The Washington, D.C., District Department of Transportation (DDOT) recently expedited its safety improvement projects.
Work began this week and includes the installation of speed humps and stop signs; right turn hardening measures; concrete curb extensions; high visibility crosswalks; extended leading pedestrian intervals; and the installation of visual and concrete reminders to drivers that they must drive responsibly.
“The heartbreaking traffic crashes in recent weeks have reminded us all that roadway safety is paramount,” Everett Lott, acting DDOT director, said. “We’re increasing workloads and streamlining processes to finish our safety improvement projects quicker, and we’re also doing what we can to deter the reckless driver behavior that causes these senseless tragedies to begin with.”
DDOT also will target annually 100 intersections that are within the District’s high-crash, high-injury corridors and publish progress reports on the DDOT’s website.
In addition to the safety projects, DDOT has streamlined the community engagement process.
By reforming the Traffic Safety Investigation program, DDOT will be able to more rapidly investigate, design, and deliver traffic safety improvements. Safety improvements will be installed as quickly as possible and will not be subject to delays caused by multiple reviews or comment periods.
Internal engineers from other projects and contractor resources have been added to speed up the process.