D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

BAC Comments on 14th Street Bridge (DEIS)

2012-03-16T02:58:00.002-04:00

Below are BAC comments regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the 14th Street Bridge Corridor. According to the project website, the purpose of the study is to address the current and future needs of metropolitan Washington D.C. With increasing commuters, travelers, public transit users, pedestrians, and bicyclists; the safety and mobility of this link has become a priority.

The study provides 3 alternatives that include bicycle-related enhancements:

AA-1: Improve bicycle and pedestrian access to the Mason Bridge by making improvements at each end of the bridge

AA-2: Construct separated bicycle / pedestrian crossing of the Potomac River and add a grade-separated bicycle crossing of George Washington Memorial Parkway as proposed by Arlington County, VA

AA-3: Create integrated (DC-VA-NPS) bicycle system, including signing for commuters and other destination bikers

BAC recommends that combining Alternative AA1, construction of a separated bicycle / pedestrian crossing on the George Mason Bridge, and Alternative AA3. This combination of two alternative proposals will result in the creation of an integrated (DC-VA-NPS) and connected bicycle and pedestrian system within the project corridor thatincludes wayfinding signage for commuters, other destination bicyclists, and pedestrians.

As always, BAC welcomes your comments and suggestions.

14th Street DEIS BAC Comments

What the Local April 3 Primary Candidates Say About Transportation

2012-03-09T15:43:00.000-05:00

Below is a list of local candidates who appear on the ballot for the April 3, 2012 Primary Election and their statements on transportation as posted on their websites. Candidate websites for the At-Large Council seat and Wards 2, 4, 7 and 8 seats were viewed. BAC believes that transportation connects each ward and is a factor in creating more vibrant and economically secure communities.

BAC does not endorse candidates, but as a public service we show what they say or do not say about transportation or bicycling in the District on their campaign websites.  The absence of transportation policies on candidate websites does not necessary indicate that they have no opinion on transportation issues.

If you have questions about candidate policies, we encourage you to contact them. Feel free to provide comments below.

Information was gathered from campaign websites, the Board of Elections and Ethics and VoteDC.

At-Large Member of the Council
Democratic Party

Sekou Biddle - http://sekoubiddle.org/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

E. Gail Anderson Holness - http://www.holnessfordc.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Vincent Orange - http://www.orangeatlarge.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on candidate website.

Peter Shapiro - http://shapiro2012.com

(Website) Washington is a city of great neighborhoods. I am committed to a walkable, green, transit-oriented city. I will push to expand Capital Bikeshare, and to expand the city’s system of bike lanes. I will be a champion for the new 37 miles of trolleys / streetcars that will serve all 8 wards. I will work neighborhood by neighborhood to encourage quality development and remove bureaucratic obstacles to neighborhood improvement.

Republican Party

Mary Brooks Beatty - http://www.marybrooksbeatty.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

D.C. Statehood Green Party

G. Lee Aikin  - No active website.

Ann C. Wilcox  - No active website.

Ward 2 Member of the Council
Democratic Party

Jack Evans - http://evans2012.com

(Website) Several of our main commercial corridors, including 17th and 18th streets, have seen total streetscape renovations, making them more inviting for pedestrians and attractive for our large number of small businesses. After many years of study, historic O and P streets in Georgetown are being reconstructed with the preservation of the old trolley tracks. Supporting and funding our Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and Main Streets organizations is important in making sure our business areas and Downtown remain safe and clean for residents and tourists alike.

The ability to move through Ward 2 in a variety of ways is important. I have long championed the Circulator bus service as an excellent across-town option. I have also worked hard to bring bike sharing and bike lanes to the Ward, as well as to ensure that pedestrians have safe and easy access to our neighborhoods and commercial corridors. Ward 2 is home to the very first contra-flow bike lane in the District on 15th Street and I will continue to work to bring a strong bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure to every corner of the Ward.

Ward 4 Member of the Council
Democratic Party

Muriel E. Bowser - http://bowser2012.com
No apparent statement on transportation listed on candidate website.

Renee L. Bowser - http://www.renee4ward4.com
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Calvin Gurley - No active website.

Baruti Jahi - http://www.jahiforward4.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Judi Jones - http://www.judi-jones.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Max Skolnik - http://www.voteformax.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Ward 7 Member of the Council
Democratic Party

Yvette M. Alexander - http://www.yvettealexander.org
No apparent statement on transportation listed on  candidate website.

William "Rev. Bill" Bennett II  - No active website.

Tom Brown - http://tombrownforward7.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Kevin B. Chavous - http://kevinfor7.com
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Dorothy Douglas - No active website.

Monica L. Johnson - No active website.

Republican Party

Don Folden Sr. - No active website.

Ron Moten http://ronmoten.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Ward 8 Member of the Council
Democratic Party

Marion Barry - http://marionbarryward8.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on candidate website .

Darrell Danny Gaston - http://www.darrellgaston.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Jacque D. Patterson - www.jacquepatterson.com
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

"S.S." Sandra Seegars - http://www.ss4ward8.com/
No apparent statement on transportation listed on website.

Natalie Williams - No active website.

Dr. Gridlock Chat (3-5-12)

2012-03-09T13:33:00.002-05:00

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition offers a good explanation and advice on how bicycles and motor vehicles should interact. Also, Bikesafe shows several types of collisions, including the right hook, and suggestions on how to avoid them.

Feel free to comment.

Bicycles

Question - Hello Dr. Gridlock, I live in Dupont Circle, and as you know there are many bike lanes in that part of town. Often I see a bicycle and a car traveling parallel to each other arrive at an intersection at the same time - with the bike in a bike land to the right of the car. If the car is turning right and the bike is going straight, who has the right of way?

Answer - Robert Thomson: This is the "right hook" danger, isn't it?

I don't like to answer right of way questions, because I'm not into deciding who should get the ticket after a crash. I'd rather the crash didn't happen.

The driver of the car should be aware that a cyclist is on the right. Many drivers still are watching only for other cars. This is wrong.

Meanwhile, the cyclist in this situation should be making a political statement about the rights of cyclists. The cyclist should be aware of the danger and avoid putting him or herself in a position to get hit by a turning car.

Biking and the "right hook"

Question - Ugh, the "right hook". The guy who got hit by the turning lumber truck on U last week is my friend. He's doing okay and will make a recovery, but has a long road ahead of him.

Answer - Robert Thomson: Saw the photo of what the bike looked like afterward. Thought about how vulnerable cyclists are. Was thinking of it in giving my response to the previous comment about right of way.

Bike Lanes and Turning Right
Question - Cars turning right on streets with a bike land should move into the bike lane before making the right turn.

Answer - Robert Thomson: And they should look first, right?

Video from the DDOT, Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Council Oversight Hearing

2012-03-06T14:12:00.002-05:00

Friday, March 2, 2012, the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council provided testimony at its Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Agency Performance Oversight Hearing before the Committee on the Environment, Public Works and Transportation, chaired by Council member Mary M. Cheh (Ward 3) in room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building. The hearing also included testimony from the Pedestrian Advisory Council and the District Department of Transportation as well as public witnesses. Please click Ellen Jones testimony and Randall Myers testimony to read their written statements.
A complete witness list can be found at the end of this page.

Below is video of the hearing courtesy of the Office of Cable Television.

BAC-DDOT-PEDBAC hearing Witness List (3-2-12)

Bimonthly BAC meeting this Wednesday, March 7, 2012

2012-03-06T07:10:00.001-05:00

The DC Bicycle Advisory Council will hold its regular bi-monthly meeting this Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 6p - 8p at 441 4th Street NW, room 1114. Bicycle parking is available at the 4th Street entrance. Please bring government identification to enter the building. Once through security, use the elevators on the right (441 South) to reach the conference room the offices of the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID), NOT 441 4th Street, as previously announced. Please note that you will still need photo identification to enter the building. A BID staff member will be in the lobby to assist you with the building security.

The Downtown BID is located at 1250 H Street NW Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005, one block north of the 13th Street exit of the Metro Center Station. There is limited on street bicycle parking in the front of the building.

We will begin the meeting with a presentation by Jeff Miller, Executive Director of the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking. The Alliance recently published its 2012 Benchmarking Report, a real blockbuster of information that will hopefully inform our work in the District.

Please see the proposed agenda for the evening below:

1. Presentation by Jeff Miller, Alliance for Bicycling and Walking (6-6:30p)

2. Introductions - (6:30-6:45)

3. Committee Reports - (6:45-7:30)
4. Action Items - (7:30-7:45p)

a. 14th Street Comments - Randall Myers
b. Letter to the Taxi Commission - Heidi Goldberg
c. BAC Member Reappointments & Financial Disclosure Requirements - Ellen Jones
d. Approval of Minutes

5. Other Business (7:45-8p)

As always, the public is welcomed, please feel free to attend.

DDOT Anacostia Metro Station Charrette

2012-02-17T16:00:00.002-05:00

Anacostia Metro Charrette (the DCeye)

On the afternoon of Wednesday, February 15, representatives from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the District Department of the Environment, and the Office of Planning, continued a design charrette or a community work session, which began Monday, February 13.

The Wednesday meeting offered the public the opportunity to comment on the initial sketches from suggestions made during Monday's meeting and ask questions about pedestrian and bicycling amenities.

According to the DDOT website, the project hopes to create a public space that connects the Metrorail station to neighborhood assets, makes the area safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, better manages local storm water runoff and complements upcoming economic development projects in the community. Greater Greater Washington contributor, John Muller, offers a more pedestrian-focused view of the project; specifically, how the cerrent conditions are among worst in District for pedestrians.

This Charrette is a product of the District being recently selected as one of five capital cities to receive technical design assistance from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Greening America’s Capitals program in 2011.

The EPA hopes to enhance pedestrian / bicycle safety in the public spaces surrounding the Anacostia Metrorail Station and to “green” the community through park and recreation areas, improved water and air quality, and community health benefits. According to the EPA website, "the design team's areas of focus will be safety concerns at the intersections, improved signage, increasing the overall permeability of the area to manage stormwater, and creating a strong community identity".

While the meeting discussed several changes at the Howard Road SE interestion with Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, we will focus on specific improvements at the station. Below are initial design elements for the area immediately surrounding the Anacostia Metrorail Station:

Figure 1 - The re-imagining

Figure 1 shows the re-imagined intersection of Howard Road SE and Firth Sterling Avenue SE in the northerly direction.

