Challenge

Florida Avenue NE has historically served varying functions in Washington, DC: it is the “main street” for Gallaudet University, a direct route between New York Avenue and H Street/Benning Road, and a gateway to the historic Florida Market, a wholesale food district. As the NoMa neighborhood surrounding the NoMa-Gallaudet U and the Florida Market continues to redevelop and densify, and as Gallaudet University continues to grow, there is an increasing preference for safe, comfortable, and convenient walking, biking, and transit options by neighborhood residents and visitors. Florida Avenue has struggled to accommodate these new user types because of its narrow sidewalks, lack of bike facilities, unsafe crossing conditions, and a current design that allows high motor vehicle speeds.

Solution

Kittelson led a multimodal corridor planning study for the District Department of Transportation to determine appropriate multimodal design treatments that most effectively balance space constraints and competing needs on the corridor. In particular, a robust stakeholder and community outreach program was used to consider and vet numerous design alternatives that most appropriately balanced the needs of all users.