WASHINGTON — People who live by a Northeast DC intersection where a driver hit a 9-year-old in December say nothing has been done to address safety concerns there.
On December 11, a driver hit Peter Dziekan at the corner of Gales and 21st streets NE, in DC’s Kingman Park neighborhood, before speeding away.
Dziekan, who was riding his bike, suffered cuts to his face that required stitches.
The District Department of Transportation walked through the neighborhood, where that incident happened, during a pre-planned meeting two days later. However, residents say no safety improvements have been made to 21 Street NE since that meeting.
On Monday, Kingman Park resident Nick Mararac captured a video of multiple cars speeding past a stop sign at the intersection from his home’s Nest camera. He tweeted video of 12 cars illegally passing the stop sign in less than 5 hours.
Bob Coomber, who lives on Gales Street, says he is worried about the safety of his children.
“It’s incredibly frustrating,” he said. “We go from street to street to street and ask again and again and again and you get the same promises, but no results.”
Coomber said he wants to see bulb-outs, speed bumps, or a raised crosswalk be installed on 21st Street. He said the response to his recent request for additional traffic calming measures along 21st Street was less than satisfactory.
“DDOT closed out a report saying they’re going to improve markings and do something, but as you can see nothing’s been done,” he said.
The only thing that has changed at the intersection, since the incident involving Dziekan, is the addition of a small yard sign asking drivers to “slow down” and obey the speed limit.
Coomber added more enforcement on 21st Street would also be welcomed by his community. Currently, a large box truck has been illegally parked at the intersection for days. It blocks the view of one of the stop signs.
WUSA9 reached out to DDOT to see what it planned to immediately do about safety concerns at the Kingman Park intersection. A department spokesperson responded with the following statement:
“DDOT is committed to improving the safety of our roadways for all users. At 21st and Gales Streets NE, we have identified several safety improvements that will be implemented at the intersection, including hatch pavement markings, flexible delineator posts, and a number of new signs. The work orders are in place and will be installed when temperatures are sustained above 50 degrees.”
In December, WUSA9 also reached out to the department to address concerns that it moves too slowly when requests are made by the public to fix dangerous roads and intersections.
DDOT Director Everett Lott released the following statement:
“We have deployed our DDOT safety team to the crash sites involving pedestrians that happened over the weekend. They look at the conditions on the ground, speak to the community members, and determine what safety measures can be immediately taken. This is part of DDOT’s rapid response process and happens in conjunction with our annual safety improvement program, which since October 1, has resulted in the completion of 100 safety improvement projects across the District.”