Anacostia station is represented by the box with the blue trim . In front of the station, the designers envision a 100 foot wide pedestrian crosswalk across Howard Road that leads to a small park-like area on Shannon Place SE.

To the left, Firth Sterling Avenue will be closed north of Howard Road, eliminating the on ramp to I-295. Just left of Firth Sterling and before I-295, two water retention ponds would be created north and south of Howard. On the north side of Howard, the sidewalk would continue into the retention pond, with a similar feature to the south. This would provide a natural element while also controlling the water runoff from I-295

One of the more bicycle-specific elements of the design would include elements of the South Capitol Street Environmental Impact Statement; specifically, the extension of the Suitland Parkway trail across Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. The charrette presenters design assumes the construction of a center-ramp interchange at the Suitland Parkway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. This will presumeably allow the trail to run parallel the current Parkway alignment between the Anacostia Station and the Parkway - extending to Firth Sterling Avenue then to Howard Road.

Buses would be diverted off of Howard Road, entering and exiting on Firth Sterling Avenue. Not see on this map, would be a exit for buses on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. WMATA has not been contacted regarding this suggestion.

Figure 2 - Current conditions (Google Maps)

Figure 2 shows the area as it currently appears today. Buses enter and exit Anacostia Station at the corners and run along Howard. The bulb turnaround at Shannon Place SE has a traffic bump to allow public safety to access the street.

However, unauthorized vehicles consistently use Shannon Place as a cut-through to avoid the traffic queuing to turn on to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. This presents a safety hazard for pedestrians and bicyclists who use this area as a walkway to the neighborhood and Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School. At 90 feet, the bulb turnaround is also too wide.

Figure 3 - Farmer's Market anyone?

To eliminate the cut-through problem and reuses the space for other purposes, the designers removed the turnaround and replaced it with a small pedestrian park. Figure 3 shows the installation of bollards assessable only to public safety. This area would allow for events such as a farmers market or other programming. Other suggestions included adding more Bikeshare, bicycle parking and potentially convert Shannon Place, which runs roughly parallel to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, into a bicycle boulavard along its entire length.

Figure 4 shows the north side of Howard Road SE facing westerly with I-295 in the distance. To the right is a retaining wall that abuts Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School. The designers would like to widen the sidewalk to at least 10 feet in part by creating a silva cell, which is a steel pavement system that allows grass to grow yet provides a walkable, ADA-compliant surface.

Figure 4 - sidewalk along school retaining wall

As shown in figure 1, the silva cell path would extend across the closed Firth Sterling Avenue SE into the water retention pond. The design suggests that the utility polls and traffic control box would be removed or buried. Currently, this 6 foot section of the sidewalk is actually reduced to a little as 2 feet in some areas do to utilities and signage. The presenters estimated that bury utilities could cost about $1 million per mile.

Figure 5 - Basic street width remains the same

Figure 5 shows the Howard Road street scape cross section, the Thurgood Marshall Academy to the left. The street would 40 feet wide and appears to continue to maintain two vehicle travel lanes in both directions and no bike lanes.

Removing one vehicle travel lane and creating a contra-flow lane on the left could increase the likelihood of traffic calming and the promotion of a more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly street. Two of the remaining vehicular lanes would be travel lanes while the third could be a turning lane near each end Howard Road.

Figure 6 - Still car focused

Figure 6 provides an overhead view of the Howard Road. This picture shows the proposed widening the WMATA sidewalk to 20 feet and the school sidewalk to 10 feet, adding tree boxes, and new pavement. While 10 and 20 feet for sidewalks seem wide, it does not appear to be sufficient given the number of potential pedestrians who are crossing and walking along the sidewalk in front of the station or the school, respectively.

Bicyclists would likely travel 'vertically' along Howard Road at speed and along Shannon Place. The Figure 6 view clearly shows the four vehicle travel lanes. While the presenters stated that changes regarding the reconstruction of the Suitlan Parkway and the elimination of the I-295 on ramp at Firth Sterling would reduce automotive traffic, the street appears to still be too car focused.

Figure 7 - New street infrastructure

Figure 7 shows a typical street scape of Howard Road after reconstruction, just past the station entrance. The red towers on each side of the street are lighted solar-powered decorative art, which act as a visual anchor. Also, the street would be eluminated by solar-powered street lights. In addition, when viewed from the street, the Washington Monument is framed in the center. In the distance along the I-295 overpass, the designers hope to install small read wind-powered generators that would be used to eluminate Howard Road under the I-295 bridge.

If you have questions or comment, feel free to post them below.

East Capital Pedestrian Safety Project public meeting

2012-02-17T10:00:00.004-05:00

George Branyan, the Pedestrian Program Coordinator within the District Department of Transportation DDOT, posted on the BAC Google group that the Ward 7 East Capital Pedestrian Safety Project public meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 3, 2012, from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the Benning-Stoddert Recreation Center, 100 Stoddert Place. While the the focus of the meeting will be pedestrian accessibility, DDOT also seeks input from bicyclists to help create a safer and multi-modal East Capitol Street.

At this meeting, the study team will solicit feedback from the community on the proposed improvements that have been identified to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit users within the East Capitol Street corridor between Stoddert Place, SE and Southern Avenue, NE. This meeting is based on the findings of the Far Northeast Livability Study and hopes to address one of largest safety challenges associated with this corridor, specifically, the Benning/East Capitol/Texas Avenue intersection.

According to Mr. Branyun, some important bike facility opportunities are in the DDOT proposals. Specifically, a redesign of the Benning/East Capitol/Texas Avenue intersection to include separated cycle tracks. For most of the corridor, the proposal is to also add bike lanes. This is possible because DDOT is considering making the parking full-time, eliminating the use of the curb lanes as travel lanes during rush hour (DDOT analysis shows there is excess capacity on the roadway, even at rush hour). This could provide extra width for bike lanes along East Capitol while creating a safer pedestrian environment.

Added 2/18/12
Below is a map identifying elements of the project at this intersection. Here, the bike lanes / cycletrack width is 6 feet. The According to Mr. Branyun,

The project boundary on the west side ends at B St. SE where it merges onto East Cap. That's where the two lanes coming from the tunnel become three lanes and speeds increase, based on our data. The concept creates a buffered bike lane out of the eastbound right lane after the B St. merge.

If you have suggestions about this area, please let us know below.

East of the River Connectivity

2012-02-09T15:30:00.003-05:00

The Facilities Committee within the DC Bicycle Advisory Council (BAC) plans to continue its focus on the challenges of bicyclists who travel to, from and within Ward 7 and Ward 8 this year. BAC would like to hear from the people who live, work and play on the east side of the Anacostia River so that we can work with you to voice your concerns as decisions are being made for spending for next year's budget. Feel free to enter your suggestions in the comments section below.

BAC would like to highlight the transportation connectivity deficit at its Fiscal Year 2011 Oversight Hearing, Friday, March 2, 2012. It is important that those who live in Penn Branch, Marshall Heights, Fairfax Village, Deanwood, River Terrace, Fort Dupont and the other communities in these two Wards help determine how to best get to where they want to go by bike. While you may leave comments below, we also encourage residents of these Wards either attend or testify before the D.C. Council at the Oversight Hearing next month about ways to correct historical transportation problems.

To clearly show the recommendations you suggest, we will create a web-based map to catalog your ideas, which will eventually presented to DC Council and the District Department of Transportation. Ideas could include more bicycle parking, dedicated bicycling routes, better bike-related signage, additional Capital Bikeshare locations, better / safer access to Metrorail stations, etc.

If you use twitter, please post your thoughts using #EOTRbike so that we can follow your suggestions.

Last year, the Facilities Committee held rides to determine the impacts of the Far Northeast and Far Southeast Livability Studies. BAC found that contrary to some reports, bicycling in these wards is relatively strong despite road, rail and natural barriers. BAC made the following observations:

Determining the optimal bicycle routes across the Wards and routes across the Anacostia River and in the Maryland
More Capital Bikeshare options and better signage identifying where stations are locally.
Change curb cuts on the downstream side of the Sousa bridge to facilitate bicycling across the ramps
Improve lighting and wider sidewalks that on streets that travel beneath 295 / Kenilworth Avenue
Work with the Community prior to installing signs
Improve bicyclist and pedestrian connections on the west side of the Benning Road bridge that crosses Kenliworth Avenue NE and the freight railroad tracks
Improve bicyclist and pedestrian connections on East Capitol Street, which is essentially a freeway from Benning Road to just east of RFK stadium, particularly along the East Capitol Street Bridge over the Anacostia River since it has no sidewalks.

What do you think should change? Please let us know below.

Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee Meeting (February 16, 2012)

2012-02-07T17:00:00.014-05:00

Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee meetings are normally scheduled for second Tuesday of even-numbered months; however, that would place the February meeting on Valentine's day.

As opposed to meeting on his own, or angering our significant others, Jameel Alsalam, committee chair and Ward 4 representative is rescheduling.

The meeting will be held Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 6:30pm at Teaism, 400 8th Street NW.

Our agenda:

Reviewing outreach and training materials provided by MPD
Discussing options to improve road safety through traffic enforcement in 2012
Re-creation of traffic enforcement division
More frequent cross-district traffic enforcement efforts
Enforcement action targeting three-foot passing law
Other ideas?

Lt. Breul of the Metropolitan Police Department has provided a copy of the electronic training related to bicycling taken by all MPD officers, along with a couple of outreach brochures.We invite you to provide comments on these documents.

Facilities Meeting (February 7, 2012)

2012-02-06T11:00:00.001-05:00

The next Facilities Committee meeting will be 6:30 - 8:00PM on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at Col. Brooks Tavern at 901 Monroe Street NE (across from the Brookland Metro Station and a block from the Metropolitan Branch Trail). The meeting will be upstairs.

For more information about the meeting or if you'd like to ad something to the agenda below, please contact Jeanie Osburn, Ward 5 Representative and Facilities Committee chair.

Agenda:

Review of December action items
Planning for "rolling" meetings in April, June, August, and October
Discussion of updating the Bicycle Master plan from a facilities perspective

The previous meeting minutes may be found here. As always, we invite you to attend our meetings and contribute your thoughts.

