A group of residents in American University Park in Northwest have filed suit demanding the District Department of Transportation release all documents relating to its decision to remove a traffic barrier from a busy six-way intersection at Fessenden Street NW, 45th Street NW and River Road.
The barrier, which has not yet been removed from the intersection, reduced the volume of traffic on Fessenden and 45th streets, which are both residential. However, a group of residents on nearby Ellicott Street objected to the barrier because traffic was being directed toward them.
The transportation department then made the decision to remove the barrier, according to David Kaufmann, an attorney representing Jonathan Bender, the resident who filed the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, filed earlier this week, the Coalition for the Common Good — a group comprised of residents who support the barrier — accused the city of holding secret meetings with residents referred to as the Anti-Safety Barrier Group. The suit demands the transportation department release all documents relating to the decision to reverse course.
The suit accuses the anti-barrier group, led by Carolyn Sherman, of intimidating city officials into changing their position.
Sherman dismissed the lawsuit as sour grapes over the transportation department’s decision. She said Bender misconstrued her passion for the cause as intimidation.
“I’m not ashamed to be a fighter for what I believe in,” she said.
A transportation department spokesperson said the department would not comment on pending lawsuits.
About a barrier
» The intersection is busy each weekday with people commuting to and from the District from Maryland.
» The barrier in place at the intersection was recommended by DDOT’s Friendship Heights Transportation Study.
