This post was written by Hatchet reporter Julie Alderman.

The city approved plans last week to revamp the crosswalks at Washington Circle to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.

The National Park Service and the District Department of Transportation crafted the plan to realign crosswalks to match up with sidewalks. National Capital Planning Commission Executive Director Marcel Acosta gave the designs a seal of approval March 29.

Changes include the new crosswalks and a chain-link fence that will impede jaywalkers from stepping into the circle from any sidewalk.

Construction will begin after approval from the D.C. Council, a move Wendy Peckham – DDOT’s program manager for the project – estimates will be this summer. The changes are projected to take a year and a half and cost $10 million, most of which will be footed by the Federal Highway Administration.

The circle will be kept open during construction due to heavy traffic around the area.

“We have to keep traffic flow,” Peckham said.

The project is part of a broader DDOT rehabilitation of New Hampshire Avenue designed by project manager Gholam Ali Agahi.

He attributed traffic to an escalating number of office buildings in the area and the circle’s close proximity to GW Hospital.

To keep with the historical symmetry of the circle, Agahi made sure that each crosswalk was paired with another 180 degrees opposite it.

“Changes are mostly for the safety of pedestrians since there has been a few accidents,” he said.

This post was updated on April 8, 2012 to reflect the following:
The Hatchet misidentified National Capital Planning Commission Executive Director Marcel Acosta.