by Zach Israel
guest contributor

Since June 15, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has formally or preliminarily approved ten individual speed humps or speed tables on 10 separate blocks located within Brightwood Park and Petworth:

Speed hump on the 5000 Block of 7th Place NW
Speed hump on the 5200 Block of 7th Street NW
Speed hump on the 5100 Block of 8th Street NW
Speed hump on the 5300 Block of 8th Street NW
Speed hump on the 800 Block of Farragut Street NW
Speed hump on the 700 Block of Hamilton Street NW
Speed table on the 5000 Block of Illinois Avenue NW
Speed table on the 5100 Block of Illinois Avenue NW
Speed hump on the 700 Block of Ingraham Street NW
Speed hump on the 800 Block of Jefferson Street NW

*The eight speed humps and two speed tables DDOT approved over this past month are circled in green; circled in red are eight blocks where potential speed humps/speed tables may go..*

In addition to these 10 speed humps/tables, which should be installed by this Fall, I am still waiting to hear back from DDOT regarding speed hump requests I made this past January for eight additional blocks. I also heard back from DDOT on speed hump requests I made for the 800 Block of Gallatin Street NW and the 4900 Block of 8th Street NW, and unfortunately, they were both rejected due to the blocks being too short for a speed hump to be installed there.

Over the past several months, DDOT has also published three "Notices of Intent" (NOI) for significant traffic safety improvements in different parts of 4D04. Here's a status update I recently received from DDOT on these three NOIs which have still not been implemented yet:

NOI 22-124, Installation of All-Way Stop at Intersection of 9th Street & Jefferson Street NW: The installation of this 4-way stop is scheduled to be completed later this Summer 2022 (i.e., no later than mid-September, but hopefully sooner).
NOI 22-144, Installation of New High intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) Signal and Median on Georgia Avenue NW at Hamilton Street NW Intersection: The HAWK signal at Georgia Ave./Hamilton St. NW is under design. DDOT will have to discuss this internally with their signals team to provide an update/estimate for installation. The median closure at Georgia Ave./Hamilton St. NW will most likely be completed in Fall 2022 (i.e., no later than mid-December, but hopefully sooner).
NOI 22-150, Closure of 9th Street NW between Ingraham Street and Hamilton Street NW: The safety improvements related to the closure of the 5200 Block of 9th Street NW to all vehicular traffic (immediately adjacent to the western side of the Truesdell Elementary School campus) will most likely be completed in Fall 2022 (i.e., no later than mid-December, but hopefully sooner).

As a reminder, residents can now submit a 311 request to directly initiate a Traffic Safety Investigation (TSI) request. There is also a new TSI database that DDOT has created. The database includes an interactive map where 4D04 residents can track TSIs in our neighborhood at various steps of the process. If you're considering submitting a TSI, please take a look at this interactive database first, since it's possible myself (or another 4D04 resident) has already submitted a TSI for the identical block or intersection. You can also submit a 311 service request to get a pothole on your street fixed or your road/alleyway repaved!

Zachary Israel is the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Single Member District 4D04. He wrote the above content for his SMD newsletter, and Petworth News is reprinting it with permission.