Confusing Northeast DC intersection draws traffic and safety concerns from residents

A busy intersection has some D.C. residents concerned about safety in their neighborhood. West Virginia Avenue and 8th Street in Northeast D.C. are just steps away from dozens of homes near the H Street corridor and neighbors want city officials to make changes.

The three stop signs and two traffic lights in this area are apparently not enough to regulate traffic at this convoluted intersection as cars can travel in six different directions along pedestrians walking at eight different crosswalks.

When the traffic light turns green along 8th Street, that is where things get dicey for vehicles traveling on West Virginia Avenue at the two-way stop sign in the intersection.

Many residents we spoke with said this area is an accident waiting to happen.

"There's no stop sign here [on 8th Street] and you have to come out to see the traffic and you're already in the way," said one driver we rode with at this intersection. "We see almost accidents every day right at this intersection making this turn to the left."

"Definitely seeing two accidents happen and I've seen a lot of near-misses," said another resident.

The main issue at this intersection is it is not a four-way stop sign intersection and the cross traffic does on 8th Street does not stop. When traffic light is green on 8th Street, the driver said, "People come flying down here without stopping because there is no stop sign there or back there."

Those cars are met by drivers on West Virginia Avenue waiting to inch forward past a stop sign that sits too far back.

"You really have to get in the middle of the road to be able to see cars that are coming [the other] way," said the driver.

Once you are past that stop sign, there is another stop sign located at a crooked angle.

"Right down there, that's a stop sign where basically the cars don't stop at a stop sign particularly because it's not a 90-degree turn," said a neighbor who lives nearby the intersection.

He said he has seen cars almost hitting pedestrians pushing strollers. Along with bicycles and segways in the mix, there are many close calls here.

"I have a small child. I live right there. I see them blow it all the time," he said. "My walkway is right there. I don't want another child, particularly mine, to get killed because the police could have done something."

Neighbors said they have reached out to the D.C. police's Traffic Safety Division. They have mailed letters to the city and they have even started an online thread alerting the District Department of Transportation about this intersection. They said they are still waiting to hear back. FOX 5 has also reached out to DDOT, but has not heard back either.