Legislative Committee Meeting (February 1, 2012)

2012-02-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

The next Legislative Committee meeting will be Wednesday, February 1 at 6:30pm. The location will be Busboys and Poets at 5th and K Streets NW. David Cranor (At-Large) is the Committee Chair.

On the agenda:

Bicycle Access to Buildings law similar to New York, NY
Complete Streets law
Defining what is and what is not a bicycle for purposes of using bike lanes, trails and racks

As always, we invite you to attend our meetings and contribute your thoughts.

DCBAC Fiscal Year 2011 Oversight Hearing Scheduled

2012-01-31T16:00:00.007-05:00

The D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council is scheduled to provided testimony at its Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Agency Performance Oversight Hearing before the Committee on the Environment, Public Works and Transportation, chaired by Council member Mary M. Cheh (Ward 3). The hearing will begin at 11:00a., Friday, March 2, 2012 in the Council Chamber (Room 500) within the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Also scheduled are the Pedestrian Advisory Council and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).

The purpose of the Agency Performance Oversight Hearings is to allow the Council and the public to ask questions regarding the current operations of District agencies, committees, or other government organizations during the current fiscal year, which began October 1, 2011, and the 2012 calendar year. Let us know what you think about what BAC has done in fiscal year 2012 and what you'd like us, DDOT and the District government to do for bicycling in the future.

BAC encourages both bicyclists and pedestrians to attend this public hearing to show policy makers the importance of the concept of shared use of public roads for District residents. In addition, that shared use should not only be available for residents of certain areas but for all those that reside in the city especially those who live in Wards 7 and 8.

Persons wishing to testify at the hearing may contact Jeremy Faust, Committee on the Environment, Public Works, and Transportation at 724-8162 or e-mail jfaust@dccouncil.us. If you cannot attend, you may submit written statements to Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia; Suite 5; John A. Wilson Building; 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.; Washington, DC 20004. You may also email your comments to jfaust@dccouncil.us. You may submit statements until two days after the date of the hearing so that is can be included in the official hearing record.

Armed Robbery on the Metropolitan Branch Trail

2012-01-26T15:55:00.006-05:00

According to Captain Jeff Brown of the Metropolitan Police Department's 5th District, a man was accosted and robbed the night of January 25, 2012 around 6pm while walking on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Today, the following was posted on the MPD-5D group page and transmitted to the Metropolitan Branch Trail listserv page:

On Wednesday, January 25, 2012, at approximately 6:15 pm, an area resident was walking on the Metropolitan Branch Bike Trail in the area of 3rd & R Street, Northeast , when he was accosted by three individuals. One subject produced a weapon and demanded the victim’s possessions. After complying and without provocation, the victim was punched in the face. The victim then attempted to flee from the scene and sustained a graze gunshot wound to the hip area after the suspect fired his weapon.

All three suspects then fled on foot. The victim received treatment for his injuries and an area hospital. The Metropolitan Police Department continues its investigation into the identity of these three individuals.

To ensure this area remains safe for all, the bike trail will be monitored and patrolled by officers on a regular basis.

On the Met Branch Trail group, members suggested bike caravans to travel along the trail. Kelly Pack of the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy sent an email to the group regarding that proposal and the incident on the trail.(the caravan or "Bike Buddy" table discussed below is open only to MetBranchTrail group members):

While I was upset to hear about this incident, I am always heartened by the response of trail users on this listserv. It is people like you who are true “ambassadors” for the trail and will continue to make it feel like a safe, welcoming place. Our former colleague, Stephen Miller, created a Biking Buddy list within this Yahoo group. You can use it or take others’ suggestions on this listserv – I really like the idea of waiting for another trail user so that you’re essentially traveling with someone. Here’s the info:

Re: the “bike buddy” list, a table was created within this Yahoo Group that is only visible to group members. You can use it to provide information if you are looking for a bike buddy:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/metbranchtrail/database?method=reportRows&tbl=1

It can also be accessed by clicking "Database" on the left-hand menu and clicking "Biking Buddy."

To add your information, click "Add Record."
Also, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy plans to continue running programs this spring and summer to provide activities and additional presence on the trail. We’ll be sure to post a calendar of events on this listserv and on the facebook page so that you can participate or volunteer. We will continue to work with DDOT, the local schools and neighborhood associations and groups to plan programs. If you have a great idea for a one-time event or a regular series of activities, please get in touch! We’ll also be working with the Student Conservation Association to recruit students for a 6-week MBT ‘conservation corps’ program and we’re also looking into the possibility of recruiting and placing a couple part-time bike ambassadors on the trail this summer.

Stay tuned for more info.

We'd like to hear your thoughts on about crime near or on the trail and your suggestions to reduce it. This is a community amenity that we should not abandon.

Picture This - Day of Service Clean-up of the Metropolitan Branch Trail

2012-01-19T13:38:00.006-05:00

Below are the before and after pictures from the trail clean up event that happened the morning of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, January 16, 2012. The before pictures were taken on January 10, 2012.

Co-sponsored by the Student Conservation Association, DDOT, and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, students and volunteers worked together to clear invasive species, mulch newly planted trees, clear and brush the foot path that runs parallel to the main paved trail, and conduct trash pick-up and removal.

dcbac, a set on Flickr.

Sustainable DC meeting Twitter Responses

2012-01-11T17:40:00.000-05:00

Tonight, the District's Sustainable DC Transportation meeting will continue to discuss future changes to how both residents and visitors move through the city. Below are twitter updates from the meeting. DCBAC will use #sustainDC_Trans.

The meeting will be held at 441 4th Street, NW, room 1107 South (11th floor) between 6:00p and 8:00p You will need government issued identification to enter the building.

Feel free to add to the conversation using the application below or in the comments field.

Bimonthly BAC meeting this Wednesday, January 4, 2012

2012-01-04T14:46:00.002-05:00

Wednesday, January 4, BAC will hold its bimonthly general meeting on the 11th floor of the One Judiciary Square building, 441 4th Street NW, in room 1114 and begin around 6p and last until about 8p.

As always, DCBAC meetings are open to the public and we invite you to participate in our discussion about the District's bicycling issues.

The meeting will likely discuss the Transportation Working Group of the Sustainable DC initiative as well as the actions take by BAC committees that occurred the proceeding month.

When entering the building, please make sure to bring government-issued identification and use the south elevators to get to the 11th floor conference room. Bicycle parking is available at the building entrance.

We look forward to seeing you.

BAC following up on the Office of Police Complaints Report with MPD

2011-12-26T16:08:00.003-05:00

The BAC Safety, Education, and Enforcment Committee met on Tuesday, December 13. Thanks to Ellen Jones, Lt. Nick Breul of MPD, and Daniel Hoagland of WABA for coming. I think it marks a productive beginning to a working relationship between BAC and MPD.

1) Street Smart Campaign Activities. Lt. Breul provided an overview of activities in the recent round of Street Smart Campaign enforcement. It covered enforcement against pedestrians endangering themselves, motorists endangering pedestrians (not respecting pedestrians in crosswalks with flashing lights) and bicyclists riding in an unsafe manner. The Street Smart Campaign is organized by Lt. Breul using officers being paid for working overtime. It is paid for with special funds from NHTSA. Several of the activities involve teams of officers, thus the type of activities which wouldn’t be happening normally. They also involve a lot of education. Dan Hoagland of WABA got all the numbers in his recap: http://www.waba.org/blog/2011/12/safety-and-enforcement-update-bac-safety-committee-meeting-recap/

2) Follow-up from Office of Police Complaints report. (available here) The OPC report had a number of important recommendations, and the Committee is focused on making sure we follow-up on those recommendations. The fact that MPD has appointed a representative to the BAC is an important success of the report. From a substantive perpsective, there were three big recommendations in the report:
OPC Recommendation A: Change general order 401.03 to allow officers to leave reports pending until all statements are obtained.
MPD action so far: MPD has sent out several teletypes reinforcing that in the case where a crash participant is not at the scene (because they are at the hospital) it is the officer’s responsibility to go to the hospital to interview them. It is not clear how the general order should be changed, as it is important that police reports not be left perpetually incomplete. A change to the general order is in process, but changed language is not yet available.
OPC Recommendation B: Include a bicycle-specific field on the PD Form 10. (crash report form)
MPD action so far: At the hearing, Assistant Chief Burke expressed willingness to look at changes to the PD Form 10. However, the form was recently changed, and it takes a long time, so its unlikely that further changes would happen soon. Lt. Breul has committed to bringing copies of the form so that BAC can examine the extent to which bicycles are already covered in the fields.
OPC Recommendation C: Continue training officers on bicycle safety.
MPD action so far: Along with DDOT, MPD has rolled out a bicycle and pedestrian training module to officers, and by the end of the year, all officers will have gotten the training (electronically). However, the module has not yet been provided to WABA or BAC. This is important so that we know there are no inconsistencies between our understanding of the law and how officers are being trained. Lt Breul has committed to bringing a copy of the module to a future meeting for review by WABA and BAC.
OPC Recommendation D: MPD should strengthen involvement in the BAC.
MPD action: Done!
On the whole, MPD has been extremely responsive to the recommendations in the Office of Police Complaints report. The BAC will continue to follow up on these issues as there are chances to make progress to ensure that cyclists involved in crashes have a chance to tell their side of the story and are treated appropriately.

3) More robust traffic enforcment. Everyone knows that traffic in DC is extremely dangerous. However, MPD has so many different priorities to pursue, that traffic enforcement is not prioritized. There is no specific traffic enforcement division. All officers have a responsibility to do traffic enforcement in the case of egregious violations and all police districts should be doing specific traffic enforcement. In addition, there are the Street Smart Campaign activities, which generate large numbers of contacts but only in a few locations on a very limited number of days each year. Lastly, automated cameras enforce of speed limits (plus 10) and red light violations in specific locations around the city. I believe that BAC should continue to investigate traffic enforcement and pursue ways of implementing a more robust effort at traffic enforcement, including the possibility of reconstituting a traffic enforcement division.

