14th Street NW in Columbia Heights Traffic Decongestion and Bus Improvements
Mayor Muriel Bowser is committed to providing safe streets across the District, and the 14th Street Streetscape project is an important piece of that commitment. DDOT is working to make our streets function more efficiently and improve bus transit for District residents. The 14th Street Traffic Decongestion and Bus Improvements project between Euclid and Newton Streets NW on 14th Street NW will improve the performance of the DC Circulator (WP-AM) and Metrobus 52, 54 and 59 lines which move over 15,500 people everyday through the corridor.
It will also improve the safety of bicyclists along the corridor by providing protected, shared bike and bus lanes, and improve the performance of vehicular traffic through signal timing changes and reducing conflicts with other modes.
Why do we need bus lanes in Columbia Heights?
The 14th Street corridor between Euclid and Newton Streets NW is highly congested which impedes the movement of buses through the corridor. A recent study rated bus performance on 14th Street as the worst among the nine priority bus corridor networks in the District. The average bus speed on 14th Street is 7.6 mph and bus speed between Euclid and Newton Streets NW in Columbia Heights is 3.6 mph.
Who rides the 14th Street buses?
- 25 percent of all bus riders of this corridor board and alight within the project limits.
- 10 percent of all bus riders on the corridor are students.
- 43 percent are low-income.
- 78 percent identify as part of a minority group.
What is DDOT planning to do?
The project responds to specific issues and needs along different sections of 14th Street in Columbia Heights.
Between Euclid and Irving Streets NW, DDOT will:
- Combine existing parking and bike lanes to create shared bus and bike lanes (12.5 feet wide).
- Install red paint on the pavement that will make the bus lanes more visible and improve compliance.
- Install flex‐posts to physically separate the shared bus and bike lanes from other traffic for improved safety, compliance, bus speed, and reliability.
- Remove 64 parking spaces to install flex posts that protect the bus and bike lanes.
Between Irving and Park Road NW, DDOT will:
- Bring the Taxi Stand closer to the entrance of DC USA.
- Create a Pick-up/Drop-off (PUDO)/Flex Zone to replace existing 15-minute parking outside DC USA.
- Create reserved space for police and emergency services along the west curb of 14th Street NW.
- Replace metered parking to create a PUDO/Flex Zone along the east curb of 14th Street NW.
- Reserve curb space for WMATA vehicles along the east curb of 14th Street to provide access to the Metro Station. (See DDOT Notice of Intent NOI#19-005-TDD for more details)
Between Park Road and Newton Street NW, DDOT will:
- Create a new northbound left-turn lane to mitigate the traffic bottleneck at Newton Street NW.
- Redesign the bike lanes between Monroe and Newton Streets to accommodate the new northbound left-turn lane at Newton Street.
- Assess the feasibility of a southbound queue jump for buses at Park Road.
- Remove and redesign the traffic island north of Park Road to improve safety.
When will DDOT conduct the work?
DDOT completed work in November 2020 and is monitoring the performance of this project.
How will we know that the project is successful?
DDOT will study the performance of buses, bicycles, and traffic for a year after implementation to assess the benefits and impacts if any.
Where can I get more information on this project?
Please contact Yohannes Bennehoff, Transportation Management Specialist for WMATA Coordination at [email protected].
More information about the growing network of bus priority projects in the District can be found at https://ddot.dc.gov/page/bus-priority.
