Wisconsin Ave in Glover Park had become a nightmare during peak traffic hours. I regularly try to avoid it now that these new traffic patterns have been put in place.

I have lived in Georgetown, Glover Park, or Wesley Heights for since I was born in 1972. I grew up on Wisconsin Ave. and attended Stoddert Elementary.I own Surfside at the corner of Wisconsin and Calvert. I am on Wisconsin Ave. between Glover Park and Georgetown for hours everyday. I understand the purpose of the project was to eliminate the highway feel of Glover Park, but the project is not working and will not work. Wisconsin Ave, starting from Whitehaven up is THE MAJOR artery.There are simply too many cars on Wisconsin Ave. at almost all times from 7 am until 9 pm to restrict the flow to one lane of moving traffic. I will now take 37th St. or Foxhall Rd. at all times to avoid the gridlock that now starts at Whitehaven going north pretty much constantly all day, everyday (even the weekends) The answer I have heard is, people will get use to it". I strongly disagree because there is too much traffic coming out of Georgetown to ever "get used to" the new pattern. Everyone I know feels the same and it is affecting business in the area. People do not want to deal with the mess this has created. They will now avoid Wisconsin and go up 37th St. at all times, except after 9 pm. The solution , I feel is to go back to two lanes, but have correctly timed arrows in at W Pl., Hall Pl. , and Calvert St. I think a median, like the one on Connecticut Ave. south of Dupont (but much thinner) running from Calvert to 35th St. would take away the highway feeling. It has to be fixed. Bo Blair

Thank you both for your feedback. -Shaun

I have not noticed much difference in traffic since the project was finished. It would have been nice if the patch had contacted the many residents who like the new configuration or have not noticed any difference.

I agree with Bo. I live in GP and walk the neighborhood several times daily, including walking my children back & forth to school on 37th St. As many GP residents predicted, reducing lanes on Wisconsin has caused drivers to seek alternatives, and the only real alternative is 37th Street (with Tunlaw & Whitehaven as connectors). These streets are residential, of course, and were not designed to accommodate a constant stream of commuter traffic. Between 3 and 6 pm in particular, we often see cars backed up from the 37th/Tunlaw intersection the whole way back to T St or beyond.

GP residents banded together to insist on a stop sign at 37th/W to slow what we knew would be a huge increase in traffic, and after much labor we also got DDOT to agree to FINALLY funding and scheduling the long-promised changes to the dangerous 37th/Tunlaw intersection. (I'm holding my breath on that one until I see the first workers on site.) These improvements are almost entirely due to resident action. DDOT, for its part, failed to take baseline traffic counts on 37th/Tunlaw, a startling admission.

Meanwhile, many think that the changes on Wisconsin haven't made it easier for pedestrians to cross, because we now see inpatient and rattled drivers blocking crosswalks, and cars illegally detouring into painted medians to move around double-parked cars and taxis and buses that refuse to pull over into the parking lane. All of this was predicted by residents, by the way.

I'm not really sure why there's a debate. It's not any more difficult to drive, but it's much more pleasant to walk and it looks so much nicer.

I can understand residents of 37th being concerned about the diversion of traffic, but that doesn't seem to me to be an issue of the Streetscape, but rather an issue with DDOT failing to follow up with improvements they said they would bring.

The streetscape is a wonderful step in the right direction and it would be a shame if a small group of curmudgeons were allowed to have their way and turn our neighborhood into a freeway for people from Maryland to drive over to get somewhere else.

Rodney, I don't think I belong to "a small group of curmudgeons," nor do I have any interest in making life easier for drivers from MD and VA. Instead, I am a longtime neighborhood resident who, along with the rest of my family, walks and bikes most places. We rarely use our car, and feel quite well equipped to comment on increased traffic flow on our residential streets--which is 100% due to the Streetscape project's lane reductions on Wisconsin--and its effect on pedestrian safety.