4) Tidbits. We covered a lot of ground. A few interesting points here on the finer points.
Three foot passing law enforcement. No one at the meeting knew of any instances where the 3-foot passing law had been enforced. A ticket could be given for violating the law under a broader “unsafe passing” violation code, but it remains a question whether this has been used.
When is a police report required? A police officer is only obligated to take a police report after a crash in cases where there are either injuries or significant damage. It seems that significant damage would be high enough (maybe > $500 or $1,000) that even a totalled bicycle might not always be significant enough to take a report. This is a somewhat subjective area that BAC will continue to pursue to ensure that cyclists whose bicycles are damaged in crashes where the other driver is at fault are able to recover repair costs.
Recovering a stolen bike. If your bike is stolen, if you are able to call 911 within a few minutes of the theft, there is a chance of recovery, as nearby officers will be alerted. Turnover is extremely fast, so a good description of both bicycle and perpetrator, and speed are key.
Safe and non-hazardous manner. Changes to the DC code related to bicycles says: “A person shall operate a bicycle...in a safe and non-hazardous manner so as not to endanger himself or herself or any other person.” We don’t know what this means, but hope that riding in the middle of a lane or other safe and legal forms of cycling would never be penalized under this vague language. We found out at the meeting that MPD has no official interpretation of what this language means, so it is up to individual officers to use their judgement. BAC will continue to investigate how the language is being used.
The next BAC Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee meeting will be Tuesday, February 14 at 6:30pm at Teasim at 400 8th St. NW Washington DC. Please let me know if you are interested in attending, or have suggestions for future agenda items at ward4@dcbac.org . Best, Jameel.

WABA Women's Forum Twitter Responses

2011-12-12T13:30:00.003-05:00

Below are twitter updates from tonight's WABA Women's Bicycling Forum at the West End Public Library from 6p to 8p. WABA has asked that the public use the twitter tag #womanbikedc to convey your thoughts about the forum.

The goal of this conversation is to produce executable recommendations that utilize WABA's reach and resources to put more women on bikes. The event is open to the public to observe the discussion. You can read more about the forum here.

Responses no longer available.

Sustainable DC Transportation Meeting

2011-12-12T06:11:00.003-05:00

Bikes cueing
Photo by theDCeye

The Sustainable DC Working group is an effort by the District government to make a city that makes better and lasting environmentally progressive decisions.

The transportation group is meeting at 441 4th St, NW (One Judiciary Square), Room 1114 from 6p to 8p Thursday, December 15.

We encourage member of the bicycling community to attend these mettings so that bicycle facilitates can be included in the Mayor's proposed fiscal year 2013 budget and contribute to a more sustainable District.

November 30 was the first opportunity for the public to provided their opinions and expertise on 9 major topic that hope to make the District more environmentally friendly according to the event organizers:

Built Environment: Buildings and infrastructure and their relationship to transportation, energy, and water
Climate: Government and community greenhouse gas emissions reductions and adaptation to a changing climate
Energy: Energy use, generation, efficiency, providers, and financing issues
Food: Local food production, distribution, access, security, and community benefits for health, education, and jobs
Nature: Natural systems, parks, habitat, biodiversity, and wildlife
Transportation: Transportation systems, infrastructure, modes, efficiencies, access, and delivery
Waste: Waste recycling, reuse, hauling and collection, composting, and waste to energy
Water: Watershed protection, stormwater management, water quality and reuse, and sewers
Green Economy: Job creation and retention, economic development, and local business development

The first transportation meeting allowed attendees to voice their thoughts about major transportation factors facing the District and offer suggestions on how to make improvements. The transportation meeting hopes to bring the best minds and those who use the District's transportation infrastructure most to have the opportunity to voice their opinions about future transportation facilities, in particular bicycling infrastructure.

Related to bicycling, the group mentioned the following:

Include more modes of transportation in the range of options to plan for, including electric bikes, scooters, small cars, motorcycles and mopeds
Provide better separation bikers and drivers
Allocate street space proportional to the modes of transportation we need to build a multi‐modal, resilient, efficient system
Create a system that would allow city residents to evacuate by bike (or other modes) in emergency situations
Build covered bike lanes or bike tunnels so that people will still bike in adverse weather
Align the health benefits of biking or walking with an incentive (through health insurance for example) to get people out of cars
Adopt a program similar to the 2x2012 program in Columbus, OH, where employees all biked or walked to work on the same day twice a month. The program was popular enough that employees exceeded the twice a month goal
Make bike lanes more visually distinctive to delineate the separation between car space and bike space
Allow the ole ‘Idaho Stop’ for bikers who can safely roll through stop signs and red lights

Meeting notes can be found here.

If you have comments or suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Proposed 2012 Bike Lanes

2011-12-11T07:18:00.003-05:00

At the BAC Facilities meeting held Tuesday, December 6, District Department of Transportation staff introduced a proposed map of bike lanes to be added to the system in 2012.

The following map contains proposed bike infrastructure improvements / ideas that could be implemented within the District some time in calendar year 2012. The items in red are improvements proposed for 2011 but not completed. DDOT hopes to include those routes in 2012.

One of the proposed routes include L and M Streets between Pennsylvania Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue NW. While these lanes were planned for some time, the bike community voiced concern when Terry Bellamy said during his confirmation hearing as director of the DDOT that the dedicated lanes were "on hold" and at the risk of cancellation, as reported by Washington Examiner and other information outlets.

Also, you can overlay the current bike lanes on the map. Click the larger view of this map and then the traffic link at the upper right corner, then hit bicycling.

Just added: Some respondents have states that some currently stripped bike lanes have deteriorated and need to be repaint. BAC will add these streets to the map using the color ~~tan~~ green. (Some people stated that tan was more difficult to see when near freeways). Also, the map on this page does not contain all the possible additions. The larger map has a second page that shows additional bike improvements.

View 2012 Proposed Bike Lanes in a larger map

As always, we'd like to here your comments.

December Legislative Committee Meeting

2011-12-06T13:35:00.002-05:00

The next Legislative Committee meting will be Wednesday, December 7 at 6:30pm. The location will be Teasim at 400 8th St NW. David Cranor (At-Large ~~- Orange~~) is the Committee Chair and will meet at a large table in the basement of the restaurant.

The agenda for the meeting will be:

Review of letter seeking status of compliance with the Bicycle Safety Enhancement Act.
Parking report - Now that we have it, we need to decide if there are any legislative actions. The report does not completely meet the requirements of the law - for example it was never made public and doesn't include an evaluation of routes to facilities.

What has long been cited as the law (and included in every iteration of the WABA / DDOT Pocket Guide) as 18 DCMR 1201.2--which states a presumption that the cyclist right to the right, but with a number of clearly defined exceptions--is not actually the law.

This was changed in a piece of legislation from 2006 for Segways, to make them exempt from certain motor vehicle requirements despite the presence of a motor. It also applies to cyclists. We need to discuss if we need a "Cyclists may take full lane, except..." law that more explicitly spells out where cyclists should ride.

The current language of 18 DCMR 1201.2 is:

1201.2 A person shall operate a bicycle, sidewalk bicycle or personal mobility device in a safe and non hazardous manner so as not to endanger himself or herself or any other person.

Meetings are open to the public but space is limited.

WABA will Hold a Discussion on Women and Bicycling December 12

2011-12-05T07:56:00.003-05:00

In 1896, civic rights pioneer Susan B. Anthony made the following statement about bicycling:

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."

From a Black Women Bike Ride
Photo by theDCeye

Monday, December 12, 2011, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association will hold a forum that hopes to determine why over a hundred years after her statement, there are statistically fewer women bicycling when compared with men. The Women's Bike Forum (registration is required, space is limited) will begin at 6:00p until 8:00p at the in the small meeting room in the West End Neighborhood Public Library, 1101 24th Street NW. The roundtable discussion will include a panel of women who are active in the local bicycling community and will share their ideas regarding how to increase bicycling mode share by women.

While the number of female bicyclists has seen an increase associated with the overall increase in people who ride bicycles in the District, according to a study, Bicycling renaissance in North America? Recent trends and alternative policies to promote bicycling, women represent about 27.7 percent of the approximately 2.0 percent of Americans who bicycle regularly.

Linda Bake of Scientific American reports that not only is the total modal bike share percentage low in the United States but also the the number women who bike compared to other countries like the Netherlands, where 27 percent of all trips are made by bike, 55 percent of all riders are women. In Germany 12 percent of all trips are on bikes, 49 percent of which are made by women.

The Scientific American article also states that one of the keys in increasing the number of bicyclists on the roads is to increase the number of women bicyclists. The report implies that as roads and bike infrastructure become safer, there is a likelihood that more women will bike. The number of women biking indicates just how safe it is to bike in a location.

The following video seems to echo those assumptions.

Women In Motion: New Lady Riders Reflect on NYC Cycling from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

We'd like to hear your thoughts on women an bicycling. Is the key to bring more women to bicycling as simple as creating safer biking conditions for everyone or does it require additional outreach and woman-specific facilities?

Public Hearing - Rock Creek Park Trail

2011-12-03T12:04:00.004-05:00

Below is a public notice regarding the Rock Creek Park Trail as sent to the DC Bicyclists and Pedestrians List by the DDOT Bicycle program manager, James Sebastian. BAC encourages the public to comment on this public facility that serves thousands of pedestrians and bicyclists in the region and allows for the safe access of Rock Creek Park.

Map from NP

This is the second meeting regarding the rehabilitation of this section of the trail. The open house and subsequent presentation will be held Wednesday, December 14, 2011 at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus, Auditorium, 3101 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20010 from 6:00p to 8:00p.

The rehabilitation project cover the main trail and at least two tributaries, from Broad Branch Road, NW to P Street, NW. It also includes the addition of new connections to the trail from the surrounding communities. The National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT), proposes to rehabilitate the Rock Creek Park multi-use trail.

According to the NPS planning website, the purpose of the project is to improve the safety and connectivity of the deteriorating Rock Creek Park multi-use trail system in order to enhance visitor use and experience within Rock Creek Park, protect the park's ecosystem, improved access to the Rock Creek Park multi-use trail system from other pedestrian and bicycle facilities, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods; and more effective drainage and erosion control, thereby reducing trail maintenance.

The proposed action includes resurfacing, trail widening where environmentally feasible, modifications to the trail alignments and road crossings, directional and interpretive signage, and connections to and from the trails to other pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The majority of the proposed improvements are located on NPS land, with some improvements located within District of Columbia right-of-way. A segment of the trail also passes through National Zoological Park property.

