Additional protected bicycle lanes have been added to the final plans for the massive reconfiguration project of one of D.C.’s most convoluted intersections.
Tuesday morning, the Wendy’s restaurant in the intersection of Florida and New York avenues in Northeast is boarded up, with a chain-link fence surrounding it, the morning after the District’s Department of Transportation unveiled its final plans for improving traffic flow, bicycle and pedestrian safety at the intersection, which ranks among D.C.’s most accident-prone.
Previously announced highlights of the plan include restoring two-way traffic on Florida Avenue, and First Street Northeast, as well as adding protected bike lanes going east and west on Florida Avenue.
During a virtual briefing Monday, Nick Farver, with the JMT project design team, said additional protected bicycle lanes have been added to the plan, to include a stretch of Eckington Place Northeast, located yards west of the intersection.
The goal is to make riding safer for people riding in and out of the Eckington neighborhood.
Currently, a painted bike lane exists on Eckington Place between Florida Avenue and R Street, Northeast.
The painted, easily-ignored lanes will be replaced by protected bike lanes, adjacent to the curb, with a three-foot buffer zone between cyclists and cars, Farver said.
The bicycle safety change will result in the loss of 6 parking spots — from 58 current spots to 52.
Demolition of the Wendy’s building will likely coincide with the construction of the new intersection, which will also include three public park spaces. Demolition and construction are likely to begin in summer 2022.