I am in complete agreement with Bo and GP. Since the new lane configurations, not only are the delays for regular traffic considerably worse on Wisconsin Ave., they also have made it much more difficult for emergency vehicles to get through. Unlike Georgetown which has several off-Wisconsin-Ave. routes to use, the Glover Park area seems only to have 37th St. and I feel sorry for those beleaguered residents. I hate to think we have to endure a year of these harmful changes before reconsideration.

I live at The Observatory (2111 Wisconsin), and see every day how much of a backup this new lane structure has caused. When I get home from work around 8 pm each night, Wisconsin is typically backed up to Safeway. Every single weekend day is the same. These are NOT be peak times, and there should not be traffic.

This has caused me, like many others, to cut over to 37th via Whitehaven when proceeding north. You can fix the stop sign situation at 37th and Tunlaw, but it still won't solve the problem of having 2-3 times as much traffic. Further, it does not account for the fact that Glover Park businesses, like Bo's (one of the best), will be affected by people not willing to make the trip up Wisconsin. It has already stopped me from stopping there on my way home from work because the traffic is too annoying.

I live near the intersection of Wisconsin and Edmunds. My unit faces Wisconsin Avenue. Since the change, I've noticed traffic backed up outside during the morning and evening rush hours. This is a definite difference over the traffic patterns of the past 6 years that I've lived here. I never used to see that many cars just sitting outside my window during the morning and evening rush hours. I have also seen the impatient drivers zip down Fulton to get around the traffic.

I have found a couple of things actually less safe for pedestrians since the change. The first is that the parking lane on the side of Wisconsin with 3 lanes is now narrower. Daily I have to try to get my sons in and out of my car with cars whipping by in the other lane. The lane is simply not wide enough to accomodate getting out of the driver's side with comfort. I no longer park on that side of the street because of this.

Secondly, I have noticed a lot more traffic on the side street near me (Fulton). I have seen cars whipping down Fulton from Wisconsin during high traffic times. Again, I have my kids with me and I feel like this new traffic behavior makes the side street less safe for us.

Lastly, I think the lane reduction and increased traffic leads to more impatient drivers. I have also seen the cars blocking crosswalks and trying to beat the light. And don't get me started on the ultra bright street lights that are now adding to the light pollution in my home.

I have experienced the traffic back-ups, as well as having witnessed eager folks cutting into oncoming traffic lanes to jump ahead to where the road opens up to two lanes at Wisconsin and Garfield. Part of the issue that I haven't heard mentioned is that parking regulations on the north bound side of Wisconsin Ave. between Calvert and Edmunds changed during this time, too. Cars are now allowed to park there during the morning rush hour, which contributes to the back-ups during peak hours. This doesn't make sense to me - it is only a few spots, but it is causing MAJOR congestion.

I've lived in GP for six years. I attended DDOT's briefings and along with my neighbors predicted that the new alignment would cause nightmare traffic around rush hour. Sadly, I was wrong and the traffic is bumper to bumper all the way to Whitehaven pretty much throughout daylight hours. Getting home to GP from the Georgetown Safeway now includes going south on Wisconsin down to R Street on a Saturday afternoon in order to avoid the gridlock on what was a main artery.

One hopes the proposed changes to 37th Street will deter commuters, but as I follow the logic the end result will be an even worse option for residents, i.e. "we're going to slow 37th Street so much that no one will want to go that way either". Amazing that we spent $5M on this mess.

Ultimately what this comes down to is basically religious conviction and vision about the world one wants. The project was designed to cause or exacerbate traffic problems from the get go...but that was the point. The city is engaged in project after project designed to make the city more difficult to traverse. It is taken as an article of faith that if one can choke the beast (the car in this case) then people will abandon their cars and jump onto public transportation, bike or feet. We have the worst traffic congestion in the nation and we are actively working to make it even worse. Even with the worst traffic in the nation...there isn't exactly a mass exodus from the car world. It isn't like the folks in GP or Georgetown can just jump on a Metro...assuming the system was working which is a legitimate concern given its sad state and lack of funding. While bikes are great for some, they serve a miniscule part of the population (even in Portland Oregon bike city USA only 6% use them for commuting). So, instead of addressing the reality of the world we live in, planners have opted to try to create the world they want where everyone walks, bikes, parking is easy and traffic is light because people rarely drive....and I imagine the kids are all above average too.

