ReadysetDC A CREATIVE URBAN ENTERPRISE

An Unlucky Clover? Rethinking North Capitol & Irving Interchange

According to Irish lore, finding a four-leaf clover in nature is a sign of good luck. However, finding a similar symbol—the cloverleaf interchange—within the fabric of the city can be a rather unlucky occurrence. A cloverleaf interchange is an unfortunate urban condition and, represents an area that, with a little vision, is ripe for redevelopment. The Office of Planning (OP) and District Department of Transportation (DDOT), in coordination with the National Capital Planning Commission, have recently issued the North Capitol Street Cloverleaf Feasibility Study which aims to tackle this very issue. The study will provide a new vision for the North Capitol St. and Irving St. intersection, as well as for the areas directly north and south. Further, the proposed enhancements will work in concert with the redevelopments at the Armed Forces Retirement Home and the McMillan Reservoir. The study of North Capitol St. is broken into three distinct components: an “Urban Parkway” from Irving St. to Hawaii Ave., an “Urban Boulevard” from Irving St. to Channing St., and a development node on the current site of the North Capitol and Irving cloverleaf interchange.

For the one-mile section of North Capitol St. that travels north from Irving St. to Hawaii Ave, OP/DDOT envisions a green “Urban Parkway” similar to the southern end of the Rock Creek Parkway. At an estimated cost of $13.3 million, the proposal includes improvements like a hiker/biker trail alongside North Capitol, innovative stormwater management techniques, and the replacement of existing “highway style” Cobrahead lights with decorative Teardrop lights. More drastic aspects are outlined in the redesign, such as dedicated transit or HOV lanes or the use of a “road diet” to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle amenities. However, these seemingly more critical components are correspondingly complicated and carry heavier theoretical caveats, using less committal language with phrases like “as practical” and “explore possibility”. (Who wants to wage war on non-resident commuters, anyway?). While the OP/DDOT recommendations would clearly be a vast improvement to the current highway-esque roadway design, and the green parkway image would likely be embraced by those who are familiar with Rock Creek Parkway, there is still much room for improvement.

Commuter cyclists will struggle with the proposed condition of a shared jogger/walker/cyclist trail. If the route is envisioned as an integral part of the bicycle commuting network, the study should investigate using a separated cycle-track design along this portion of the North Capitol Street, giving pedestrians, cyclists, and automobiles their own dedicated space, thus ensuring the safety of all users. A similar model is currently in place on 15th Street NW, and a continuation of this trend would hopefully become a precedent for other redevelopments in the future. A half-mile extension of the redesigned roadway to the North Capitol St. and Missouri Ave./Riggs Rd. intersection would help to increase both pedestrian and cyclist access from the existing Brightwood Park and Manor Park neighborhoods. Other design tweaks, such as the inclusion of improved trail lighting, could also be considered to enhance the experience of trail or cycle-track users. It is worth noting that the Metropolitan Branch trail is only half a mile away and, when complete, will offer a dedicated pedestrian and bicycle route all the way from Silver Spring to Union Station.

Heading south, a monumental “Urban Boulevard” is proposed for North Capitol St. from Irving St. to Channing St, where the roadway returns to its “correct” axial alignment, offering dramatic views of the U.S. Capitol Building. The planned upgrades for North Capitol St. will bring it up to par with the designs already in place or planned for its sister streets – East and South Capitol. Primarily aesthetic in nature, these updates include the use of Washington Globe streetlights, brick sidewalks, regular sidewalk furniture, enhanced crosswalks, more Low Impact Development planting zones to minimize storm water run-off, and sidewalk café zones to encourage a pedestrian friendly environment in the McMillan redevelopment. The proposed improvements for this section of North Capitol should still include dedicated bicycle facilities and accommodations for transit. Currently, these aspects are not apparent in the proposed design. The inclusion of brick sidewalks should also be reconsidered. As aesthetically pleasing and nostalgic as they may be, brick sidewalks include their own set of serious safety and maintenance issues.

The cloverleaf interchange is addressed through three separate proposals – Grand Memorial, Center of Centers, and Four Corners. These options vary significantly in terms of density and design, and have widely varying infrastructure costs, and potential future land disposition and tax benefits to the District. While the study does not explicitly support any of the three options, the findings of the report indicate that the Center of Centers would be the most desirable option. Center of Centers is based on a design common in the District – the underpass/circle combination as seen at Dupont and Thomas Circles. This is a proven and familiar design that would allow east-west traffic on Irving St. to dip beneath the plaza, while north-south traffic on North Capitol St. could navigate around the perimeter of the ovular plaza. At 2.1 acres, the park provided is comparable to Dupont Circle; one of the city’s most successful urban public spaces. The Center of Centers plan is the only plan that has the true potential to create a dense, vibrant, urban center. It offers the greatest value to the city and should be the design promoted by OP/DDOT in future studies.

At the proposed density, the Center of Centers proposal could bring upwards of 1.7MM square-feet of new development to the former cloverleaf interchange. When combined with the large, planned developments immediately to the north and south (the Armed Forces Retirement Home and McMillan Reservoir, respectively) the North Capitol St. and Irving St. area begs for public transit infrastructure investment. Without this investment, these developments may only serve to increase the traffic congestion and limit the market feasibility of any redevelopment.

The study acknowledges that transit will be necessary in both the east-west and north-south directions. An east-west connection from Woodley Park to Brookland by way of Columbia Heights is already on DDOTs current plans for streetcar expansion – unfortunately, it is part of the 3rd and final phase. To facilitate north-south travel for these new developments, as well as the existing neighborhoods along this corridor, a streetcar line should be studied that would connect the Takoma Metro Station with the Capitol South or Navy Yard stations. This will help to shorten the divide between the current Red Line metro route and the proposed Georgia Ave. streetcar route to the north, and provide direct connections to all but the Yellow metro lines.

So, what will become of this unlucky clover? Only time will tell, but it is encouraging to see some great ideas from OP/DDOT on how to make this key corridor live up to its monumental potential.

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