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Where is Dave Thomas Circle? Wendy's seizure will end traffic chaos at dangerous Washington intersection

The intersection features among the top ten most hazardous accident-prone zones in the city

Dave Thomas Circle happens to be a notorious intersection of roads in Washington D.C., named after the founder of the fast-food chain ‘Wendy’s’, curiously enough. However, now the District government has planned to seize Wendy’s restaurant outlet at the location in NoMa, in order to make the intersection safer to navigate.

Where is the Dave Thomas Circle?

The small triangular block on Dave Thomas Circle features the Wendy’s outlet as the only property, along with a parking lot that belongs to Wendy’s. It is located on an 18k SF plot at the intersection of five important and busy streets – New York Avenue, Florida Avenue, First Street, Eckington Avenue and O Street NE.

The circle, with its high record of road accidents, has been nicknamed after the founder of Wendy’s because of the fast-food outlet at the junction. It features among the top ten most hazardous accident-prone areas in the city, and an 80% majority of the accidents were sideswipe and rear-end crashes – owing to the confusion of the drivers to navigate the unusual intersection, reports Bisnow.

What are the proposed changes?

In 2010, the D.C. Department of Transportation made all the streets around the Dave Thomas Circle one-way around the block, creating a pattern called the ‘virtual circle’. However, it had failed to eliminate the risk of accidents and crashes. In 2019, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed to buy Wendy’s property for $35M and redesign the intersection to make it easier to navigate, and thus safer, in turn. Now, finally, the District Department of Transportation has gone ahead with her proposal and included $35M in the 2021 fiscal budget just for the acquisition, design and reconstruction of the Dave Thomas Circle project. 

Last month, the District government moved the D.C. Superior Court to file an eminent domain case against the owner of the Wendy’s at the Dave Thomas Circle. Reportedly, the owner is being paid a hefty sum of $13.1M for the property, which will now be acquired and transformed by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). The court filing has been signed and authorized by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, who confirmed that the seizure of Wendy’s property is only for the purpose of road safety for the public. 

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The proposed new plan will instate a sculpture in place of the Wendy’s and create a new road through the present property connecting First Street NE and Eckington Place. The plan also has the creation of three separate parks on cards, including one across New York Avenue. 

“This is an important milestone in DDOT’s ongoing efforts to make a notorious intersection safer and easier to navigate for the thousands of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists who travel through this corridor every day,” said DDOT Interim Director Everett Lott in a statement issued to Bisnow. 

Reactions from the internet

After the news about the seizure of Wendy’s at Dave Thomas Circle surfaced, Twitter came up with hilarious reactions. While some were astounded about a road being named after the founder of Wendy’s, D.C. residents heaved a sigh of relief. "Wait. They are using eminent domain on the Dave Thomas Circle? Who hates Dave Thomas this much?" asked one user.

"Going to tell my kids this was Dave Thomas Circle," another user tweeted this hilarious meme, referring to the regular chaos at the intersection. One user narrated their harrowing experience – "ahh if I had a dollar for every time I cursed while traversing Dave Thomas Circle... doesn’t matter if it was by foot or car... I never had the cajones to bike around it. The only nice thing about it was the guys selling cold water in the summer." "RIP you magnificent pain-in-the-a**," wrote one Twitter user. "I love how everyone in D.C. has a memory or opinion about the New York Ave. Wendy’s," tweeted one user, summing it up.