One D.C. leader said he is glad steps are being taken to keep drivers and pedestrians safe in the District.
A commissioner from the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANC) of 1B, Santiago Lakatos, said he is pleased about the new speeding camera on Florida Avenue in Northwest D.C. and hopes it will curb speeding there.
“Studies have shown that while it doesn’t necessarily get rid of all excessive speeding, speed cameras being placed does reduce excessive speeding by 85%,” Lakatos said.
ANC 1B includes Southern Columbia Heights, LeDroit Park, U Street and Northern Shaw neighborhoods.
He said the new camera was installed a week ago – he didn’t request the camera there, but said it shows the city saw a need and that’s why it was placed there.
“The speed camera I hope is a proceeding precedent to something better,” he said.
Lakatos said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he hopes the speeding camera will help with “really dangerous speeding” on the block of Florida Avenue.
The commissioner also touted a safety measure in ANC 1E: an all-way stop control to be installed by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) at the intersection of Barry Place and 8th St.
ANC 1E includes communities in Pleasant Plains, Park View and Howard University in Ward 1.
Lakatos said with a recreation center, Howard University dorms and restaurants, the intersections on 8th St. can be dangerous for pedestrians crossing.
“The real need is for [a] road design that addresses some of those issues,” Lakatos said. “The stop sign does that to start [but] there’s a lot of people who drive very fast on Barry Place from Sherman Avenue To Georgia Avenue and having that stop sign slows down the traffic a little bit.”
The installation of a stop sign at Barry and 8th Streets in Northwest D.C. is still pending and there is no exact date of when it will go up, according to the DDOT website.
Source: DC News Now
