7th Street Promenade? Just A Thought..

Except that 7th Street is a major thoroughfare for mass transit (buses) — and the only cross-Mall street for a few blocks. Diverting this traffic to other streets would cause bus delays, a disruption of traffic and would cut SW off from NW even more than it is now.

Anon: Very good points!

I don’t know, in the old days F Street was pedestrianized in front of the Reynolds Center and MLK Library, and it was a dismal failure. It was known unofficially as “Pee Park” from the smell of urine since it became a big hangout for drunks and panhandlers. Maybe widening the sidewalks at the expense of a lane or parking spaces, but leave one through lane in each direction?

I would worry about an increase in crime. There are already too many loiterers up to no good on that stretch.

Hopefully, the site of the old convention center will fill that role.

I think it would be a good idea for H street between 7 and 6th. It is a very dangerous street and I have seen about 5 car accidents and 2-3 people hit there. And it would divert the xpress bus to annother street, which would improve the commercial area a lot. With the street closed, they could permit street vending of Chinatown knicknacks and make it more of a tourist attraction.

I have to agree with the first poster. This is a bad idea. Like it or not 7th street is a major vehicle artery. If 7th street is closed to cars there would be no direct access point to get northbound across Pennsylvania ave. from the mall area between 11th and 3rd streets. I’m not sure where you would divert all that traffic.

While I suppose the southbound traffic could be pushed down 9th street, not sure where you put the northbound traffic. seems like 6th st. would end up as the default for northbound traffic as cars would just make the turn off Pennsylvania onto 6th, which hardly seems ideal and would just lead to the same problems that 7th street has now with cars.

If you really wanted a promendade then g st between 9th and 7th seems more suited. However as someone else already pointed out, I remember when g between 10th and 9th was closed to traffic and it wasn’t a pleasant area to walk through.

If anything I would support widening the sidewalks a bit and getting rid of the parking lanes along 7th.

DC could benefit from several pedestrian only zones. These zones are used alot in large European cities, as well as US cities and are very successful. Many people thought they wouldn’t work, but they do.

The congestion on 7th is ridiculous and cars consistently drive through red lights and into pedestrians crossing the street.

Another area that would benefit greatly is Jefferson and Madison along the Mall in front of the museums.

I have also seen cities use bus and taxi only lanes, which clearly expedites this mode of transportation.

Discouraging more cars in the city will make our air a little easier to breathe. I have no problem with this.

It is unfair to compare the use of pedestrian streets from a few years ago, as the area has changed a great deal.

The city also needs to enforce a no pandling/loitering law, which will eliminate alot of the aforementioned problems.

Both 7 and H are major arteries, and I can’t see the city shutting them down without some DRASTIC construction to make other roads viable arteries.

However, there are a couple good candidates for pedestrian promenades:

1. G St from 9th to 6th (through the mall). It’s already a promenade for a half-block (full block if you count the mall and the alley), and the 9-to-7 stretch does nothing but create three awkward and rarely-used intersections.

2. 8th St from G to K. It’s already a promenade from K to I, and again, the I to G street stretch is useless except for loading docks.

In both cases, the drawback is that these streets could be even more dead than they are now without cars on them. I think the solution in both cases would be to allow street vendors or sidewalk cafes.

The area may have improved but 7th Street is still littered with homeless and other panhandlers. If the street were closed, more of these individuals would undoubtedly converge on the area. Furthermore, what’s the point of a pedestrian promenade when the street is full of empty storefronts filled wity Douglas Development signs hanging in the windows. Sounds to me like a bad idea all around.

In addition to the panhandlers, pedestrianized streets are notorious for becoming defacto urban skateboard parks. I think that as it stands right now, the streets in vicinity of the Gallery Place metro station have a good mix of pedestrians, cars, buses and bicycles and tinkering with the balance would be ill-advised.

What’s the deal with the panhandlers? Does the city not have any recourse to deal with them? They are definitely putting a negative vibe in what should continue to be a major tourist/residential area…

I believe 7th Street is also a federal highway and would never be permitted to be closed to traffic. Be happy with what you have people. This is always going to be downtown DC and the first neighborhood off the Mall and an emergency evacuation route.

I agree with others that this seems like a well-intentioned but ill-advised idea. Unfortunately 7th is just way too busy and important to be closed like this, not to mention the possibility of it becoming a crime magnet.

I don’t think the original idea was a complaint, though, so I don’t understand “Be happy with what you have people.” Or is any speculation about ways to improve the neighborhood now seen by some as a complaint by overprivileged crybabies who prefer to live in an area with amenities like a grocery store, open sidewalks, a pedestrian-friendly environment, etc.? I am happy with what I have, but that doesn’t mean I think it couldn’t be any better. Jeesh. (Sorry for venting)

Gee, Anon at 14:00PM, sensiTIVE, aren’t we? This has been a really good and well-behaved dialog. Who hurt your feeleings?

Here is an interesting article on the benefits of pedestrians zones used in cities in the United States.

According to the article, it promotes business and shopping, along with a constant occupancy rate.

http://www.walkinginfo.org/pedsafe/casestudy.cfm?CS_NUM=44

Does anyone know how to get the city/MPD to enforce the bus/bike only lanes on 7th and 9th Streets? I regularly ride my bike in the 7th Street bus/bike lane and get honked at by cars illegally in that lane. Thoughts?

To anonymous 02:59:
There are just as many studies and statistics to show the opposite: pedestrian plazas are often neglected because of the lack of street traffic. I travel on a regular basis and have seen such areas in more than 3 dozen cities across the US (forget Europe, as they have a fundamentally different attitude towards cars and walking) Many turn into tourist traps — places no one would shop in unless they need overpriced tchotchkes. Others are horribly deserted at night when the stores close and become havens for petty crimes. Still others die altogether because of the lack of exposure from passing cars and transit. The idea is romantic and has its place. But it needs to be designed from the ground-up. The plan for the old convention site has a pedestrian plaza with shops and restaurants and entrances to residences — all which should help to deter crime during most hours.

Anon: That question was briefly discussed on the MPD listserv a few months ago. The consensus was that the lane is a 24 hour bus & bike lane, but no info was given regarding its enforcement. My guess is that it would take up too many resources to enforce.

It would seriously take a massive campaign to get every driver to recognize that the lane is 24 hours.

They should ditch the current traffic pattern on 7th Street and instead use something like what they put on E Street. Traffic would flow much better if there were turning lanes instead of that completely ignored bus/bike lane. Hopefully there would also be room for smaller bike lanes, but that’s a lower priority (they seem to be used rarely on E Street).

I’m a big proponent of “shared” streets, where the pedestrian and vehicle zones are blurred. Traffic signals and curbs are done away with and the street is much more pedestrian friendly without sacrificing the vehicle right of way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space

In DC, pedestrians have the right of way, not vehicles.

Am I the only one that thinks the bus lane causes more problems than it solves? When I try to abide by it by staying to the left, no one else does and I can’t ever get into the bus/turn lane in time to turn right, and therefore I end up blocking the left lane unnecessarily while waiting for the 30 cars NOT turning from the right lane to pass me. And the shift in lane patterns after crossing the mall seems to confuse everyone.