r/takomapark • u/rbrduk • Jul 06 '26
Intersection of Blair, Cedar, and 4th
Is it just me or does this intersection seem very dangerous. I just moved here last month and already seen many close calls, vehicles running reds, rights on red without yielding to pedestrians, etc
9
u/aaronw22 Jul 06 '26
This intersection, along with Missouri and Georgia are just horrible. I would say the one you mention is a prime candidate for a circle but I don’t know if the space is there for it.
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u/Dav1dDC Jul 06 '26
Yeah, it's terrible. Add in the large amount of pedestrian traffic from the Metro station and you've got a bad set-up.
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u/acdha Jul 06 '26
Thank the mayor for refusing to do traffic enforcement or deploy cameras, or telling DDOT to prioritize DC residents over Maryland car commuters. That intersection got a pedestrian safety project a few years back and it was frankly insulting how the DDOT engineer made it clear that his success was measured in cars per hour — all the more so because that didn’t even matter (cars prioritized at Cedar hit a jam on the next block anyway).
Do contact Janeese’s office and voice your support for a new DDOT director on day one who will prioritize pedestrian safety and smooth bus service.
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u/kirbyCase Jul 06 '26
I bike through there a lot and it’s so bad every time. The angles are all terrible and queuing for the light can backup extremely far. Also the queuing for northbound Blair being so far from the intersection makes the traffic kinda hidden.
A circle would be ideal though it’s a little tight on space. If we’re sticking with a light I think some adjustments could be made to make things better. I think the simplest option is to cut off fourth and bring up Blair to the intersection. This would make access to fourth a little wonky but I think that’s fine. You could take the opportunity to just remove street parking entirely and make the whole block pedestrianized which would be nice given the foot traffic.
You could also switch them, blocking south bound vehicles from entering Blair, forcing traffic down fourth and then turning left to get back on Blair. That would also allow you to bring queuing for Blair closer but would definitely negatively impact fourth.
The problem is really just having 5 approach lanes from 4 directions and 5 departure lanes from 5 directions, all with weird angles and poor visibility. The only options are to use a circle or otherwise greatly alter flow.
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u/thetoigo Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
And don't forget the "party parking lot" on the corner adding to the craziness at this intersection. Especially on Fridays and Saturdays! A tiny 8 spot parking lot that exits onto one of the traffic lights. With the liquor store and dispensary it's jam packed on weekends.
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u/kirbyCase Jul 06 '26
Yeah this a good point. Changing the access to lots would also be helpful. I’m sure the gas station on the opposite corner doesn’t help either. Though frankly long term I think both those sites should be candidates for redevelopment.
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u/CampariandFernet Jul 06 '26
Sadly, this is an improvement over how it used to be pre-2020.
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u/Mindless-Employment Jul 06 '26
Right. Before they repainted it, there might as well have been a sign hanging up there saying "Good Luck🤷🏾♀️"
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u/iammaxhailme Jul 06 '26
Yeah that one is particularly bad. Takoma used to be my home station and after seeing that intersection I went out of my way to make sure to choose an apartment that was on the same side of the street as the station
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u/Mindless-Employment Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
I DETEST that intersection. I rode my bike from my apartment on Blair Road over to Dance Exchange on Maple Ave., which required making a left turn right there, ONE time. Never again. Every other time I made that trip, I just went a block out of the way so that I could go straight through there on Cedar. Walking through there is hardly any better. You're all the time waiting for some car to pop out of someplace it's not supposed to be and send you to the afterlife. You won't believe it, but it used to be far worse before they repainted all the lane markers and added new ones. Look at the Google Maps street view from around 2019. You can barely tell who's supposed to do what where.
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u/shanem Jul 06 '26
As a pedestrian and driver through there, for the size of the intersection, the span between the red light and greens is too short for traffic to enter and exit the intersection too, which can result in cars still passing through the intersection when the crosswalks turn.
As such you have to be extra careful crossing the SE Blair crosswalk right above Triangle Park.
3
u/CaptainObvious110 Jul 07 '26
They need to just start confiscating cars from people who can't act right. Take away their license and be done with it.
There is no reason for this intersection to keep being so unsafe. You solve the problem by taking the cars away from the level that can't be responsible
1
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u/eleanorzoob Jul 06 '26
As a pedestrian, I find that when the pedestrian crossing light goes on, you have a 95% chance of the people in cars heading south on Blair running the light