Frequent Community Concern

The details of where the predicted diversions will go requires more explanation:

1. Almost Half are Regional Diversions: Almost half of the diversions (3,130) are expected to reroute to regional daily diversions which are quite distant from the local area.  These regional diversions are those considered outside the immediate Ward 3 corridor and will not impact neighborhood streets.
2. Equal Dispersion in the Neighborhoods: The dispersion on local streets will be spread around the neighborhood so that with no street absorbs most diversions.  Wisconsin Ave, Massachusetts Ave, and Broad Branch Rd. are expected to soak up the lion’s share of increased traffic (at a +140, +160, and +100 hourly diversions respectively).  Reno Road is expected to pick up +10 from Western Ave to Brandywine and then +50 from Brandywine to Mass Ave. (for thru traffic diverting to Mass Ave.).  These are visible on the annotations for the Plan C on page 71 of the DDOT Presentation 4.1.2021.
3. Incremental Traffic Increase Near Schools: DDOT's FAQ addressed concerns about schoolchildren attending schools along Reno Rd on relatively narrow sidewalks (this is a reasonable concern).  Its estimate expects Reno Rd to have “428 daily diverted vehicles”, which represents a per day increase of approximately 3.6% based on the current throughput of 12,000 per day.  Similar incremental increases are forecast along Broad Branch Road.
4. DDOT plans only incorporate a small 2% Modal Shift away from Car Travel: COVID aside, DDOT estimates there will be a modal shift away from cars and to modest increases in Bus and MetroRail travel and a massive increase in bicycle ridership (to approximately 3,200 from only about 300 today).
5. DDOT Traffic Data is Pre-COVID:  DDOT has redone its traffic estimates based on recent 2022 traffic patterns and has noted that thru-traffic on Connecticut Avenue is at 66% at rush hour from pre-COVID volumes.  With the move to work-from-home for many who are part of a white-collar workforce, it is safe to assume the pre-COVID levels will never be seen again and reasonable to assume traffic volumes will remain at the 2/3 levels.