After the fireworks last Friday night District officials once again tested an evacuation plan that involved the timing of traffic signals. The idea was and is to add extra time to the main routes that would take people out of the city. Part of the challenge is that the evacuation routes run both north/south and east/west. That means that you have the potential for major roads butting up to one another. One of the biggest problems I saw the other night was that K Street in Northwest was being given priority. This road cuts a wide swath through the city not that far from the National Mall. As a result, hundreds of pedestrians were held up at lights that were red for a very long time. Many grew impatient and darted across the street.
Imagine how patient people would be had this been a real emergency where something had happened or would happen imminently? How patient do you think those on foot and those in their cars will be? It seems to me that the psychology of an evacuation needs to be taken into account when planning for such a thing. People just don't act the same. Case in point was the mass evacuation on 9/11 of 2001. Granted a real plan wasn't in effect then although several of the jurisdictions surrounding the city had the ability to override their traffic signal systems. Even still, you saw people running through red lights and even driving on the wrong side of the street in an effort to get out. I know because I had to go INTO town that day to my job at the radio station. Talk about feeling like the loneliest guy on the road. Not quite like the Omega Man but it was close.
I've never been a fan of the way that the District's transportation departments have managed the traffic lights in the city although it seems like it is getting a better handle on things. I imagine that better technology through Homeland Security grants is making a difference. Too often traffic is held up by traffic signals that turn red just as the previous light is turning green. Don't believe me? Try driving east on Independence Avenue off of 14th Street after the evening rush hour. You will run into red light after red light with absolutely no traffic coming from the opposing streets. This is one of the biggest wasters of gasoline on the roads today... traffic signals that work against the flow of traffic and cause cars and trucks to sit and idle for no reason. It also seems like one of the easier things to correct, especially with all that fancy new Homeland Security technology.
One more pet peeve about traffic flow in the District: When is someone going to teach Metropolitan Police officers to direct traffic in a way that expedites the flow? D.C. cops are real good about shutting roads down with barriers and waving people off of their intended route. They have a problem actually getting traffic to keep moving. As I understand it it's because they have never been taught how to do this. Again, this city is more about shutting things down for motorcades or because the White House is "too close to the road." Maybe a field trip to New York City would do some of these officers some good. Maybe the city could hire some trainers from the Big Apple to come down here and show these officers how to do it. Maybe they could also tell the District police that it sends a bad message when they are puffing away on cigarettes in their patrol car.
Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter, observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com. Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first name and city/neighborhood.
Interesting post! I have linked this at The DC Feed.
Posted by: The DC Feed Editor | July 09, 2008 at 06:25 PM