K Street is a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi- lane hig ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

capital of Washington, D.C., known as a center for numerous

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

s and

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

s. In political discourse, "K Street" has become a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for Washington's lobbying industry since many lobbying firms were traditionally located on the section in Northwest Washington which passes from Georgetown through a portion of Downtown D.C. Since the late 1980s, however, many of the largest lobbying firms have moved out; , only one of the top-20 lobbying firms has a K Street address.

Location

In the Washington D.C.

street grid In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogo ...

there are three (3) unconnected east-to-west street segments designated as K Street NW / NE, and also a southern K Street. The term "K Street" usually refers to the middle segment of the northern K Street (NW or NE). The middle segment of K Street NW / NE, which carries a segment of U.S. Route 29, begins in the city's Northwest quadrant as K Street NW, just west of the abutment of the old

Aqueduct Bridge Aqueduct Bridge may refer to: * Aqueduct Bridge (Clay City, Indiana), U.S. * Aqueduct Bridge (New York City), now called High Bridge, New York, U.S. * Aqueduct Bridge (Potomac River), between Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and Rosslyn, Virginia, U.S. ...

on the Georgetown waterfront. The street travels east underneath the Whitehurst Freeway, crosses

Rock Creek Rock Creek or Rockcreek may refer to: Streams United States * Rock Creek (California) * Rock Creek (Fountain Creek tributary), Colorado * Rock Creek (Idaho) * Rock Creek (Kankakee River tributary), Illinois * Rock Creek (Wapsipinicon River tribut ...

on the

K Street Bridge The K Street Bridge is a complex of bridges over Rock Creek and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in Washington, D.C. The lower level of the bridge carries the surface street K Street, while the upper level carries the Whitehurst Freeway (U.S ...

, and continues through downtown D.C. After its intersection with

North Capitol Street North Capitol Street is a street in Washington, D.C. that separates the Northwest and Northeast quadrants of the city. Route description North Capitol Street begins at D Street in Lower Senate Park, between Louisiana and Delaware Avenues north ...

, the street's designation changes to K Street NE as it enters the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

quadrant. The street ends at

Florida Avenue Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of the Federal City under the 1791 L'Enfant Plan. With the growth of the city beyond its original borders, Boun ...

in the

Near Northeast Near Northeast is a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C. It is bounded by North Capitol Street to the west, Florida Avenue to the north, F Street to the south, and 15th Street to the east. History Early history It is believed that the g ...

neighborhood, just south of

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the firs ...

. K Street NE briefly reappears further east in the Carver neighborhood, extending from Blandensburg Road for six blocks to Maryland Avenue NE. The westernmost (Georgetown) segment of K street NW was known as Water Street prior to the

Georgetown street renaming The Georgetown street renaming occurred as a result of an 1895 act of the United States Congress that ended even the nominal independence of Georgetown from Washington, D.C. The Act required, '' inter alia'', that the street names in Georgetown be ...

of 1895. West of 33rd Street NW, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...

still recognizes both "K Street" and "Water Street" in addresses. The westernmost end of K Street occupies the former right of way of the Georgetown Branch of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

. When that line was abandoned, K Street was extended west to the Washington Canoe Club. The rest of the Georgetown right of way is now occupied by the Capital Crescent Trail, which begins at the terminus of K Street. The southern K Street runs between the Potomac and

Anacostia Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. It is located east of the Anacostia River, after which the neighborhood is na ...

rivers, crossing the Southwest and Southeast quadrants (as K Street SW and K Street SE, respectively).

Traffic configuration

Current

K Street provides a major east-west thoroughfare for traffic through Washington, primarily from

Mount Vernon Square Mount Vernon Square is a city square and neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The square is located where the following streets would otherwise intersect: Massachusetts Avenue NW, New York Avenue NW, K Street NW, and 8t ...

to the Whitehurst Freeway. The street continues through Georgetown under the Whitehurst Freeway; however most westbound traffic exits to the freeway. A portion of the street travels in a tunnel underneath Washington Circle, allowing through traffic to avoid the

circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

. Portions of the street are divided into both "local" (or

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

) lanes and "express" lanes in both directions.

Proposed

The

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Co ...

has been studying the conversion of K Street into part of a proposed busway. The route would begin at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, cross

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Washington on K Street, switch to

Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...

, and end at

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

. Currently, the

DC Circulator The DC Circulator is a bus system in Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia Department of Transportation operates the service in a public–private partnership with RATP Dev. The DC Circulator buses are similar to shuttle buses since th ...

provides service along most of the proposed route, although it must share right of way with other vehicles. A streetcar line spanning from 26th Street NW to the

H Street line The DC Streetcar is a surface streetcar network in Washington, D.C. , it consists of only one line: a segment running in mixed traffic along H Street and Benning Road in the city's Northeast quadrant. The streetcars are the first to run in ...

's terminus at Union Station is planned as the next phase of DC's streetcar expansion. A proposal announced April 7, 2022, would redesign K Street between 12th and 21st Streets, N.W. The proposal would remove the service lanes in favor of dedicated bus and bicycle lanes. Under the proposal, construction would begin in the spring of 2023.

Lobbying

"K Street" is the common and often negative

for Washington's

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, whic ...

industry. Many of the major Washington lobbying firms were located on the section in Northwest Washington which passes from Georgetown through a portion of downtown D.C., although the strip has grown less popular for lobbyists in recent years. The major lobbying firms that remain on K Street, as of 2017, include

CGCN Group CGCN Group is an issue advocacy and lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. The all-Republican firm has ties to GOP leadership and the party's conservative wing. Its clients include banks, finance, and oil companies, in addition to companies such as ...

and

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Its namesake firms are Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, a Pittsburg ...

. The 2003 HBO

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

'' K Street'' about a lobbying firm takes its name and location from the street.

References

External links

K Street Busway project leaflet
{{Streets in Washington, DC Streets in Washington, D.C. U.S. Route 29