Washington Street

Intersections Redesign

The intersection of Washington St. and Chapin St./Charles Martin Sr. Dr. and the intersection of Washington St. and LaPorte Ave. are two highly traveled and important intersections for the Near West Side Neighborhood. Charles Martin Sr. Dr. and Chapin St. are an important truck route on the west side of downtown. Washington St. is an important street and the main artery for the neighborhood into and out of downtown. Finally, LaPorte Ave. connects the neighborhood to the west side of the City.

As part of the redesign of these intersections complete streets elements were introduced to rightsize the intersection to the surrounding environment. Bump-outs narrowed intersections to force traffic to slow down and to create safer crosswalk areas for pedestrians and bicyclists. Most notably the right-hand turn slip lane on Washington St. to LaPorte Ave. was removed and the intersection was narrowed to slow traffic on LaPorte Ave. and increase pedestrian safety.

Project Area Analysis and Public Meeting Feedback

1. Excessively wide travel lane widths encourage high speed traffic through the intersection and create dangerous conditions for pedestrians at Washington St. and Chapin St. intersection

2. Tight corner at the southeast corner of Washington St. and Chapin St. create blind spot for drivers and pedestrians traveling west on Washington St.

3. Lane lines are ambiguous for east / west travel on Washington St.

4. Right-hand turn slip lane from Washington St. to LaPorte Ave. allows vehicles to take the corner at high speeds

5. Excessive travel lane widths on LaPorte Ave. create dangerous conditions for pedestrians

6. Parked vehicles on Chapin St., south of Washington St., regularly hit by traffic traveling south on Chapin St.

1. Narrow lane on Chapin St. and Charles Martin Sr. Dr. to slow traffic at intersection

2. Reduce and lane width total lanes from four to two on Washington St. at Chapin St. intersection to reduce vehicle conflict points and slow traffic

3. Introduce bump-outs at all corners of Washington St. and Chapin St. to reduce the distance for pedestrians to cross the streets and increase safety

4. Remove right-hand turn slip lane from Washington St. onto LaPorte Ave.

5. Create a T-style intersection at Washington St. and LaPorte Ave. to force traffic to slow down and reduce the width of the pedestrian crosswalk (increased pedestrian safety)

6. Bump-out at the southwest corner of Washington St. and Chapin St. helps to protect parked vehicles on Chapin St. from traffic coming south

7. Introduce larger tree-lawn ares throughout project area for future street tree planting that can assistant in traffic calming measures