Friday, March 22, 2013

Bike Parking at District Government Facilities

Bike Parking at DC Gov't
buildings (2010)
Current DC Bicycle Advisory Council member David Cranor made a Freedom of Information Act request to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) in 2011. The purpose of the request was to view the findings of a report that surveyed bicycle parking at District government buildings.

The report, which was prepared by Alta Planning and Design and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, was the official response from DDOT regarding DC Council's request for a survey of bicycle parking at District facilities as a required in the Bicycle Commuter and Parking Expansion Act of 2007.

DCBAC has created a map based on the locations reported in Appendix E: Bicycle Parking Inventory. While the data is somewhat old and the District has made improvements to bicycle parking since this report, anecdotal evidence would suggest that parking is still insufficient. It also points to he problem of a lack of secure parking, highlighted in a recent cover story article by Amanda Abrams in Mid-City DC magazine.

The Washcycle blog interprets the findings of this report by stating that only six percent of DC government buildings would meet current bike parking requirements. "While current zoning regulations require bike parking equal to 5% of automobile parking at commercial garages, no such requirement applies to office buildings owned and leased by the DC government", the Washcycle has determined. To create the level of parking needed to adequately satisfy current requirements would cost approximately $1.3 million (in 2010 dollars).

The report focuses on bicycle parking but also contains the number automobile parking spots at government facilities. The map is based on a slightly modified table that eliminates locations with no parking (car or bike), removes duplicate addresses, and consolidates parking at co-located agency buildings (i.e. the Wilson Building contains several agencies but there is only on building).
 

The report contains six types of parking. The first four represent current parking types:
  1. Indoor Auto
  2. Outdoor Auto
  3. Indoor Bike Parking
  4. Outdoor Bike Parking
The next two categories represent new parking recommendations:
  1. Proposed Class A Bike Parking
  2. Proposed Class B Bike Parking
Class A spaces are higher security and are intended for longer term use, such as employee parking. The report recommends 2,802 new Class A spaces.

Class B spaces are targeted to short term users and are located near building entrances to provide convenience for users. The report recommends 8,526 new Class B spaces.

As always, we would appreciate your thoughts. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Rescheduled Bimonthly DCBAC Meeting - March 27


The bimonthly BAC meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday March 6, has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 27, beginning at 6pm. BAC will discuss reports from committees as well as certain organizational elements.

Below it the draft agenda:

1. Approval of minutes

2. Jason Broehm, the new chair of the Pedestrian Advisory Council, will discuss the work they have planned.

3. Committee Reports
  • Safety - Discussion of expanded education program mention at the BAC hearing
  • Facilities - Planned rides and new DDOT bike facilities
  • Legislative - Omnibus Bicycle bill that was introduced by CM Cheh & Wells
4. BAC Housekeeping
  • Bylaw revisions
  • Proposed change in BAC Chairperson designation
  • Developments in BAC access to funding

5. Other Business

The meeting will take place at 441 4th Street, NW at One Judiciary Square,  on the 11th floor. Please remember to bring government identification to enter the building. To get to the meeting room, please use the South lobby elevators. Bicycle parking is available in front of the building, please remember to also bring your bike lock.

As always, BAC meetings are open to the public and we encourage you sharing your thoughts.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

WeMoveDC Meetings are Happening Throughout the District

Sparks on Florida
Sparks on Florida by Ranpuba, on Flickr

The WeMoveDC Ideas that Build workshops offer District residents the opportunity discuss and provide input on the District Department of Transportation's (DDOT) future transportation plan. Like the first event we mentioned last month, DDOT representative will listen to the public and ask questions regarding the District's future transportation options, which should include bicycle facilities. If you are interested in how funding should be allocated for bicycling or facilities should be built, please attend and make your requests known.

Four meetings will begin on March 20 and last through March 28 in Wards 3, 6, 7 and 8. Each workshop will discuss similar topics with similar DDOT materials at each location. Of course, the dialogue and questions asked will be different.

DCBAC members will attend workshops to discuss bicycling issues as well as concerns that you bring to us. As always, please let us know your thoughts about future bicycling infrastructure in the comments section below or emailing your representative.

If you are unable to attend the scheduled meetings, WeMoveDC will also hold a web meeting, Tuesday, April 9. Registration for that meeting opens, Tuesday, March 19.

Please locate the closest workshop to you using the calendar below.


Friday, March 8, 2013

DCBAC Performance Oversight Hearing

The yearly Performance Oversight hearings held by the Council of the District of Columbia allow Council members and the public to discuss how are well or poorly agencies are delivering services. Monday, March 3, Ellen Jones, Chair of the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council, provided testimony on behalf of the BAC before the Committee on Transportation and the Environment and its Chair, Mary M. Cheh. Also present at this hearing were the Pedestrian Advisory Council and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).

The hearing allowed BAC to discuss the current status of bicycling in the District as well as plans for the coming year.  Generally, while the District Government and the DDOT have made bicycling improvements over the past few years, the implementation of certain projects is very slow (Metropolitan Branch Trail, Anacostia Trail, Bike Lanes, etc.).  Also, the maintenance and removal of debris on trails, overpasses and bike lanes has been fair or poor.  Lastly, certain aspects of road designs seem to view the inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure as a novelty and not as a basic component of a complete street. We would also requested  that District agencies cooperate as a matter of course rather than on special tasks so that the inclusion of bicycle facilities in zoning, community planning, and economic development is standardized.

That said, BAC acknowledges the work that DDOT and other District agencies have done to expand bicycling. What we also appreciate are the comment of the public, some of which has been incorporated into our testimony. BAC would like to thank you for your comments - please keep them coming!

Below is the testimony provided by the BAC Chair and the questions requested by the Committee and the Committee 'questions and answers' document. Also available is the hearing witness list.





Monday, March 4, 2013

BAC Testimony at MPD Performance Oversight Hearing

The yearly Performance Oversight hearings held by the Council of the District of Columbia allow Council members and the public to discuss how are well or poorly agencies are delivering their services. Wednesday, February 27, the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council participated in the Metropolitan Police Department's (MPD) hearing.

Specifically, BAC discussed the impact of the Office of Police Complaints 2011 report, Improving the Safety of Bicyclists and Enhancing their Interactions with Metropolitan Police Department Officers, which recommended that the MPD work more closely with the District's bicycling community.  Since the issuance of this report, MPD participated with BAC and other organizations to ensure that MPD officers are properly enforcing the District's laws as they pertain to bicycles.

Below is the testimony of the BAC. You may view the broadcast of the hearing by clicking here (the video is in Windows Media Player format).



Cancelled - BAC Bimonthly Meeting Wednesday March 6, 2013

Due to Wednesday's snowstorm, this meeting is cancelled. 

The bimonthly BAC meeting is this Wednesday evening beginning at 6pm, March 6, 2013. BAC will discuss reports from committees as well as certain organizational elements.

Below it the draft agenda:

1. Approval of minutes

2. Committee Reports
  • Safety
  • Facilities
  • Legislative
  • Planning

3. BAC Housekeeping
  • Bylaw revisions
  • Proposed change in BAC Chairperson designation
  • Developments in BAC access to funding

4. Other Business

The meeting will take place at 441 4th Street, NW at One Judiciary Square, in Room 1114, which is on the 11th floor. Please remember to bring government identification to enter the building. To get to the meeting room, please use the South lobby elevators. Bicycle parking is available in front of the building, please remember to also bring your bike lock.

As always, BAC meetings are open to the public and we encourage you sharing your thoughts.