D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10, r. 10-A404
Our avenues and boulevards are much more than simple transportation routes. They are a legacy of the 1791 L'Enfant Plan and are still one of the city's most distinctive features. They were designed to be beautiful corridors lined with distinctive buildings affording dramatic vistas for those passing by. Today, these corridors handle hundreds of thousands of private vehicles each day as well as bicycles, trucks, and buses. 404.1
Different corridors in the city serve different functions. Some, like New York Avenue, carry heavy truck and commuter traffic. Others have wide sidewalks that provide a safe and pleasant environment for pedestrians. Still others were once vital shopping streets or streetcar lines that today have lost their neighborhood-serving activities and are checkered by drive-through and auto-oriented uses. As the gateways to our communities, the District's corridors should once again become the centers of civic and economic life for surrounding neighborhoods and serve as vital transportation corridors. The challenge facing the District as it plans for and reinvests in its corridors is to balance the various transportation modes, tailor its transportation strategies to recognize the function of each major street, and foster economic growth. 404.2
Improvement of the city's corridors-particularly public space along city streets-is an important part of the ongoing "Great Streets" initiative. Great Streets applies a multidisciplinary approach to corridor improvement, comprised of public realm investments, land use plans, public safety strategies, and economic development assistance. Among other things, the initiative includes the construction of new sidewalks, lighting, signage and crosswalks. Such improvements are being used to leverage further investment in landscaping and public space by the private sector. 404.3
The Great Streets Initiative is a partnership of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), the Office of Planning (OP), the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), and Neighborhood Services Coordinators (NSC), among many others. In its first phase the program concentrates on six designated corridors. These corridors are identified in the Land Use Element and include:
* Georgia Avenue NW and 7th Street NW from Eastern Avenue to Mt. Vernon Square
* H Street NE and Benning Road NE from North Capitol Street to Southern Avenue
* Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE from Kenilworth Avenue to Eastern Avenue
* Minnesota Avenue NE/SE from Sheriff Road NE to Good Hope Road SE Pennsylvania Avenue SE from the Capitol complex to Southern Avenue
* Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE and South Capitol Street from Good Hope Road to Southern Avenue. 404.4
New corridors may be added to the Great Streets program in the future. 404.5
Policy T-1.2.1: Boulevard Improvements
Continue to work across District agencies to beautify and stabilize selected boulevards by implementing coordinated transportation, economic development, and urban design improvements. 404.6
Policy T-1.2.2: Targeted Investment
Target planning and public investment toward the specific corridors with the greatest potential to foster neighborhood improvements and enhance connectivity across the city. 404.7
Policy T-1.2.3: Discouraging Auto-Oriented Uses
Discourage certain uses, like "drive-through" businesses or stores with large surface parking lots, along key boulevards and pedestrian streets, and minimize the number of curb cuts in new developments. Curb cuts and multiple vehicle access points break-up the sidewalk, reduce pedestrian safety, and detract from pedestrian-oriented retail and residential areas. 404.8
Action T-1.2.A: Cross-Town Boulevards
Evaluate the cross-town boulevards that link the east and west sides of the city including Florida Avenue, Michigan Avenue, and Military Road/Missouri Avenue, to determine improvements that will facilitate cross-town movement. 404.9
Please consult the Urban Design Element for additional policies and actions on streetscape and design standards for corridors.
The provisions of Title 10, Part A of the DCMR accessible through this web interface are codification of the District Elements of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. As such, they do not represent the organic provisions adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia. The official version of the District Elements only appears as a hard copy volume of Title 10, Part A published pursuant to section 9 a of the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1994, effective April 10, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-76; D.C. Official Code § 1 -301.66)) . In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions accessible through this site and the provisions contained in the published version of Title 10, Part A, the provisions contained in the published version govern. A copy of the published District Elements is available www.planning.dc.gov.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10, r. 10-A404