NPS has proposed three alternatives:

Alternative 1: No Action
Under the no action alternative, NPS would continue to maintain the existing trails and no new construction would occur. The no action alternative sets a baseline against which to compare impacts of the build alternatives.

Alternative 2: ResurfacingIn addition to spot improvements and new connections, the Rock Creek Park multi-use trail would be resurfaced at existing widths. The Piney Branch Parkway trail would be resurfaced to a varying width of 6 to 8 feet.

Alternative 3: Resurfacing and Widening
In addition to spot improvements and new connections, the Rock Creek Park multi-use trail would be resurfaced and widened a minimum of 6 feet up to a maximum of 10 feet, depending on environmental constraints. The Piney Branch Parkway trail would be resurfaced to a varying width of 6 to 8 feet.

Rock Creek Trail on sidewalk (left), south of zoo tunnel
From Google Maps

Certain sections of the trail are in a state of disrepair or are not build to a width necessary to safely accommodate trail multiple modes of usage. One of the more critical sections is were the trail crosses Rock Creek under the Duke Ellington Bridge (Calvert Street NW) just south of the Zoo tunnel. The trail narrows section approximately 3 feet in width requiring bicyclists to dismount and walk their bikes.

NPS is encouraging comments on its website and as always, please comment below.

Notice of Public Meeting - Rock Creek Trail

Picture This

2011-12-01T13:03:00.001-05:00

Picture This, a photo by uno000 on Flickr.

Workers making repairs to the New York Avenue overpass at the Metropolitan Branch Trail the morning of December 1 at around 9:30a.

December Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee Meeting

2011-11-30T06:49:00.003-05:00

The next Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee meeting will be Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 6:30pm. The location will be Teasim at 400 8th St NW. The committee will meet in the basement.

The agenda for the meeting will be:

- Report on MPD outreach and education campaign (Lt. Breul)
- Follow-up on Police Complaints Board report and Council hearing to-do items (Jameel)
- Safety at the tweed ride (Randall)
- City budget development around safety programs

For more information about the meeting, please contact Jameel Alsalam, committee chair and Ward 4 representative.

December Facilities Committee Meeting

2011-11-30T06:36:00.000-05:00

The Facilities Committee of the Bicycle Advisory Council will meet Tuesday, December 6, 2011 from 6:00-8:00 PM at RFD, 810 7th St. NW (near Gallery Place Metro). This will be one of only two sit-down meetings during the calendar year.

Topics on the agenda include:

-2012 bike lanes
-Bicycle parking
-Effective means of communicating input from rolling meetings
-Effective means of assuring DDOT designers involve bike/ped office in planning
-Budget issues including getting routine maintenance of all bike trails and bike lanes

For more information about the meeting, please contact Jeanie Osburn Ward 5 Representative and Facilities Committee chair you plan to attend or if you have other topics that you'd like addressed.

Map of Road Fatalities Involving Motor Vehicles, 2001-2009

2011-11-24T02:27:00.001-05:00

The map below shows road-related fatalities in the Washington region for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and vehicle occupants. The data is provided by ITO World, a United Kingdom-based organization that produces mapping and visualisations that help people understand and analyze complex transportation data.

According to the ITO World website, the map contains road fatality information from several countries, including the United States. The US map shows virtually every fatality that occurred on roads as a result of a collision involving a motor vehicle between between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2009.

By using the zoom bar on the left of the map, the "key" button and the search bar on the right, basic details of each incident are available including the general location, person's age, sex and the year in which the crash took place.

While the data does not allow for the separation of crashes by transportation mode in a particular area, it does provide a cumulative representation of areas that have higher crash incidents.

Thanks to BAC representative Liam Healy (Ward 6) for sharing this information.

Picture This

2011-11-22T21:26:00.001-05:00

dcbac, a set on Flickr.

These are pictures of the new commercial / residential development at the Rhode Island Ave - Brentwood Station. Although still under construction, there does not seem to be any area designated for bike parking.

NPS Proposes 5 Installation Locations for CaBi Stations

2011-11-22T19:04:00.002-05:00

The National Park Service (NPS) requests public comment regarding the installation of Capital Bikeshare stations on the National Mall.

This represents a change from the previous NPS policy, which did not allow bike stations on NPS land. In an article published September 22, 2010 by Lydia DePillis of the Washington City Paper, the reason for Capital Bikeshare restrictions was based of partly on concession contracts with companies that had the right of first refusal for services. This appears to have changed as a result of demise of the Tourmobile operator. In addition, Six members of Congress recently sent a letter to NPS urging them to follow through on its plans to allow Capital Bikeshare stations on the Mall.

In changing its position, the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment website further states that,

"Participating in this bikeshare system would fulfill the goal of enhancing bicycle use at the park, as envisioned in NAMA's 2008 National Mall Visitor Transportation Study and the 2010 National Mall Plan Increasing bicycle use reduces traffic congestion, fossil fuel use and air emissions, and provides an additional and affordable form of access to destinations throughout the park".

NPS is requesting input from the public regarding the 5 proposed Capital Bikeshare stations through the project's website. To help envision the proposed Capital Bikeshare stations in context with the current stations, below is a map showing the proposed stations (green bike icon) and currently active stations (CaBi icon) adjacent to the National Mall (within about 1500 feet).

BAC would appreciate your comments on the proposed stations. If you think there are better station locations, please enter them in the comments section and we will update the map (blue bike icon). After an initial review or the locations, the NPS proposed locations appear to leave a service gap for most of the Mall museums and the U.S. Capitol. Currently, there are only two Bikeshare locations within 1500 feet of the Mall east of 12th Street and west of the Capitol. This may cause significant overcrowding at these stations or relatively long walks to areas of interest.

View Proposed NPS Bikeshare Locations in a larger map

Pennsylvania Avenue Snow Removal

2011-11-16T16:21:00.037-05:00

Pennsylvania Avenue intersection
via Mike Goodno (DDOT)

Mike Goodno, Bicycle Program Specialist within the Policy, Planning and Sustainability Administration of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) would like to know what bicyclists think about the proposal to remove the flexible protective white posts (safety bollards) near the ends of each intersection along the bicycling lanes in the center of Pennsylvania Avenue during snow season.

DDOT is planning a strategy to clear the bike lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue because the bollards ensure that cars do not encroach into the bike lanes, especially when making left turns. This information my also be considered useful as for other bike lanes and cycletracks.

Mr. Gooodno posted the following message on the BAC group page:

...with the flexible posts and the center traffic lights, there is not enough space for a snowplow. We are considering removing the posts within the next few weeks and re-installing them in the spring. This would allow for the snowplow to clear the bike lanes while plowing the adjacent travel lanes. But, the trade-off is that there is no longer a physical barrier between the bikes and cars.

Pennsylvania Avenue is a national highway system route, which are plowed by a specific team with larger plows. The other alternative is to keep the flexible posts, and plow each bike lane up that point. The drawback is that this would require returning later with another crew to clear the intersection area between the flexible posts. It’s likely that it may take 24 to 48 hours before this second plowing would occur.

BAC appreciates what you think. Should DDOT remove of safety bollards for snow removal or keep them there and send a second plow crew to remove the snow that was initially missed?

Please feel free to comment below or use the poll to the right. BAC will communicate what you say to DDOT.

Update: Greater Greater Washington also asks about this issue with several comments from its readers.

Dr. Gridlock Chat (11-14-11)

2011-11-15T06:22:00.006-05:00

As a public service, below are bicycle-related comments/questions issued to Robert Thomson on his Monday midday Dr. Gridlock chat on the Washington Post website, unedited.

This week, just one comment about bicycling this week, this time in Virginia - "Angst because of a lack of enforcement of bikes restrictions on the GW Parkway south of the beltway..."

While the discussion is focused on the south of I495 section in Alexandria, VA, the National Park Service also restrict bicycle usage on a small portion on Clara Barton Parkway in the District.

Feel free to post your thoughts.

Laws Without Enforcement?
Question: Sometime during the late summer, the National Park Service placed "No Biking" signs (a picture of a bike with a red slash over it) on the roadway south of Alexandria. However, there appears to be no enforcement of that prohibition, including this weekend when I saw a Park Police car drive past three bicyclists drive pedaling on the main road. Seems to me it's almost worse to have an unenforced rule than no rule at all -- drivers have the expectation that bikes aren't allowe(d) on the main roadway, yet there they are. Any idea why the Park Service would bother to put up signs it doesn't enforce, or if that situation will change?

Answer. Robert Thomson: I'm assuming you're talking about the George Washington Parkway. Over the summer, we discussed the park service announcement reinforcing the existing rule barring cyclists from the GW Parkway lanes, because it's unsafe for them and for drivers.

If I could poll readers, I think I would get a 100 percent "Yes" response to the question: Have you every seen police overlook a person breaking our traffic or transit laws? (That would include the speed limit on the GW Parkway, for example.)

We need enforcement of the rules, or some people will lose respect for those particular rules and others. But I think it's unrealistic to expect we'll see the rules enforced at all times in all situations.

On August 24, 2011, the Washcycle posted a picture of that bike sign (above). Washcycle also provided a deconstruction of concerns voiced by NPS. Several people posted comments about the sign and its implication.

Those comments ranged from approval of the sign because of concerns about road safety to NPS not following due process (no public comment) when approving its “Record of Determination Reconfirming and Restating Bicycles are not allowed on the roadways of the Clara Barton and George Washington Memorial Parkways”.

On August 26, WABA responded by submitting a letter to NPS citing the flaws in the NPS determination stating that "The making of this discriminatory; determination, without the input of the public or the burdened community, is wholly inappropriate and furthers concerns about the Park Service’s relationship with the region’s cycling community".

View NPS Bike-restricted roads in a larger map

Picture This - 2011 DC Tweed Ride

2011-11-14T07:37:00.002-05:00

2011 DC Tweed Ride, a group on Flickr.

On a great fall day, Dandies and Quaintrelles hosted its annual Tweed Ride around the District, Sunday, November 13, 2011. Events like this show how excited people are about bicycling for fun and points to the future biking has in the District.

If you took pictures, Dandies and Quaintrelles asks that you post them on their Flickr page.

