D.C.'s Dangerous Intersections

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SO, WHO DO WE BLAME for the District's recent string of pedestrian deaths? Impatient drivers who fail to see pedestrians? District planners who have failed to effectively balance the needs of moving traffic through the city with keeping pedestrians safe? Pierre Charles L'Enfant, Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker, who are responsible for the nation's capital's cracked-out intersections that pair wide, angular avenues and a grid of squares and rectangles?

In reality, it's probably all of the above. As George Branyan, D.C.'s coordinator of pedestrian programs, told The Post's Paul Duggan, planners can only do so much: "We just have to get [drivers] to obey the law."

Where are the places in D.C. where you should watch your step?

We could name a lot of places like Tunlaw Road and 37th Street NW; Massachusetts Avenue, 3rd and D streets NE and Pennsylvania and Minnesota avenues east of the Anacostia River. But for the purpose of this exercise, we'll focus on intersections in D.C.'s central neighborhoods and development areas, where pedestrian traffic is most dense.

» DUPONT CIRCLE: Throw together Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut avenues, plus P and 19th streets NW and you've obviously got a recipe for confusion. Although every walkable approach to the circle is controlled by a crosswalk signal, pedestrians tend to ignore them. Not such a good idea, since it's often difficult to see speeding cars careening around parts of the circle.

» P AND 20TH STREETS NW: This intersection to the west of Dupont Circle might not look that dangerous, but its lack of a crosswalk signal leaves pedestrians fending for themselves. Their nemeses: cars and taxis using 20th street to bypass the circle and a number of Metrobus lines, including the D1, D2, D6, G2, H1 and L1 routes.

» FLORIDA AND NEW YORK AVENUES NE: This intersection of two busy commuter arteries is in the crosshairs of District planners, and increased development likely won't make crossing here any less treacherous. Generous crosswalk time and red light cameras provide some comfort, but navigating the route between the Eckington and Bloomingdale neighborhoods and the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University Metrorail station is not a treat. Even less enjoyable: crossing the eastbound Florida Avenue to outbound New York Avenue turnaround on the south side of the intersection, pictured at right, which isn't controlled by a crosswalk signal.

» MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE AND NORTH CAPITOL STREET: This crossroads to the west of Union Station is further complicated by F Street NW's presence in the mix. Its main problem isn't a lack of crosswalk signals, but their placement: At the corner of F Street and Massachusetts Avenue, the crosswalk and signals don't line up — a situation that just begs pedestrians to jaywalk. Since the lights on North Capitol Street can be confusing and merging traffic due to parked taxis at the Phoenix Park Hotel are already a distraction for drivers, pedestrians are often left hopscotching from the street to the curb and back again waiting for a chance to cross.

Our list is by no means exhaustive, so if you know of any dangerous intersections we missed, let us know at E-mail us at freeride [at] readexpress [dot] com.

Photos by Michael Grass/Express