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Hamilton Street Traffic Calming Measures

The City of Hyattsville is evaluating traffic calming measures for Hamilton Street between 40th and 42nd Avenues and and 41st Street between Hamilton and Jefferson Streets in order to reduce speeding, discourage aggressive driving, and provide a more pedestrian-friendly environment without the need for major infrastructure changes.

The proposed traffic calming plan was shared with community members at a public meeting on March 7, 2024.

View the proposed plan

Community members are invited to provide feedback below until April 8, 2024.

Please note that this project does not include suggested improvements to the multi-street intersection on Hamilton Street in front of Driskell Park. Learn more about that project here!

Phases

Phases overview

Phase 1: Community member feedback

Community member feedback

Phase 2: Review of Feedback & Presentation to Council

Review of Feedback & Presentation to Council

Community member feedback

March 18, 2024 4:00 AM - April 9, 2024 4:00 AM

Give us your feedback!

Review the proposed traffic calming measures

These measures include:

Curb extensions at the intersections of Hamilton Street and 41st Ave., 41st Place, and 42nd Ave. The extensions will be painted on the roadway and demarcated by flexible traffic delineators. Curb extensions slow traffic by forcing drivers to be aware of their surroundings when approaching and leaving intersections. These areas could be considered for future asphalt art installations.
Restriping existing crosswalks and adding new high visibility crosswalks at Hamilton Street and 41st Ave, Hamilton Street and 41st Place, and Ingraham Street and 41st Ave.
Speed humps along Hamilton Street and 41st Ave.
Addition of a pedestrian walkway on 41st Ave between Hamilton and Ingraham Streets.

Use the "Submit Comment" button in the upper right-hand corner to provide feedback on these traffic-calming measures by April 8, 2024.

You can comment on or endorse the suggestions of others by reviewing the comment cards below.

Please note that you will need to provide and confirm your email address in order to provide comment. This is a security feature to prevent spam comments. No other demographic information is collected if you do not wish to provide it.

10 issues

Sean M2 years ago In another comment I suggested placing the retrofit sidewalk on the West side of 41st Ave between Hamilton St and Ingraham St. During a recent rain storm i was reminder of another reason why this would be best.During heavy rain, the East side of the street becomes a river with a large amount of water running down the street towards the drain at the bottom of the hill. For whatever reason (topography, outflow placement, etc) the West side of the street does not have this same issue when it rains.Since what is being discussed is a retrofit sidewalk, it may become unusable when it rains if it is placed on the East side of the street.

Jig G2 years ago

Jackie Marks2 years ago Great to see these traffic calming measures being suggested! Speeding, and not stopping at stop signs in the neighborhoods is a big problem, especially on roads that don't have sidewalks. Currently, the lack of sidewalk means people, including school childen, share the road with cars which is very unsafe, especially at night. A sidewalk on 41st ave between Ingraham and Hamilton is needed to protect pedestrians and slow cars. I second the suggestion for the sidewalk on 41st Ave between Ingraham and Hamilton to be situation on the west side of the street, not the east side as currently proposed. The current suggestion for the walkway to be on the east side of the street can be unsafe for pedestrians, and may be underutilized for two reasons:1) as a pedestrian it is hard to see cars coming from Jefferson south on 41st because of the slope, which is especially problematic for cars that are speeding, and in the dark. The current suggestion of a walkway on the east side of 41st requires pedestrians to cross 41st to continue on the existing sidewalk at Ingraham which puts pedestrians in the path of cars speeding down 41st. A walkway on the westside of 41st will necessitate a new traffic pattern at the intersection with Ingraham which will force cars to slow down going southbound, and not require pedestrians to cross the street. I know this is an issue because I live at the intersection and have had to routinely run across the street to avoid cars.2) Pedestrians will most likely take the path of least resistance. If they're coming south on the sidewalk between Jefferson and Ingraham toward Hamilton and beyond, they'll more likely than not continue southbound on the west side whether or not there is a sidewalk.Thank you for considering.

Christopher Gerakoulias2 years ago What is happening with the Petition for the traffic calming for the 5000 block of 31st avenue? Drivers and motorcyclists continue to speed every day on this street. This is a highly trafficked area with pedestrians walking to the metro and dog walkers and families walking with kids. Something should be done right away. There is support for something to be done by the whole community on the street.

