RSS FeedDDOT to Examine Pedestrian Safety Near Verizon Center
Anyone who has walked past the Verizon Center on a busy Friday night knows that the area is not exactly pedestrian friendly. Now the District’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) is taking notice and making the Penn Quarter area an important part of their “pedestrian safety strategy.”
The Washington Post article detailing DDOT’s plans points out that one of the primary areas being examined is the corner of 7th and H Street where the video advertising billboards may be contributing to the unsafe nature of that corner.
“In addition to the volume of traffic brought on by development, the problems there involve the high-tech video billboards that emulate New York’s Times Square and are a distraction for drivers and walkers. First District police Cmdr. David Kamperin said he thinks the huge screens were at fault for a hit-and-run accident along Seventh Street NW that seriously injured a woman.”
Pedestrian safety is a topic that has been discussed on this blog several times, and I’m glad to see that the District is taking pedestrian safety in our neighborhood seriously. And since a number of PQ residents deplore those billboards (both as safety hazard and annoyance), I wonder whether this might be the end of the giant screens?
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Comments
CB Resident’s response is very sensible. I drive in this intersection pretty frequently, and while I notice the signs, I don’t get fixated on them and ram into someone. I’ve also driven through Times Square many times — and there are far more signs that are bigger and more spectacular than those few at the corner of 7th & H streets — and have never come close to hitting someone.
It’s easy to blame the AT&T signs if you regard them as a nuisance and would like to see them gone, but there’s no evidence that the signs had anything to do with this.
The bigger problem in this city is drivers on their cell phones oblivious to their surroundings. I’ve had very close calls in “dull” residential intersections due to drivers with cell phones planted in their ears while driving.
I’m thinking that CB wasn’t around just a few months ago to enjoy the unbearable advertising audio that came from the billboards.
Taking a cue from the low quality of the boards – they were meant to be hung a lot higher than 12 feet off the ground. Combine the close proximity to the street as well as the seizure-inducing flashing of one particular ad, these billboards are a nonstop nuisance to anyone who has to be exposed to them.
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I have nothing but sympathy for the victim of the accident. However, I don’t know if anyone would advocate that we take down signs in Times Square if the same incident happened. The driver has a responsibility, especially in a city, to be completely aware of his or her surroundings and to concentrate on the road. It was the driver’s fault, not the screens. I like the screens a lot and I think they add a lot to the neighborhood. I respectfully suggest that we shouldn’t remove that experience for everyone in the neighborhood because of one reckless driver.
We should fix the hazard right now at the SE corner at 7th and H due to the construction- you can’t even cross the street.