BAC Comments Regarding Incorporating Bike Infrastructure at DHS Headquarters at St. Elizabeths

2011-11-11T12:49:00.001-05:00

Below is a letter sent by BAC member Jeanie Osburn (Ward 5) regarding concerns associated with bicycle accessibility near and within the consolidated Department of Homeland Security Headquarters (DHS) at St. Elizabeths - East Campus.

BAC - St. Elizabeths Master Plan Amendment – East Campus

Letter to MPD Regarding finding of Office of Police Complaints Report

2011-11-10T13:59:00.002-05:00

Below is a letter sent by the BAC Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee. The letter addresses some of the areas of concern discussed in the Office of Police Complaints (OPC) report released September 29, 2011, "Improving the Safety of Bicyclists and Enhancing Their Interaction with Metropolitan Police Department Officers".

In response, Lt. Nick Breul of the MPD Traffic, Safety and Specialized Enforcement unit met with BAC at its last general meeting Wednesday, November 2, 2011 to discuss some of the findings of the OPC report. In addition, he discussed the results of the Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety; and Bill 19-475, Assault of Bicyclists Prevention Act of 2011 public oversight hearing held earlier that day.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below in the comments section.
BAC Response to MPD Regarding PCB Report

Minor problems with site today

2011-11-08T07:50:00.001-05:00

We are making some minor changes to the site today, some items may not be available for viewing or not be formatted properly.

November 2 Bike and Pedestrian Enforcement Hearing Video

2011-11-08T06:32:00.003-05:00

Below is video of last week's hearing on the Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety; and Bill 19-475, Assault of Bicyclists Prevention Act of 2011, Public Oversight Hearing held November 2nd at 11:00am in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building. To see what people thought about the hearing, please see the twitter responses.

Dr. Gridlock Chat (11-7-11)

2011-11-07T19:45:00.002-05:00

As a public service, below are bicycle-related comments/questions issued to Robert Thomson on his Monday midday Dr. Gridlock chat on the Washington Post website, unedited.

This week, just one comment about bicycling this week - "who is responsible for enforcement against parked cars in the bike lane..."

Feel free to post your thoughts.

Parking in Bike Lanes
Question. Is there any effort to increase enforcement against cars double parking in bike lanes. I was riding up 14th street Saturday night and a couple of restaurants have decided that the bike lane is actually a valet parking waiting area. They had the lane occupied for a whole block with empty cars waiting to be parked. Something tells me that should be illegal.

Answer. Robert Thomson. Yep. That would be illegal. Have you called the D.C. police about it?

With regard to this question, Randall Myers, DCBAC representative will send the following message to Dr. Gridlock:

Regarding the question about the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) enforcement of bike lane infractions, contact Lt. Nick Breul of MPD's Traffic, Safety and Specialized Enforcement unit. Lt. Breul met with the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council Wednesday, November 2 to discuss the District's efforts regarding educating police officers and bicyclists about the laws involving bicycling.

Lt. Breul's unit issues directives to District precincts that deal with specific enforcement (seatbelts, speeding etc...) and makes decisions on where enforcement should happen (based on traffic information). MPD is working with the District Department of Transportation to educate officers about bike laws and their correct enforcement. Lt. Breul is hopeful that MPD, with improvements in education, will be more attentive regarding the ticketing of vehicles parked in bike lanes as well as the understanding of bike laws in general.

In addition, the public is encouraged to contact the Office of Police Complaints, which recently issued a report that encourages better communication to improve the relationship between the MPD and bicyclists, if they have concern about or are subject to police enforcement (or lack thereof) with regard to bike laws.

Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Hearing Twitter Responses

2011-11-02T14:43:00.036-04:00

Below are twitter updates from today's Committee on the Judiciary hearing on Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety regarding Bill 19-475, Assault on Bicyclists Prevention Act of 2011.

Feel free to add to the conversation using the application below.

Bimonthy BAC Meeting This Wednesday, November 2, 2011

2011-10-31T12:09:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, November 2nd, DCBAC will have its general meeting which will be held on the 11th floor of the One Judiciary Square building, 441 4th Street NW, in room 1114 and begin around 6p and last until about 8p.

As always, DCBAC meetings are open to the public and we invite you to participate in our discussion about the District's bicycling issues.

The meeting will likely discuss information within BAC committee reports as well as discuss the DC Council Committee on the Judiciary hearing held earlier that day on the Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety. DDOT representatives will also be in attendance to answer bicycling-related questions.

When entering the building, please make sure to bring government-issued identification and use the south elevators to get to the 11th floor conference room. Bicycle parking is available at the building entrance.

We look forward to seeing you.

Missing Bike Racks

2011-10-25T12:03:00.002-04:00

DCBAC member Jeanie Osburn (Ward 5 representative) was contacted by the public regarding the removal of bike parking racks throughout the District. It appears that the rack removal is part of street and sidewalk reconstruction but according to the complains received, the racks are not being reinstalled.

DCBAC would like the public to continue to let us know if bike racks are being removed for reconstruction and not replaced by leaving a comment in the section below or by sending an email to dcbac@dcbac.org. You can also Tweet @DCBAC or use the hash tag of #MissingRacksDC. If you notice a rack is missing, send a message with its location (nearest cross street) and if possible, please send a picture. You can post your pictures on DCBAC's Facebook page.

The missing bike rack issue may point to a more comprehensive problem in that District Department of Transportation (DDOT) appears to distinguish between sidewalk / streetscape infrastructure maintenance and bicycling infrastructure maintenance. DCBAC is concerned that this disconnect could lead to bike lanes, bike racks and other facilities being removed and not replaced unless the bicycling public brings it to DDOT's attention, creating a potential net loss of infrastructure while also being inefficient.

This week, DCBAC transmitted a letter to the DDOT Director, Terry Bellamy describing the issue and the locations of missing racks. In his response, Director Bellamy has assigned the DDOT Bicycle Program staff the task of researching our concerns and copied two DDOT engineers.

Below is a copy of the letter BAC sent:

Bike Rack Removal

Minutes from the Far Southeast Livability Study Area Rolling meeting

2011-10-24T21:22:00.002-04:00

Below are the minutes from the Bicycle Advisory Council (BAC) Facilities Committee (FAC) October minutes which occurred October 15, 2011

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Rolling meeting exploring the Far Southeast Livability Study Area

Attendees: Mike Goodno (DDOT), Jeanie Osburn (BAC FAC)

Recommendations:

Improve bridge crossing conditions for cyclists and pedestrians on all bridges connecting the eastern and western sides of the city
Change curb cuts on the downstream side of the Sousa bridge to facilitate cycling across the ramps
Improve lighting on Nicholson St under the I-295 underpass
Work with the Community prior to installing signs

It was a perfect day for a bike ride. We met at 9:30AM at the corner of 11th and M Streets SE, reviewed the map and decided to check out Good Hope/Naylor road for connectivity between the eastern/western parts of the city as well as connectivity to destinations in Maryland. In a subsequent conversation with Veronica Davis, a cycling activist in the area, she emphasized the area’s highest priority is improving bridge crossings between the eastern and western sides of the city. The 11th Street bridge has been commented on many times by BAC. It’s a very uncomfortable ride across the 11th Street bridge, and we didn’t know what the plans for bicycle accommodation are with the new bridge. The path down the hill from the 11th St. Bridge to Good Hope Rd. needs attention. It has potholes, and manholes stick up out of the path about 6 inches creating a hazard. In addition, there is a lot of sand and other debris on the bridge sidewalk. It looks like it hasn’t been cleaned for at least one year.
One theme that runs through the Far Southeast Livability Study area is terrain. It’s hilly here. While hills build character, they also tend to discourage people from biking! Veronica also pointed out that the community is leery of people coming into the community and putting up bicycling signs, striping bike lanes or putting in sharrows. Not that we should not work on this, but that we need to work WITH the community (ANC’s, Civic Associations, etc) to build trust. Also traversing the area on streets other than the big avenues is choppy, because of the park, so we tried to find good alternatives to routes such as PA Ave and Branch Ave as well as reasonable north/south and east/west streets to be signed for bike lanes or as bike routes.

We took Good Hope Rd from the 11th St. Bridge to Alabama Ave., Alabama Ave. to Naylor Rd., and Naylor Rd to Suitland Pkwy to check connectivity into and out of the area. Good Hope Rd. between MLK and MN Ave is a very unpleasant ride. The lanes are narrow, there’s parking on both sides of Good Hope Rd, many businesses, and an entrance onto the 11th St. Bridge at 13th St. The traffic is heavy (even on Sat. AM), and there are many pedestrians on the sidewalk, so routing bicyclists on the sidewalk is not a good option.

We looked at an alternative, and considered that it may be better to route cyclists south on MLK to V Street, even though that requires a left hand turn from MLK onto V (which is out of the study area). V Street to 16th is a very pleasant ride. After 17th, V begins to climb, becomes more isolated, which could pose safety problems, and then goes back down to Good Hope on 19th St. So we decided that a good route would take cyclists on V to 16th, left on 16th to Good Hope. At 16th St. the cycling conditions on Good Hope Rd. cycling improve. Fewer parked cars, wider lanes, and less traffic. This route provides easy access to the library at 18th and Good Hope.

It’s a long climb up Good Hope to where it “T’s” into Alabama Ave. and where there is a Safeway on Alabama Ave. Alternatively, Veronica rides a lot in the area, and suggested riding on the sidewalk on the north side of Good Hope for a block to 13th Street, and taking 13th Street to S. S goes all the way to Naylor Rd. and Naylor meets Good Hope near Alabama.

The intersection of Good Hope and Alabama has 4 lanes of Good Hope Rd and 6 lanes of Alabama Ave, and there is high traffic volume. That intersection needs attention to accommodate cyclists comfortably, particularly cyclists turning left or going straight into the Safeway. From there, we took a right onto Alabama Ave to Naylor Rd, and took a left on Naylor Rd. flying down hill to Southern Ave. Southern Ave. ends at Naylor Rd, and Naylor continues down to Suitland Pkwy. We didn’t cross into PG county, but given there is the Iverson Mall within a mile on the other side of Suitland Pkwy, that would be a destination and should have accommodation for cyclists. The lanes are certainly wide enough there to accommodate a bike lane across Suitland (but that’s out of DC’s jurisdiction).

