{"id":712,"date":"2013-01-06T23:11:36","date_gmt":"2013-01-07T05:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamtraffic.org\/?p=712"},"modified":"2023-11-18T13:09:22","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T19:09:22","slug":"the-six-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iamtraffic.org\/evaluation\/the-six-way\/","title":{"rendered":"The 6-Way, Washington, DC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, DC, USA is a planned city, with a north-south and east-west street grid, overlaid with a number of diagonal avenues. These add to connectivity and offer vistas of important landmarks. In the horse-and-buggy era, when the street plan was laid out, there was little concern for any resulting complication in traffic movements.<\/p>\n

New Hampshire Avenue is one of the diagonal avenues, and its intersection with 16th Street and U Street is, as you might surmise, a 6-way intersection.<\/p>\n

The image below, from Google Maps, gives an overhead view of the intersection.<\/p>\n

\"Intersection<\/a>
Intersection of U Street, 16th Street and New Hampshire Avenue in Washington, DC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

U street (east-west) and 16th Street (north-south) are both major arterial streets. New Hampshire Avenue runs between northeast and southwest, and is less heavily traveled. Decades ago, New Hampshire Avenue was made one-way away from the intersection for one block in both directions. That way, there would be no need for traffic on 16th Street or U Street to wait for entering traffic from New Hampshire Avenue.<\/p>\n

The interruption at 16th Street and U street improved cycling conditions along much of New Hampshire Avenue, diverting through motor traffic to other streets. Cyclists liked to ride New Hampshire Avenue. They rode the last block before the intersection opposite the one-way signs, or on the sidewalk, and crossed the intersection in the pedestrian crosswalks.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The intersection was reconfigured in 2010 with “bike boxes”\u2014bicycle waiting areas, ahead of where motorists wait. In other writings, I’ve given details about “bike boxes”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Special traffic signals and contraflow bike lanes also were installed, in an attempt to regularize and legalize bicycle travel through the intersection. The illustration below is from a sign which the Washington, DC Department of Transportation posted at the intersection. The sign describes how the intersection is intended to work. You may click on the image to enlarge it so you can read the instructions.<\/p>\n

\"Diagram<\/a>
Diagram of the six-way intersection showing intended use of the bike boxes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The bike boxes at this intersection are a variation on the “cross-street bike box” — as I have called it, or the “two-stage turn waiting area” as it is sometimes called. It facilitates a “box turn” — a left turn in two steps: going straight ahead, stopping a the far right corner — then turning the bicycle to the left and proceeding when the traffic signal changes. The two-step left-turn usually involves more delay than a left turn from the normal roadway position, but it doesn’t inherently violate any of the principles of traffic movement. Timid or inexperienced cyclists may prefer a two-step left turn. It can work for any cyclist at an intersection where normal left-turn movements are prohibited, or if an opportunity to merge does not arise.<\/p>\n

When I first saw the plans for this intersection, I regarded them positively. I even wrote about this and published my comments<\/a>. As I already said, a cross-street bike box violates none of the fundamental rules of traffic flow.<\/p>\n

But , there is a saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Yogi Berra or Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut or maybe Albert Einstein<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If I couldn’t laugh, I think I’d weep.<\/p>\n

So, what’s the problem here?<\/h3>\n

In an ordinary four-way intersection, a cyclist can execute a two-step left turn using the same traffic-signal phases as other traffic. The cyclist will get a green light for the first step, wait on the far right corner and then get the green for the second step along with other traffic.<\/p>\n

By introducing traffic — bicycle traffic — entering from New Hampshire Avenue, the DC Department of Transportation introduced the need for traffic signal phases which it had been avoiding. For this reason, the bike boxes here are not quite the usual cross-street bike boxes.<\/p>\n

In May, 2011, I was one of several cycling advocates who converged on Washington, DC to examine cycling conditions. We discovered that theory and practice diverged widely at this intersection. Cyclists were not using it according to plan. Instead, they were using it as shown in the video here. This is an HD video and is best viewed full-screen, by clicking on the “vimeo” link.<\/p>\n