It's awful. Change in back.

Are you kidding? Driving from Safeway to Calvert is like having a root canal!!

RNM, you're right... the neighborhood could've been LESS walkable. It could've been a less nice place to live. There are places that have worst situations -- literal highways cutting their neighborhood in half. But that doesn't mean we have to like it.

I guess I would've been fine with it not changing, but I'm very happy it has. And I'm perplexed by the reaction by some people. First of all, I don't actually know anyone personally who has a problem with it -- all of my neighbors and friends in the neighborhood think it's great. That's not said to impress anyone, but other than a handful of people on the listserv, I haven't actually heard any complaints. So, I have to wonder who really has a big problem with this. I generally take issue with the logic of this handful of people who seem to be saying that not only is the streetscape a bad idea, but we should go the other direction -- add more lanes, make it easier to drive through. I get why someone from Maryland would think that -- for the same reason that someone like me wishes we could just pave over Georgetown and make a highway to Roslyn. I can understand a debate about traffic calming (which is stupid jargon) but it's not a new concept at all that making a neighborhood more walkable and less of a traffic thoroughfare is a good idea.

And I'm writing about it here, because I worry that this small group of people is going to undo something that is fairly common sense -- for motives that I cannot grasp.

Rodney: my motive is that spillover traffic from Wisconsin is now clogging 37th Street, which is a residential street that I walk with my kids (and on my own) every day, multiple times a day. Traffic on 37th Street did not used to fill 5 full blocks at 4 pm. I am beginning to suspect that you don't actually walk or bike on our residential streets.

I have lived in Observatory Circle for 20 years. There is no doubt that the traffic has gotten much worse on Wisconsin over this time period, however the change since this project was completed has made it signifciantly worse and more dangerous. There is no other major city that would take a major thoroughdfare and reduce it to one lane. Even during rush hours, there are trucks or cars consistently parked reducing the already limited access. I also agree it has made the side street way more dangerous. Drivers get frustrated and try to go around the traffic by speeding up and down the side street. I have notices a marked increase in the number of cars and the speed of car on residential streets around Observatory Circle. The answer was not to reduce the number of lanes but to enforce the speed and parking regulations.

And one last thing...

When everyone on here is complaining about the "highway feel" of Wisconsin Ave...they might want to take into account where they chose to live. It is DC after all, one of the most congested cities in the country.

I have always felt less safe crossing the streets on the "highways" of NYC than i ever did near the Glover park Whole Foods. Thank you, curmudgeon residents, for now turning 37th st into a highway as well.

I drive 5 - 6 round trips on Wisconsin daily. It has become a traffic nightmare.

Congestion on all north-south routes, including 37th, Reno, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and residential side streets is now untenable from Georgetown to Bethesda.

Traffic, noise, pollution, and frustration are what now welcome people to my 20-year home of Glover Park. The project reduces flow to one lane south of the Cathedral during rush hour. The plan states otherwise, but the reality is that cars park along the curb. The congestion makes it so cars are unable to make the turn onto Wisconsin because of the back up in the 2200 block.

Emergency vehicles struggle to make it through the traffic jams.

If reverse bypass surgery was to be performed on the major artery through this area, in the absence of a non-surface street alternative, the question is: where are the cars supposed to go?

There are over a dozen schools along this route.

This is the most numb-skulled project imaginable. DDOT calls it "traffic calming," but I sit in TRAFFIC all day long and I AM NOT CALM!

I have been a regular at GP Whole Foods and Hair Lounge for years. The change to reduced lanes has made it SO difficult to get to and through the area that I no longer use these vendors....I go to WF Tenley and have found salon services in Bethesda. I live pretty close to GP, but the traffic hassle has sent me northward. Hope it gets changed back SOON.

