Working for Ward 3: Keeping Our Families Safe on Ward 3 Streets

As a candidate for Ward 3 Council, I believe one of the most basic responsibilities of local government is protecting people as they move through their neighborhood.

In a city like DC, safety is not just about responding after something goes wrong. It is about designing streets, setting policy priorities, and working with agencies so crashes and injuries are prevented before they happen.

Over the past several years, residents along the Reno Road/34th Street NW corridor have repeatedly raised concerns about dangerous driving behavior. Parents have shared stories that are difficult to hear, children struck by vehicles while legally crossing at marked crosswalks, drivers turning right on red without checking for pedestrians, and speeding traffic treating a residential corridor like a commuter cut-through.

These concerns have been documented through community advocacy efforts in which I have participated alongside my colleagues on ANC 3C. Together, we have formally asked the DDOT multiple times to conduct updated traffic studies, review intersection design, and evaluate physical safety improvements along the corridor.

As a Co-Chair of the ANC 3C Safe, Sustainable and Equitable Transportation Committee, I have worked directly on this issue. I helped organize a public discussion focused specifically on safety concerns along Reno Road, authored a letter to the DC Council that the ANC ultimately passed addressing the corridor, and earlier this year testified at DDOT’s oversight hearing to try and get clearer answers on when residents can expect meaningful safety improvements.

Unfortunately, many residents feel that progress has been too slow.

There is a growing perception that our current Councilmember has allowed repeated delays. Most recently, at DDOT’s oversight hearing, the agency appeared to slow-walk timelines for safety improvements along this corridor. Instead of pressing for answers or demanding a clearer plan, our Councilmember’s response felt lackluster, almost accepting of the delay.

At this pace, the students who are being affected by these safety issues today could have children of their own before meaningful improvements are completed. Our community deserves stronger advocacy and a greater sense of urgency when it comes to protecting residents and students who rely on this corridor every day.

In conversations with neighbors, I have heard frustration that safety improvements are sometimes described as “in process” while children continue walking to school across streets where drivers speed, turn aggressively, or fail to yield.

Reno Road functions as a commuter corridor connecting Maryland to downtown DC, but it is also a residential street used daily by families, students, and seniors. When high-volume commuter movement intersects with neighborhood life, the city has a responsibility to design streets that protect the people who live there.

The community has already spoken through multiple actions across ANCs and civic groups. Neighboring ANCs have supported extending safety improvements along the corridor, and residents have even invested in small but meaningful tools such as pedestrian visibility flags to improve crossing safety.

These efforts reflect what Ward 3 residents understand: safety is not optional.

As you Councilmember, I will push for:

• Updated traffic and crash data transparency for the corridor

• Physical traffic calming infrastructure that actually reduces speeding

• Stronger pedestrian protection measures near high-use crossings

• Review of right-turn-on-red conflicts in residential zones

• Clear, publicly communicated implementation timelines for safety projects

I support the city’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating serious injury and fatal crashes. But Vision Zero does not mean zero action. It means setting deadlines, funding projects, and following through on fixing dangerous roads.

Families should never have to worry that a distracted driver will fail to stop at a crosswalk where their child is legally walking.

In DC, children should be able to cross the street and come home safely. Seniors should be able to walk to the store without fear. And neighbors should be able to move through their community with confidence.

If elected to the Council, I will make pedestrian safety on corridors like Reno Road/34th Street a priority from day one.

I invite residents to share their experiences and ideas as we work together to build a Ward 3 where safety, and community design guide transportation policy.

Safety should not be a future promise, it should be a responsibility we owe to every family today.