Dupont Circle (Hall of Shame)

Washington, DC

Contributed by Project for Public Spaces

Many think Dupont Circle is the best destination in Washington, but it is performing at just 30% of its potential.

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01/04/06 Michael Schade said:

I agree we don't need 4 lanes of traffic around our treasured park. The circle need to better connect Connecticut Ave and P St, from a pedestrian's perspective. Lots of great Dupont photos now at http://www.dupontcircle.biz/gallery.htm

01/05/06 belly button window said:

You dis the great Dupont Circle of Life: http://www.bbwindow.com/archives/000405.html ?? Have you not experienced it on a nice weekend in the spring when its wall to wall people, pets, and freaks? If it ain't broke...

01/05/06 belly button window said:

...don't fix it. But you should at least ge the name right if you're gonna slam. It's "Dupont" not "DuPont" and even the NPS says so: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dupontmap.htm

01/23/06 Steve Dickens said:

This is the first I've heard of PPS, and you've got it all wrong. So much for your credibility with this newby! Dupont Circle is a GREAT public space--almost always full of a diversity of people and activity, very little of which is programmed. It would be nice to have fewer cars but honestly it doesn't seem to make much difference.

04/18/06 John Tyson said:

Sigh. If you people actually READ what they wrote about the space, you'd see they are not saying it's a bad space, only that it'snot as good as it could be! The suggestions they make are good ones! I think Dupont Circle is great, but I also think there's room for improvement.

04/19/06 Dan Malouff said:

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Absolutely and unforgivably wrong. It sounds like PPS looked at a plan but has never actually been to Dupont Circle. Their criticisms illustrate a complete lack of understanding towards Dupont’s place in the city and roll as public square. Their proposed changes all sound good on paper but would in fact remove most of the charm that makes Dupont Washington’s most beloved small park. Rigid adherence to the plan: Dupont’s formality is part of what makes it great. There is certainly a place for more chaotic spaces, but this isn’t it. PPS should know better than to apply a one-size-fits-all formula to public spaces. Active parts of the Circle that are disconnected and interior/exterior connections: The “disconnected” parts feed off each other, but provide enough separation so that people who want to lay quietly on the lawn or play chess at a table are not bothered by the bustle of more active, louder uses. Dupont Circle is a relatively small open space. It is physically impossible for it to be too disconnected. Right now the different users are close enough so the park feels alive, but far enough apart so different people can enjoy different activities. Forcing them together against the natural flow of the park would hurt, not help. Road around the Circle: The road around the circle is never difficult to cross. There is a median, with traffic on either side timed to different movements. Traffic is usually slow-moving. There is plenty of it, but the ambient sound and movement makes the park itself feel more alive. Thinning the streets would accomplish nothing and make the park seem less active. Even assuming, for the sake of argument, that PPS’s criticisms are correct and Dupont Circle could be improved, it remains an absolutely fabulous public space. Putting in the Hall of Shame cheapens the spaces that really are shameful, and throws PPS’s credibility into serious question.

07/09/07 Lee Watkins said:

I think that the traffic lights & curbs in the circle are a source of trouble. When the lights on Mass. Ave. through the circle turn green, auto-drivers feel they have the right-of way, and so they use speed as a way to encourage people to people to clear the roadway, or else they will surely be run down. When the lights turn red, this part of the road in the circle quickly fills in with people standing and walking, and briefly it becomes part of the park again. I think that if the lights & curbs were taken out, the road could be changed to cobble-stones, this would reduce the speed of autos to about 5-10mph which would be much safer for everyone in the park, and also make the park feel much larger. The cobble-stones alone are pretty effective at reducing speed, so maybe they should start in advance of the circle. I think the lights only serve to encourage cars to take the right of way where it can not safely be given. Going even further, I know from experience that most if not all the cars going though dupont on Mass. Ave are not actually destined for the dupont area, but rather they are leaving the city - and there are alternative way to do that... so removing the mass. ave. cut from dupont circle could only improve dupont's access & comfort as a destination. Also, I always felt that the whole point of the circle was to keep traffic moving - the red lights effectively turn the circle into a parking lot while cars wait. Dupont is not popular because of the roads, it's popular because of the metro stop, as well as the past popularity of the trolley lines that used to run through the circle (for which trolley tunnels still remain, unused). If the roads were cut off or at least downgraded, and trolleys returned, Dupont would be far more popular than it is. If you want to see what Dupont would look like without the metro stop, just go over to Logan Circle, and Thomas Circle. Big Difference! Removing these circles is a total disaster for the layout of the city, as illustrated by the intersection of Rhoad Island, M St., and 18th St. This spot used to be the mirror to Thomas Circle, and it now claims more pedestrian, cyclist, and Automobile fatalities (and injuries) than just abot anywhere else in the city. It's a collision of conflicting one-way streets, when it should really just be a low-speed free-flowing traffic circle, like Sheridan Circle.

04/25/08 tusher017 tusher said:

such a nice place.good enviuronment to circle. _______________ tusu Put The Message Where It Matters! WideCircles aka Wide Circles represents relevant, distributed, highly targeted and efficient internet word of mouth marketing using entertaining or informative messages that are designed to be passed along in an exponential fashion using social network mediums such as blogs, forums, wikis and so on. http://widecircles.com

04/23/09 Liz B said:

oh, TOTALLY. the people who have gotten defensive either just don't like seeing their city/neighborhood criticized or have never lived anywhere with a great public space. dupont isn't BAD--it's just not what it could be, and the problem is the traffic (and the location of the market). great public spaces are not nearly so trafficy, they can be gotten to and around with ease. the market is much more central. it's not that the park itself is bad--it would just be better if you didn't have to cross 4 lanes of traffic (with a fairly complex traffic pattern) to get there. wandering in and out or just happening upon public spaces is what it's all about. more like the parks/markets in and around capitol hill and eastern market.