Pedestrian Access and Safety

Mission

DDOT works to make walking and pedestrian activity an accessible and safe mode of travel throughout all parts of the District's transportation network and public space.

Walking has been a fundamental part of everyday travel in Washington, DC from the City’s initial design by Pierre L’Enfant in 1791. L’Enfant’s plan for the City was inherently walkable. He envisioned a series of grand avenues radiating from the core of the City, and a grid street network that would overlay these avenues and conform to the contours of the land.

Over 200 years later, L’Enfant’s layout of the City remains largely intact and provides both opportunities and challenges to modern pedestrian travel. While some parts of Washington, DC are known throughout the world for being great places to walk because of the grid network and tree-lined streets, others are not. Many of the grand avenues have become major arterial roadways, carrying heavy volumes of traffic and presenting challenges to pedestrians.

District of Columbia Pedestrian Master Plan 

Street Smart Program

Procedures & Services

HAWK Pedestrian Signal Guide 

Quick Pedestrian / Bicycle Crash Site Visit Checklist

Sidewalk Gap Program 

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is constructing new sidewalks and filling sidewalk gaps to provide access and improve safety for residents and visitors throughout the District. Click the link to view and learn more about the Sidewalk Gap Program.

Pedestrian Access & Safety in Work Zones

As DDOT regulates the temporary occupancy of public space during construction, it shall ensure that the routing of pedestrians and other vehicles around a work zone is safe, and that traffic control plans submitted with construction permits replicate the existing pedestrian pathways as practically as possible. 

Pedestrian Safety and Work Zone Standards: Covered and Open Walkways

See Related

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  Vaults (Compendium)
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  Utilities (Compendium)
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  Traffic Calming (Compendium)
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  Snow and Ice Removal (Compendium)
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  Sidewalk Cafes (Compendium)
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  Sidewalks (Compendium)
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  Safe Routes to Schools (Compendium)
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  Traffic Safety and Vision Zero (Compendium)
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  Pedestrian Access and Safety (Compendium)
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  Parklets (Compendium)
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  Construction (Compendium)