It disturbs me for our government to react so smugly when a project such as the Wisconsin Avenue narrowing comes a cropper. "You'll get used to it" does not address the fact the roadway is pure dee mess, with cars jammed bumper to bumper from Book Hill to the Rusian Embassy. Come on, fellows, admit you goofed and do something about it.

They didn't goof...that is the issue. They wanted this.

This is not about street scape or improving traffic flow. It is an act undertaken with the conviction that if one clogs up the river of traffic that the traffic will just stop coming. Well, as with rivers...when one clogs up the water it doesn't just stop it finds the path of least resistance. It diverts onto 37th and floods into the neighborhoods. The water isn't going away...people will continue to flood toward the Key Bridge and instead of 34th and 35th being the dump out points now Glover Park gets it with 37th. This was a clear choice in a war against cars. Knowing what would happen didn't take a rocket scientist or a urban planner...they knew and they did it anyhow because they believe that people will "get used to it" and that it is better for society to fight the car culture that dominates this country. It is religion. They will not shake from it...for to do so would be to create a cognitive dissonance which they can't live with.

This was the intent. They expect you will "get used to it" and they are probably right. While the science of the metaphor is flawed....you are the frog in the pot of water and it is getting hotter. Your move...sit there or jump?

The people on here that say it works perfectly or I haven't noticed any changes apparently a) never leave your houses except at 3 am or 10 pm and b) don't drive. As I stated previously, for those of us that live in Georgetown, this has become a nightmare trying to get anywhere north including to the main post office or the police station. Or maybe we shouldn't want to leave our neighborhood to do anything. Shame on us. Or should we take the bus - which is really reliable now that the traffic congestion has increased (it was so super reliable before hand)? Or should I get over to Dupont Circle to take Metro north to Tenleytown or walk all the way to the Cathedral? Mad at people trying to get in to DC from MD or VA. Well, how 'bout we let MD and VA take all those jobs and we won't have to worry about those horrible commuters trying to get into Georgetown. You should want to make it easier for those from MD and VA to get here because if they don't drive their cars to Georgetown, they sure as h aren't going to do the 1.5 hour commute it takes on public transport. I did that for several years from Bowie and from Gaithersburg and finally found a job in Dupont that was easier to get to. Let business close because they can't recruit employees or move to other parts of the city. As business go, so go restaurants and retail. This city thrives on the 11% food tax that business workers spend. Makes sense to force them elsewhere because "we don't want them in our city using our streets".

I don't drive on Wisconsin Ave near Glover Park more than once or twice a week, so I don't want to overstate my experience, but I haven't really noticed much change in travel time to get through that stretch--cars seem to move slower, but with fewer dead stops. I am not in any position to generalize that experience to what others are facing, but I would be very interested to have DDOT get out there and collect and report on some data, so we can talk about numbers rather than perceptions. I will say that PM rush hour traffic stretching down to Q Street has existed for at least 5 years, so it's not really something created by this project.

I will say, though, that the pedestrian experience has vastly improved. My wife, son and I live on 35th near Duke Ellington H.S., and the expanded sidewalk, particularly on the west side, along Holy Rood Cemetery is a pleasure to walk on now. It was previously both uneven and almost too narrow to walk on with a stroller, to walk side by side, or to pass somebody coming in the opposite direction, without somebody having to step into the street. The expansions up near Surfside are similarly appreciated, and we have found ourselves walking to GP businesses more frequently lately, including Whole Foods, Ace, and newcomers Sprig & Sprout and Sweetgreen. Another improvement is narrowing the entrance to 35th St. off of Southbound Wisconsin, which many drivers previously treated like a freeway off-ramp, creating great danger to pedestrians.

