Neighborhood officials and residents are split over the National Park Service’s plan to eliminate reversible rush hour lanes and redesign intersections along Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, citing safety risks and outdated traffic controls on nearby streets.

NPS solicited feedback earlier this month on how and whether to remove the rush hour reversible lanes on Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, which have been in place since 1937 to help congestion and traffic flow in Northwest D.C. during peak commuting hours. The proposal is a segment of NPS’s larger plan to rectify traffic flow through Rock Creek Park, drawing both support and criticism from neighbors and local leaders, with some saying the change would increase congestion and others saying it will boost safety.

The proposal, introduced by NPS in March 2024, would replace the current one-way rush hour system running between the National Mall and Connecticut Avenue. On nonholiday weekdays, all four lanes of traffic on the parkway move southbound toward Washington from 6:45 to 9:30 a.m., while all lanes go northbound from 3:45 to 6:30 p.m.

The proposal includes 24-hour two-way traffic to eliminate the daily need for Park Police to manually adjust barricades and signs, which supporters say is a safety risk. The proposal also details a traffic circle at the north end of Rock Creek Parkway with a new southbound lane north of Virginia Avenue to mitigate added traffic congestion from the two-way traffic change.

Officials are collecting public feedback until May 2 on the elimination of reversible lanes, installation of two roundabouts and crosswalks to increase pedestrian and bicycle safety and the widening of the trail adjacent to the parkway.

NPS Traffic Manager Wayne Emington said at an April meeting that twice-daily changeovers from two-way to reversible operations pose safety issues for Park Police responsible for upkeep of the parkway, including repairing or replacing broken barricades, which often involves stepping into an active roadway.

“Every time you as an officer are walking into live traffic, you’re potentially creating a risk to yourself and the equipment,” Emington said.

NPS documented 5,999 crashes on Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway between 1990 and 2020, 31 percent of which occurred during reversible lane operations.

Park Patrol said in a statement that it’s “typical” to see drivers travel the wrong direction during these periods, despite roadblocks and signage warning them not to. Officers also said drivers sometimes enter the roadway against oncoming traffic during two-way operations because they mistakenly believe lanes are reversed. Emington said those “confused” drivers act unpredictably.

“Folks that are confused can make driving behaviors that are unpredictable,” Emington said.

To combat the predicted boost in traffic congestion caused by eliminating reversible lanes, NPS proposed a roundabout on the parkway at Shoreham and Beach drives, a median between K and Q streets, one or two left-turn lanes at Virginia Avenue and “traffic control solutions,” like curb realignments and pedestrian crossings at the Potomac River Freeway intersection, a RCPP transportation impact assessment states.

NPS modeling predicts less than three-minute delays at reconfigured intersections, factoring in those who stop using the road and new commuters enabled by full-time two-way flow.

NPS estimated the total planning cost at $5,630,000 in 2024, and Emington said construction could begin in 2028 after public feedback and environmental reviews conducted by NPS.

Community members, advocates and local leaders are divided on NPS’s array of proposals due to concerns of safety and traffic delays.

Dale Barnhard, who co-owns three townhomes across from the Boathouse apartments on 27th and I streets, called two-way parkway operations “a necessary first step.” He said he supports full-time two-way traffic because eliminating the need for Park Police to manually change signage is worth reducing the number of vehicles who can use the road.

“I have no objection to them making the parkway two way at all times,” Barnhard said. “I think that most streets should do that.”

But Barnhard said he’s skeptical about some of NPS’s other proposals because the plan “doesn’t address” pedestrian safety and transit improvements. He said roundabouts and two-way traffic require fixes for transit and bike safety, adding that the proposed roundabouts add risk to pedestrians and cyclists, who have to “scramble across” and avoid getting hit.

The Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday calling on NPS to address “extremely unsafe” conditions at 27th Street and Virginia Avenue before implementing their proposal.

The resolution, authored by ANC2A Commissioner Ed Comer, does not oppose eliminating reversible lanes outright but warns the proposal risks worsening congestion unless the District Department of Transportation first repairs 27th Street’s chaotic conditions.

The resolution states infrastructure gaps at 27th Street and Virginia Avenue, including missing signage, poorly marked lanes and a lack of crosswalks, is evidence of unsafe conditions and frequent backups. The resolution contained a request that DDOT installing clearer signage, pedestrian crossings and lane markings.

Comer said NPS and DDOT should fix the intersection of 27th Street and Virginia Avenue before making lane changes because the increased traffic congestion will worsen its safety issues. NPS’s transportation impact assessment stated the area would receive “additional coordination with DDOT.”

“If they’re going to end reversible lanes, you need to fix it anyway because it’s a mess,” Comer said. “But if they end reversible lanes, you really need to fix it because it will be three times as bad.”

The plan’s public scoping summary released in March did not address the intersection of 27th Street and Virginia Avenue.

The Dupont Circle ANC approved a resolution Saturday in support of eliminating reversible lane operations, stating DDOT and NPS should consider dedicating space for pedestrian and cyclist use if construction temporarily blocks the trail.

Emington said it is too early in the design process to know how foot traffic will be impacted by NPS’s construction.

Save Connecticut Ave, which formed to oppose bike lanes proposed by DDOT on Connecticut Avenue in 2022, said in a statement the proposal signals alignment between NPS and the “bike lobby’s war on cars.

“They’re under the mistaken impression that the improvements that they are going to make are going to solve all of the problems with congestion in the park, which is frankly crazy,” Save Connecticut Ave President Lee Mayer said.

Mayer said NPS and DDOT should equip Rock Creek Parkway with automated signage and overhead gates instead of eliminating reversible lanes. He said this would eliminate risk for Park Police needing to change signs and barricades on the road, while saving money on personnel.

NPS estimates that eliminating reversible lanes on Rock Creek Parkway would save about $830,250 annually by cutting about 6,750 hours of U.S. Park Police hours spent moving barricades and signs and directing traffic during changeover periods between the morning and afternoon rush.

Mayer said Connecticut Avenue is a “mess” because DDOT ended reversible lanes in March 2020, diverting traffic to residential streets instead. He said the 2025 plan relies on “outdated” traffic data collected during pandemic recovery, missing a 2024 increase in driving in the D.C. area.

“They’re basing their proposed plan to eliminate the reversible lanes on a study that is not only flawed but very dated,” Mayer said. “That’s a big part of the problem is that they basically have decided they want to get rid of the reversible lanes because that’s easiest, and then they’re backing into it by providing the study.”