RSS FeedBarnes Dance First Day Debrief (7th & H St NW)
With one day under its belt, the Barnes dance at 7th & H St NW was a great success – hats off to DDOT! During our day (and evening) of observations, we think that the single most effective component to making the diagonal crosswalk successful was the overwhelming number of crossing guard personnel. At some points during the day, one could observe as many as 8 crossing guards manning the intersection. During the lunch hour, pamphlets were handed out to pedestrians informing them of how to correctly hypotenuse the intersection.
We did note that during a crossing guard shift change at around 5pm, vehicles almost instantly reverted to their old ways: making left and right turns at the intersection while making drivers behind them wait. The same issues were occurring when the intersection was staffed with less than 4 crossing guards informing motorists of the new “no turns” signs. And, we have to mention that the issue was compounded by out of town police week participants that are used to bending certain traffic rules. But, one can’t expect to educate every single motorist of the new traffic rules on the first day of the dance.
For the long haul, we believe that redundant signage and a healthy dose of enforcement will help the Barnes dance thrive in DC. Here are some of our ideas:
– add additional graphic “no right/left turn” signs
– add white straight arrows painted on the street, implying that no turns can be made
– modify green traffic lights to display as straight-ahead arrows, rather than the traditional green orb
– ticket writing
Can you think of any additional ways to improve signage at the intersection?
A fun image of videographers vying for the best shot
But You Probably Already Knew That
We’ve hesitated for a while to write this post, presumably all of our readers have at one time or another used a public library. But we wondered how often PQ residents stop by the DC public library (“DCPL”), know about some of the recent changes, or how to utilize the hold feature in the catalog? If all of this is old-hat to you, this may not be your favorite post. But we hope a few of you who haven’t checked out the library yet will do so; and those of you who do use it can pass along your tips and suggestions.
DC Link Roundup: Heard In The ‘Hood
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Here’s what we were reading last week about neighborhood news in DC. Have neighborhood thoughts? Leave them in the comments!
Penn Quarter/Judiciary Square – It’s police week this week downtown! [The Triangle]
H Street NE – An express X9 bus that would go between 13th and H St NW and the Capitol Heights Metro station along H Street and Benning Road may come to be. [Frozen Tropics]
NoMa – The NoMa BID launches its Wednesday evening NoMa Summer Screen movie series on L Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets NE. The first movie up is Spaceballs. [NoMa BID]
Penn Quarter – DDOT officially announced that they will start the Barnes Dance, an X shaped pedestrian crossing pattern, at 7th and H Streets NW on Wednesday, May 12. [District Department of Transportation]
WaPo Reviews The Redone 701 Restaurant (701 Penn Ave NW)
In today’s Washington Post magazine, Tom Sietsema reviews the renovated 701 Restaurant (701 Pennsylvania Ave NW) in the Market Square complex fronting Pennsylvania Avenue in the lower part of the Penn Quarter. The interior has been redone and a relatively new chef is at the helm. What do we like best about 701? Sure, the continental cuisine is consistently up to par and you can sit outside on nice days but we most enjoy the live jazz Thursday through Saturday night and the quiet ambiance indoors…you can hear yourself think and speak while eating and that’s perfect for date night.