I like the new streetscape and I haven't found traffic to be that much more of a problem though admittedly I walk a lot more than drive. It seems if we're trying to get more cars off the street, this doesn't seem to be working. Many people don't see the buses as a viable option if they think they're going to be equally stuck in traffic as cars. Perhaps if we had a dedicated express bus lane or street car in the middle, then people would be more likely to take public transportation. I love the bus, especially the circulator but it can be very slow.

I live in Georgtown and I'm amazed at the traffic jam now every single morning on 35th Street. I can't even turn right onto 35 Street to go north - it's backed up from N Street up to Reservoir. It can take me twenty minutes now to get from P Street to Reservoir. It's an incredible mess and getting worse as more and more drivers come up to 35th to avoid Wisconsin.

When summer comes, the idling engines are going to cause a lot of pollution and really hurt the air quality in Georgetown.

Please change Wisconsin back!

There seems to be a fundamental misinterpretation of what happened here. Glover Park never had 6 lanes of traffic south of Calvert. It had 4 of which there were regularly would be a car stopped waiting to turn left. The addition of the left turn lane removes that "obstruction" from the through traffic. During rush hour there are effectively 5 lanes of traffic here from the previous 4. This should be an improvement...the only time traffic doesn't work is when motorists illegally stop in the lane. The commentary here seems to indicate it would be better to have a narrow sidewalk for pedestrians so we can accommodate illegal motorists behavior...classic issue of prioritizing one groups convenience (motorists) over other groups safety (pedestrians). It is also amusing that people are so up in arms complaining about cut through traffic when it sounds like they use 35th Street to avoid the 2 lane mess of Wisconsin Ave through Georgetown. Somehow it is okay for Georgetown to allow parking on Wisconsin south of 35th even though traffic is backed up there 16 hours a day because that is good for business and pedestrian safety. If the commentators were consistent here they would advocate removal of parking on lower Wisconsin and M Street to improve "air quality" reduce "delay" , improve transit and to compensate for the lack of metro. It is also interesting that the decision of Georgetown 50 years ago to reject a Metro Stop are showing up as a reason to move more traffic now.

Jack Smith:

Interesting response, minus a few assumptions that congestion is caused by illegal motorists. However, where you lost any credibility is voicing the long since debunked argument about Georgetown rejecting a metro stop. It shows your ignorance of history as well as rationale for transit decisions. In short the Metro system was used to both facilitate mass transit and push development. Georgetown was not a major destination at the time and was already at 100% build out. On top of at it would have been the deepest and most expensive station in the system to build because of the underlying bedrock. So when someone repeats that delusional "choice" story it undercuts any rational point they make.

That said, I agree that opening up flow on Wisconsin in Georgetown is very worthy of consideration. If that means removing parking so be it. The issues on Wisconsin in Georgetown are where the pipe is choked down to one lane in either direction, essentially turning this artery into a residential street. That is why I have historically used 37th and 35th or 34th as alternatives to upper Georgetown Wisconsin Ave. M Street already has a constant of four lanes with more at rush hours so it isn't a choked pipe. Unfortunately ere are some in Georgetown that are trying to choke that pipe too.

RNM

Alternatively, there are two other options...

One could resurrect the Three Sisters Bridge using the Glover Archibold Park to carry traffic north of Glover Park and Georgetown, but I highly doubt that plan would be any more popular than it was 40 years ago when it was rightly shot down.

Or in a Swiftian solution, what is the underlying issue is with our proximity to the Key Bridge. It drives traffic both in and out of the city by creating one of those rare traverses of the Potomac River. It also adds to the community and that proximity is a selling point. However if one wanted to truly tame, suppress or all but eliminate traffic congestion in both communities the easiest option is to remove the Key Bridge. Well placed charges could create a pile of rubble in the river, I mean there are cracks in the bridge already that are scheduled for repair. Once gone, the traffic would go too, just anger modest proposal.

Then again one could just add (with a tip of the hat to Kurt Vonnegut) a little Ice-9 to the Potomac and facilitate driving across the water, making Wisconsin Avenue an ideal place to cross the river...at least until the loss of the worlds water supply became an issue. ;)

RNM