User 6245002 years ago Curb bump outs and raised cross walks are dangerous for cyclists. Unless you are building dedicated protected bike lanes, any traffic calming that forces cyclists to compete with cars for space in the travel lanes instead of remaining along the shoulder is a disaster. Also all of the additional striping etc. becomes very slippery and treacherous for cyclists when wet.The changes to the intersection of Hamilton and Queens Chapel have already made it very difficult to bike through there. There used to be room to bike on the shoulder that has been eliminated by road narrowing.

Will Seath2 years ago I'm sorry to merge this topic with the concurrent discussion on Hello Hyattsville concerning the five-point intersection, but since these topics are directly related because both involve Hamilton St. specifically and traffic calming generally, I'd like to refer readers to my comments on Alternate #3 of the Driskell Park Intersection discussion.The attached sketch I reference in that comment is posted here with my proposed modifications in red.This scheme would further promote traffic safety on Hamilton St. by creating a new "T" intersection of 40th Ave. and Hamilton St. before entering the proposed roundabout. The current five-point intersection would become a four-point roundabout. Traffic moving south on 40th Ave. would first have to turn right onto a short stretch of Hamilton St. before entering the roundabout. They would no longer have the option of turning left onto Gallatin St. or going straight through the intersection into Driskell Park, reducing the potential for collisions with traffic from Hamilton St., Gallatin St., and the Driskell Park driveway.

Will Seath2 years ago As a resident of the 4000 block of Hamilton St. who will be directly affected by these proposed traffic calming measures and as an Architect and Urban Designer, I offer the following:The addition of sidewalks to 41st Ave. is long overdue and most welcome.The inclusion of crosswalks and a stop sign at the corner of 42nd Ave. and Hamilton St. would be helpful. Many children walk to school along this route and must cross where drivers turn onto Hamilton without slowing down.Permanent curb extensions with planting areas - like those Sean referenced in an earlier comment - are far more aesthetically appealing than the plastic posts proposed here. Permanent curb extensions may block bike lanes, but there is already a permanent (and well-landscaped) curb extension on this stretch of Hamilton St. where it meets the five-point intersection. It would be nice to have continuity of features along this street. Most bikers on Hamilton St. use the full roadbed because the bike lane lacks striping (and because traffic on these blocks is minimal and one-way, so it is generally safe to do so). I doubt that permanent curb extensions would be an inconvenience to bikers, and the opportunity to beautify the street would be worth the additional cost.I oppose the proposed addition of speed humps along Hamilton St. This is a major route for emergency vehicles between the Municipal Building and the state-owned portion of Hamilton St. The addition of three speed humps would slow response times. The Urban Planning profession is increasingly advising against the installation of speed bumps as a street calming measure for many reasons: expense of installation and maintenance, aforementioned impact on emergency services, tendency to merely divert traffic to streets without them, etc. I don't observe excessive speed to be a particular problem on my block - especially now that there is parking on both sides of the street. A modest "road diet" trading sidewalk width for roadbed would be nice, but expensive and not especially necessary. I would rather see striping of a bike lane to at least imply a narrower automobile-only lane and encourage reasonable speeds.

Sean M2 years ago

Christine Williams2 years ago

Sean M2 years ago I appreciate the consideration of resident concerns regarding pedestrian safety in the area and the proposed traffic calming plan. I’m very happy to see that the plan includes the addition of a pedestrian walkway on 41st Ave between Hamilton and Ingraham.Please consider locating the pedestrian walkway on the West side of 41st Ave between Hamilton St and Ingraham St.Doing so would provide several benefits, including:1) along with existing sidewalks, this would create a continuous pedestrian walkway on the same side of the street from Gallatin St all the way to Kennedy St. This provides a safe/direct walkway from Top of the Park to the bus stops on Jefferson. Placing the pedestrian walkway on the Eastern side of 41st would necessitate pedestrians cross 41st several times along that span.2) locating the walkway on the West side of 41st Ave would limit impact on residents ensuring all homes along that span retain access to services that necessitate street access (trash pickup, leaf pickup, parking, delivery, etc).For transparency, adding that I live on 41st Ave.Thanks.

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