Unsatisfied with the comprehensive Berger Study conclusions, the pro-road group hired a consultant to find flaws in the study, flaws that could be twisted to support rebuilding the road. Deep in the traffic appendix, there are computer projections of intersection delays, which Berger failed to label “over-capacity.” The pro-road consultant manipulated these projections to produce incredible effects, presuming the delays were real.

Director of DDOT Dan Tangherlini, addressed the issue conclusively at the March 13th City Council hearing. Hear Testimony 1.9mb

The Berger Group correctly put the delay projections in context, concluding that "reopening Klingle Road would produce negligible beneficial improvements to traffic congestion or safety at surrounding intersections." Regarding air quality, the report concluded “it is unlikely that any build option would increase traffic, rather existing traffic patterns would shift, and therefore would not produce adverse short-term or long-term impacts on air quality.”

Recently, DDOT ran additional physical delay counts. The computer generated delays, when compared with the physical delay counts, are 400% greater in delay time. The computer projections were described by Berger engineers as “essentially meaningless and misleading to laypeople.” D.C.’s Bureau of Environmental Quality advised that “any conclusions ... drawn from an analysis based on erroneous data are highly questionable.” The American Lung Association withdrew its ill-considered endorsement of the road plan because it found that they “must rely on sound scientific data as the basis for its conclusion.”

In November of 2002, Roadie leaders Peter McGee and Laurie Collins publicized a study they paid for based on an invalid analysis of bogus data that was buried deep in the appendix of the voluminous Berger Report. They were informed, in writing, of the faulty data and invalid analysis before publicizing the baseless study that alleged negative air quality impacts of not opening Klingle Road in DC Watch.

The Berger Group ignored the computer generated data as meaningless, concluding that "reopening Klingle Road would produce negligible beneficial improvements to traffic congestion or safety at surrounding intersections." Regarding Air Quality, the report concluded “It is unlikely, that any build option would increase traffic, rather existing traffic patterns would shift, and therefore would not produce adverse short-term or long-term impacts on air quality.”  The Berger Group did, however, fail to label the data "over-capacity”, which is standard practice in cases such as this.

PDF version of a critique  of the MCV study by Jack A. McKay, Ph.D., of Mt. Pleasant.

The bogus data the Roadies used for their commissioned study was buried in the Berger Report Appendix, and was titled "HCS: Signalized Intersections Release 3.1c" : Highway Capacity Software code, which is the standard computer model for intersection analysis. A careful examination of the data showed the computer model predicted that drivers were currently experiencing over a 9 minute wait during rush hour times on Porter St. at Connecticut Ave . Considering there isn't an intersection in the entire metro area that experiences a 9 minute wait, such a number should have raised a flag for any experienced traffic engineer. After the release of the Berger Report, director of DDOT Dan Tangherlini, addressed the issue publicly and in writing.

He wrote on Aug. 14th, "According to data gathered and analyzed by DDOT, the delay for the left turn averages 2-3 minutes in the morning rush hour and is considerably less during non rush hour periods. … If an intersection significantly exceeds its design capacity (i.e., more cars going through the intersection than it was designed for), standard computer models generate meaningless wait-times. These delay numbers for current conditions and for 2017 are not “real” numbers. Traffic engineers know that such high delay figures do not reflect reality; thus, to avoid misunderstanding, the simple notation “over-capacity” is often used in reporting traffic studies. DDOT regrets the this practice was not followed here".

DDOT released newly collected data at the roundtable, which conclusively showed the predicted delay times were bogus. When the Berger traffic study was conducted, Porter Street westbound was closed due to construction, so it was impossible to determine the actual delay impact to Connecticut/Porter.

To attempt to clear up this misunderstanding, DDOT staff recently collected travel times through the intersection: (1) 15 trips eastbound on Porter during the PM peak averaged about 1 minute 45 seconds compared to the 8 minute 11 second delay figure from the appendix. (2) 14 of these trips during the AM peak averaged 2 minutes, compared to 9 minutes 27 seconds. (3) 14 trips westbound on Porter making a left on Connecticut during the AM peak averaged about 3 minutes 35 seconds, compared to 9 minutes 38 seconds in the appendix.  Clearly, reality is quite different from the flawed conclusions drawn in the MCV study.

The Roadies used the invalid study to persuade the DC Chapter of the American Lung Association (ALA), which was pressured into taking a position before hearing any other facts, and presented the bogus study without qualification. As the DC ALA learns of the swindle, they will no doubt retract their endorsement of the road.