Georgetown‘s streets could see parking rule changes, bus-only lanes and wider sidewalks under options being considering to help ease traffic in the perpetually congested neighborhood.
A draft study released by the District Department of Transportation gave seven of 25 Georgetown intersections an “F” during peak periods, with average delays exceeding three minutes in some of those spots.
By 2015, 12 of the 25 intersections will receive “F’s,” with average delays reaching more than 10 minutes at 35th Street and Reservoir Road NW, the study projected.
District officials are evaluating several changes to current traffic patterns, including converting 30th and 31st streets from two-way to one-way streets.
“They are very narrow and some residents feel they are unsafe,” DDOT spokeswoman Karyn LeBlanc said. “It would also help disperse traffic more evenly throughout Georgetown.”
The study also proposes removing the ban on left turns from M Street to Wisconsin Avenue by converting the eastbound left lane on M Street to left-only and removing the parking on that side of the street all day.
While the change would increase delays at the busy intersection, “it would provide traffic an additional northbound opportunity as well as alleviate some of the traffic on residential 33rd Street,” LeBlanc said.
Officials are considering permanently removing the parking on M Street between the Key Bridge and 34th Street to allow for an additional through lane of eastbound traffic on M Street while maintaining the same number of left-turn lanes to the Key Bridge.
Along the rest of M Street, where parking is prohibited during rush hour, the rules could be changed to allow parking.
Officials also are considering converting lanes on Wisconsin Avenue and M Street to bus-only, and giving pedestrians some relief by installing a pedestrian-only traffic signal phase at the intersections of M and Wisconsin, as well as widening sidewalks on those roads by two feet.
The DDOT study group is scheduled to make its final recommendations later this year.