We turned around and went back up Naylor to 30th. 30th is a very pleasant street to ride. It’s residential, wide, low traffic volume, and a rather gradual climb UNTIL about 50 – 100 yards or so south of Alabama Ave. Then 30th gets quite steep. There is an entrance to the Safeway shopping center from 30th, so in spite of the stiff climb, it seems a nice alternative to Naylor Rd which carries a heavier and higher speed traffic volume.

We crossed Alabama on 30th and turned right onto W. We were looking for options to riding the busier streets like Alabama, Naylor, Good Hope, MN, Branch, and PA Aves. We also noted several streets (including W) which were one way M-F from 7 – 9:30 AM (but most of those signs could have “except bicycles” appended to them. ) W St. over to Branch Ave. is a very pleasant ride, though there’s a short, steep climb from Hillcrest to 31st. We took a right onto Branch Ave. Branch Ave has relatively narrow single travel lanes with wide bump-out hard medians south of Alabama. While the drivers were very nice to us on Sat. AM, we were clearly holding up traffic, even going downhill.

Veronica said she rides the sidewalk on Branch Ave because of the narrow lane and high speed traffic, and that a helpful improvement would be to widen the sidewalks on Branch Ave. We took Branch to Southern, and turned around at Southern. The climb up Branch from Southern is steep, and the traffic volume is high and moving fast, so we opted to walk our bikes back up the hill on the sidewalk to Gainesville St, happy to be off Branch Ave.

We climbed Gainesville (and it’s a climb) to 32nd Street, and rode 32nd to Park Dr. 32nd is a very pleasant option to Branch Ave. It is residential, quiet, has stop signs at intersections which slows any traffic there is, and it parallels Branch Ave. A very pleasant downhill to Park Dr, though climbing up wouldn’t be as much fun. We took a left onto Branch Ave for about ½ block to 33rd St. That’s a really pretty street. Quiet with lovely homes and a great downhill from S St. to PA Ave. The bad news is that uphill from PA to S is really steep, and 33rd is one-way northbound beginning at S, so it would not make a good option for southbound bicycle traffic.

Given that, we rode back up to S Street, and took S over to Branch Ave to see if there were viable options. It looks like there may be sufficient right of way along the west side of Branch to put in a sidewalk. The traffic on Sat. AM was not heavy there, so it appeared also possible to mark the right hand lane as a shared lane, at least till Park Dr. We rode back down to 33rd and down the hill to PA Ave. We were able to cross easily, because of construction there right now. However, crossing PA on 33rd after the construction is complete and traffic is again moving fast with no median for refuge may be dangerous.

From 33rd we turned left onto O St. and enjoyed the gradual downhill on a quiet residential street to where O intersects PA Ave at 27th. O St looks like a pleasant option to PA Ave, because it’s quiet, and pretty nearly parallel to PA Ave. Veronica reiterated her point about signage and working with the community by pointing out the wide sidewalk that was planned for bicycles and pedestrians, and that the community was amenable to the wide sidewalk and having cyclists on the it, but they did NOT want signs up to encourage cycling on the sidewalk. Wow.

We wanted to check out 28th Street as an option for crossing through the park, unfortunately, 28th St. between O and PA Ave is one way northbound. So we rode back to 30th, and crossed PA at 30th. There’s quite a climb from O to PA on 30th and again up to S, so it would be good to have a contraflow lane on 28th. From 30th we rode westbound on R St to see how that would work for an east-west bike route south of PA Ave. R St. is quiet and residential, and is a roller coaster with ups and downs, so not the easiest route. We also took a slight detour and rode through Fort Davis Park on 28th St. This is a good connection that takes you back to Park Dr to continue east. Or, you can continue straight, up a steep hill, on Hillcrest Dr which dead ends at W St. From W St, you can connect to either 30th or 32nd to continue south.

We also rode 16th St from V to Fairlawn, and then Fairlawn to Nicholson St to get over the Sousa Bridge. Going to PA Ave on Fairlawn to get to the Sousa Bridge is possible, but crossing on the downstream sidewalk is especially problematic because of the entrance and exit ramps to I-295. Veronica pointed out the curb cuts need to be moved so that cyclists don’t have to make odd-angle turns to use them. Changing the curb cuts to make cycling across a straight shot would improve the crossing of the ramps on the downstream side of the bridge. And crossing PA Ave to get to the upstream sidewalk is nothing short of zaney, plus you still have to cross the entrance from eastbound PA Ave. onto I-295 north. While there is a stoplight, it’s definitely NOT a good choice.

Fairlawn is quiet, wide, and one way northbound. There appears to be plenty of room for a contraflow lane on Fairlawn to allow for cyclists to ride southbound on Fairlawn. And, because there are no streets entering on the west side of Fairlawn after Nicholson, there is not the inherent danger with cross traffic not seeing a cyclist coming from the “wrong” direction and running into them. Going west onto Nicholson Street from Fairlawn you cross under a bridge carrying I-295 traffic.

Crossing under that bridge is spooky and needs lighting, murals, etc to improve the safety and aesthetics of this route. Nicholson takes you into Anacostia Park where you can ride under the Sousa bridge on Anacostia Drive, and take a bike/ped path up to the bridge to get to the upstream side to cross.

“meeting” adjourned around noon.

Dr. Gridlock chat (10-24-11)

2011-10-24T14:04:00.002-04:00

As a public service, below are bicycle-related comments/questions issued to Robert Thomson on his Monday midday Dr. Gridlock chat on the Washington Post website, unedited.

This week, three comments about bicycling. Two reference a proper notification of events that impede traffic "Why was every major route into the District from Virginia blocked for a bike event..." and a thank you from a bicyclists about drivers...

Feel free to post your thoughts.

October 22 Bike Buddies event
Question. Holy Cow, this event was not publicized enough. I could not get from No. Arlington to my home on 16th Street NW due to every bridge and major street closed this morning around 8 am. D.C. needs to coordinate its road closures and publicize them more. It took me an hour to try to get over near Meridian Hill Park and I gave up and returned to my friend's at 9:15 am. Missed an opportunity to meet my friends visiting from China.

Answer. Robert Thomson - Sorry that happened to you. One suggestion: Check our Dr. Gridlock blog on Friday mornings and look for a posting called The weekend and beyond. We try to include highlights of the weekend events that might slow your travels. That's not a perfect solution, I know. Most of the transportation departments take note of events,but it's pretty late in the week. Metro is pretty good about getting information out by the Monday before weekend disruptions.

A Thank You to Drivers
Question. Good afternoon Good Dr. I am a semi-regular bike commuter, riding 2-3 days a week from Kemp Mill to White Flint. This is a thank you to the drivers who treat us with courtesy. I try my best to follow the rules of the road. I do not run red lights. I stay as far to the right as safe. I try to remember to signal all my turns. And I will readily admit that I am not 100% perfect. So Thank You to the drivers who give me 3' of space when they pass. Thank you to the drivers who follow the standard rules at 3 and 4 way stops so I don't have to guess when it is safe to go. Thank you to the drivers who let me move to the left when I signal that I will be making a left turn at the next intersection. All of us thank you.

Answer. Robert Thomson - Thanks, and I'm sorry that so often these forums involve travelers separating themselves into categories and criticizing the behavior of other categories of travelers.

DC events
Question. Two weeks ago I tried to drive from Arlington to the National Zoo via Rock Creek Parkway, and got stopped by the Army 10 miler. This past Saturday (Oct 22) I wanted to try again, and checked the Post for any major events that might cause problems. I didn't find anything. So, it was quite a shock when it took 90 MINUTES to get from Rosslyn to the DC end of the Roosevelt Bridge because of the Best Buddies event. My question: is there one comprehensive site to find all DC events that will impact traffic? It seems that unless you know the name of the event to search for, you're out of luck. Please help before I waste yet another weekend morning sitting in traffic with disappointed kids in the back seat!

Answer. Robert Thomson -I'm not aware of any Web site, paper, radio or TV station that produces a comprehensive listing of all weekend events. I don't do that. I do give what I think is a pretty extensive listing each Friday morning in that posting I described earlier, the one called "The weekend and beyond." But it does take a lot of searching to find the information that goes into that.

Public Meeting for St. Elizabeths East Campus Master Land Use and Transportation Plan

2011-10-19T16:28:00.001-04:00

The final public scoping meeting displaying the revised alternatives on the preferred plan for the St. Elizabeths East Campus master land use and transportation plan will be held Thursday, October 27 from 7p to 9p at the Malcolm X Elementary School, 1351 Alabama Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20032.

Hosted by the District Office of Planning and the Department of Transportation (DDOT), the meeting will specify how development will occur on the east side of the campus, which will include what will be built on the site and what transportation options the site will have, specifically, the site should maintain a focus on bicycle access.

The DCBAC hopes that you will submit your comments about potential bicycle improvements not only on the site but the improvement of access to the area from other parts of the region. Comments directed to the project manager can be sent to comments@stelizabethseast.com. If you prefer, you can post your comments using the comment field below.

According to DDOT, the master plan will undergo a 30-day written comment period through Sunday, November 27, 2011. Those wishing to make comments at the hearing must notify the agencies by 5 pm on October 26, 2011. A final hearing on the Transportation Environmental Assessment will take place later this fall.

Information about the the St. Elizabeths master plan can be found on the project's website and in the DDOT meeting announcement regarding this topic.

BAC Facilities Rolling Meeting - Far Southeast

2011-10-10T10:22:00.002-04:00

The DCBAC Facilities Committee will hold its October rolling meeting Saturday, October 15, 2011 from 9:30a to 11:30a. DCBAC appreciates your comments regarding bicycling in the area and invite residents and bicyclists to attend. As a rolling meeting, those wanting to participate should at a minimum bring your bike, helmet and inter tubes.

Due to waning daylight in October, this will be the final rolling facilities committee meeting of the calendar year. The ride will begin at the southwest corner of M and 11th Streets SW SE (that's at the Navy Yard on the WEST side of the Anacostia).

The meeting will ride over the 11th Street bridge into the Far Southeast Livability Study area. The purpose of the study is to increase the livability and quality of life for residents and visitors to the area by making the area safer and more accessible to both residence and visitors who walk, bike, use public transportation or automobiles.

The meeting will cover some of the streets highlighted in the study area and include the neighborhoods of Fairlawn, Penn Branch, Fairfax Village, and Randle Highlands (see map). The group will also make notes on routes into and out of the area from the west, specifically, the 11th Street and the Sousa Bridges. The study area is bounded by the Anacostia River, Good Hope Road, Naylor Road, Southern Avenue, and Massachusetts Avenue, and contains no Metro rail stations.

