In a final indignity before it is completely reconfigured, DC’s notorious “Dave Thomas Circle”—named for the Wendy’s at the detestable intersection of New York and Florida Avenues, Northeast—is the most hated intersection in the city, according to a new analysis from Greater Greater Washington.
The analysis is based on a review of traffic-safety 311 requests that were made from 2015 though 2020. Of all intersections in the city, none was the subject of more requests for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure—35 in all—than the circle. According to the report, it was the site of a whopping 224 vehicle crashes. In February, the city announced that it would undertake a $35 million reconstruction of the intersection to address the long-running safety problems.
Here’s Greater Greater Washington’s full list of the District’s 10 most loathed intersections:
1.Dave Thomas Circle, New York and Florida Avenues, Northeast
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 35
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 224
2.Good Hope Road and MLK Jr Avenue, Southeast
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 20
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 127
3. Third Street, Riggs Road, and South Dakota Avenue, Northeast
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 16
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 83
4. Connecticut Avenue and Porter Street Northwest (tied)
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 14
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 49
5. Benning Road and Minnesota Avenue, Northeast (tied)
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 14
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 211
6. I Street Southeast/Southwest and South Capitol Street (tied)
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 14
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 121
7. Branch Avenue and Southern Avenue, Southeast (tied)
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 14
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 52
8. 21st Street, I Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (tied)
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 13
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 35
9. Seventh Street, K Street, and Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest (tied)
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 13
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 119
10. 14th Street and Columbia Road, Northwest (tied)
Number of 311 request from the public for traffic investigations or additional safety infrastructure: 13
Number of vehicle crashes reported to DC police: 79
Luke Mullins is a senior writer at Washingtonian magazine focusing on the people and institutions that control the city’s levers of power. He has written about the Koch Brothers’ attempt to take over The Cato Institute, David Gregory’s ouster as moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, the collapse of Washington’s Metro system, and the conflict that split apart the founders of Politico.
