Update on the River Road barrier

From DDOT Public Affiars Specialist Karyn LeBlanc:

My first priority is to apologize to you and the community for any confusion and misunderstanding over the past two years. I have begun to read through the many e-mails and various letters associated with this project and can understand the anger and confusion voiced by the community.

Late last week I met with the DDOT technical team to review the issues at hand with regard to the existing barriers, traffic signal, and planned traffic calming measures. I think it would be easiest to break these down into three groups.



1. Existing barriers:

DDOT had intended and had reported to the community and even began work to replace the existing barriers with a channelized left turn lane. However, after further review of the technical and financial aspects DDOT has now decided to leave the current barriers in place until such time as the permanent traffic signal is installed. It is my understanding that some residents will be upset by this decision. Please keep in mind that the planned replacement would be an expensive and very temporary solution that would have no significant added benefit to the condition of the street or traffic.



2. Traffic Signal

DDOT is scheduled to begin installation of the planned traffic signal and subsequent traffic calming measures pertaining to the traffic signal intersection in late April 2007.



3. Additional Traffic Calming Measures

DDOT is currently drafting proposed traffic calming measures for a few of the selected side streets as per previous discussions and agreements with the community. These proposed traffic calming measures will be presented to the community at scheduled ANC meetings and, if necessary, community meetings in an effort to obtain feedback and comments from the community. These meetings will be held over the next few months. DDOT is hopeful that this process will move quickly and that consensus from the community will be quickly forthcoming. It is DDOT's intention to listen to the community and, where possible, incorporate their comments and ideas into a final plan. While DDOT reserves the right to ensure safety standards as a top priority, many times information provided by the community lends to a more amenable solution.