem, there are many
ways to address this short of closing the street.
The enclave surrounding the upper end of Klingle Road (Klingle and
Woodley) already is replete with limited access, one-way streets,
including Devonshire Place, Cortland Place, 28th Street, 29th Street.
It is without precedent to close a section of an improved thoroughfare
in the middle of it's route, give it over to a park, and thereby make
the street discontinuous.
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