For more information about the meeting, please contact Jeanie Osburn Ward 5 Representative and Facilities Committee chair.

DDOT Bicycle Design Guide

2011-10-04T07:46:00.000-04:00

Below is the Bicycle Design Guide, published by the District Department of Transportation DDOT in 2005.

Based on the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, as well as DDOT staff, this guide provides a template for the planning, design and implementation of bicycle facilities within the District.

The Design Guide, intended to be a companion to the 2005 District Bicycle Master Plan, includes specifications for bicycle lanes, bicycle-related signs, and other facilities. The Guide also is a resource for DDOT staff and consultants undertaking street resurfacing and reconstruction projects, developers, planners, and the general public who want to comply with or who are interested in recommend bicycle facility design standards.
Bike Design Guide

The Office of Police Complaints Reports on MPD's Interactions with Bicyclists

2011-10-01T14:58:00.008-04:00

Thursday, September 29, 2011, the District's Office of Police Complaints (OPC) and the Police Complaints Board issued a report entitled "Improving the Safety of Bicyclists and Enhancing Their Interaction with Metropolitan Police Department Officers". The report offers several recommendations on how to improve the relationship between the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and bicyclists as well as recommending a stronger and more communicative DC Bicycle Advisory Council. A copy of the OPC report appears at the end of this post (courtesy of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA)).

The 11-page report is the product of a February hearing before the Council of the District of Columbia's Committee on the Judiciary. It discusses complaints from that hearing including 1) how MPD officers interpret the laws related to bicycling in the city, 2) how MPD officers ineffectively investigate crashes between motor vehicles and bicyclists, and; 3) the impression that MPD officers, according the the OPC report, "have a pro-motorist bias due to the perception that some bicyclists recklessly endanger themselves and the lives of others by openly flouting traffic laws".

A second hearing on Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety will occur November 2, 2011 and will likely have a discussion regarding the OPC report.

The report made the following recommendations:

MPD should change the method of investigating bicycle-motor vehicle crashes in order to provide appropriate safeguards for bicyclists who are injured. This would include chaining the policy that requires MPD officers to complete crash reports before the end of their shifts and instead, leave reports as pending until all necessary statements are obtained.

Additionally, the crash report form (PD Form 10) should add a category for bicyclists in its 'type of crash' field and add a 'riding into the road' category in its primary contributing circumstance field.
MPD should better train officers on the applicable bicycling laws in order to prevent and dispel claims that officers are neglecting to enforce traffic laws directly affecting bicyclists and incorrectly citing them for behaviors that are legal.
MPD should continue to work with advocacy groups like the Washington Area Bicyclist Association to provide input into the officer training curriculum as well as provide more funding to cover costs associated with the printing of WABA's Pocket Guide to DC Bike Laws.
Lastly, the report recommends that MPD should work more closely with the DC Bicycle Advisory Council and the BAC should be strengthened. In addition, a task force which would include BAC, DDOT, MPD and WABA that would educate MPD officers and bicyclists and promote awareness and understanding between the two groups.

As always, we would appreciate your comments on this issue. You may leave them here below or you may attend DCBAC's upcoming Safety, Education, and Enforcement committee meeting this Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 6:30 at Teaism, 400 8th Street NW where we will discuss this and other issues.

Police Complaint Board MPD-Bicyclist Report & Recs

Safety Committee Meeting (October 4, 2011)

2011-09-29T06:25:00.000-04:00

The next scheduled meeting for the DCBAC Safety, Education, and Enforcement committee is Tuesday, October 4, 2011. We will meet at 6:30 at Teaism, 400 8th Street NW. Jameel Alsalam is the committee chair, his email is ward4@dcbac.org.

The agenda will include:

1. Follow-up on bicyclist enforcement problems/priorities after CM Mendelson letter transmitted a letter to Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Lanier as a result of the enforcement hearing held earlier this year. Discussion about the coming November meeting before the Committee on the Judiciary.

2. Funding of bike safety and education programs in the District, possibly in the context of changes to the federal transportation bill.

3. What connections are needed with MPD to address enforcement issues as they arise?

4. Any DCBAC role related to regular safety / education events such as Bike to Work Day, Street Smart Campaign, etc?

5. Your ideas!

Meetings are open to the public but space is limited.

BAC Bits

2011-09-28T17:19:00.001-04:00

Below are items that were not large enough to be a their own separate entry but important to report:

Metropolitan Branch Trail Walk
Monday, October 3, 2011, the students, faculty, and parents at Archbishop Carroll High School will begin their Homecoming week by walking nearly 2 miles on the Metropolitan Branch Trail in an effort to keep Carroll the most affordable Catholic high school in the Washington, D.C. area. Each student has begun to sell raffle tickets and last year, students helped to raise nearly $60,000. The Archbishop Carroll High School Walk for Education began 20 years ago as a healthy fund-raising activity.

If you have any questions or need any additional information about the Walk, please contact Crystal Rucker, Director of Advancement, at (202) 529-0900 x160 or crucker@archbishopcarroll.org.

"Assault of Bicyclists Prevention Act" Moves from the Committee on the Environment, Public Works, and Transportation

Jonathon Kass, Director for Special Initiatives for Council Member Tommy Wells, stated on the DCBAC group site that the "Assault of Bicyclists Prevention Act" referral was changed. This bill has now been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary (with comments from the Committee on the Environment, Public Works, and Transportation). Thus, a public hearing on this bill would need to be scheduled by the Committee on the Judiciary, chaired by Council Member Phil Mendelson.

FONSI for the Phase 2 of the Met Branch Trail
The Federal Highway Administration has determined that the preferred alternatives that will extend the Metropolitan Branch Trail will not have a significant impact on the natural, human or built environment and has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Metropolitan Branch Trail project. The issuance of the FONSI completes the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 process for the Metropolitan Branch Trail project and allows for the preparation of the extension of the trail from Fort Totten to Takoma.

Hearing on Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety

2011-09-26T15:02:00.009-04:00

Photo by thedceye

The Committee on the Judiciary will hold a public oversight hearing on the Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety, Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 11:00a in Room 412 of the John A.Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Council member Phil Mendelson is the Chairperson of this Committee with Marion Barry, Muriel Bowser, Mary Cheh, and Jack Evans as Committee members.

The purpose of the hearing is to discuss issues associated with the enforcement of laws and other rules that are intended to protect bicyclists and pedestrians. The hearing will focus on how the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and other enforcement agencies have applied certain traffic laws or safety regulations.

According to the Committee, there have been specific complaints and anecdotal evidence showing that the enforcement of laws has been inconsistently applied against bicyclists and pedestrians. In addition, MPD will likely attend to discuss concerns that the District does not properly document incidents between bicyclists, pedestrians and motorized vehicles, which occasionally places them at fault even when they are obeying the law. The hearing will also discuss the findings of a report issued by the Office of Police Complaints on pedestrian and bicycle concerns, specifically regarding their interactions with MPD.

This hearing acts as a follow-up to one held on February 4, 2011. That hearing focused on incidences where pedestrians or bicyclists died after being hit by motor vehicles with no charges filed in the cases sited. A total of 26 witnesses provided testimony.

The hearing allows for public testimony. Those wishing to testify should contact Ms. Jessica Jacobs, Legislative Counsel, at 202.724.8038, by fax at 202.724.6664, or by email at jjacobs@dccouncil.us and must provide certain details by close of business Monday, October 31, 2011. Details of testimony requirements and other information about the hearing can be found on the Council of the District of Columbia 2011 Hearing Notices calendar.

The Great Confiscation Miscommunication

2011-09-24T00:23:00.004-04:00

On Thursday, September 22, NBC4 posted a report by Jackie Benson regarding an increase in thefts involving culprits on bicycles. According to the report, an email issued by the 3rd District Commander, Jacob Kishter, stated police would increase enforcement in robbery areas, including in introduction of stopping bicyclist to see if they are stolen or were used in the commission of a crime.

However, the story focused on the following:

"If the rider cannot prove ownership, take the bike for safekeeping until they can prove ownership."

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

That statement, of course, set the blogesphere and Twitterverse ablaze. Shani Hilton of the Washington City Paper who was concerned that this policy would not only be impractical but probably racist. Even DCBAC picket up on the story while it was still influx and tweeted:

"Okay, so #MPD are stopping bicyclists and confiscating bikes but aren't profiling! Not Good. washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk… @wcp"

Rather quickly, twitterers @girlonabikedc and @smwieland helped clear up the confusion. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association's Executive Director, Shane Farthing, as reported by the Washington Post's Mike DeBonis and the WashCycle, we later learned that communication with the commander that, no, the order did not apply to everyone who looks "suspicious on a bike" in Columbia Heights, but on "...known violent offenders who are committing these cases (on bikes)".

While DCBAC was initially very concerned about the NBC story but have since been properly informed (we were about to write a slew of letters to MPD and the DC Council), we would still like to hear how District police officers have interacted with riders in Columbia Heights. While the focus appears to be on "known violent offenders", we'd like to learn if the police are targeting bicyclists - even for a "good reason".

Feel free to leave a message in the comments section or send an email to dcbac@dcbac.org.

Legislative Committee Meeting (October 5, 2011)

2011-09-23T23:05:00.004-04:00

The next scheduled meeting for the DCBAC Legislative Committee is October 5, 2011 at 6:30pm at The Union Pub, 201 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002. Please check back, the date and location of the meeting are subject to change.

The following topics will be discussed:

1. Complete Streets policy and whether a law would be better.

2. The Legislative Committee chair is in the process of putting together a Freedom of Information Act request for a bicycle parking report as required under the Bicycle Parking Expansion Act of 2007. Also, the Committee will discuss drafting a letter to the Department of Public Works and District Department of Transportation requesting their status in implementing the Bicycle Safety Enhancement Amendment Act of 2008's requirements.

3. Continue discussion regarding the District's proposed pedicab regulations from the previous meeting, which will include discussion of the following comments received by the committee chair:

Rules says pedicabs only allowed on public streets, does that preclude trails, sidewalks, alleys and private streets. Does DC have the authority for that?
Rules say no more than 3 passengers - so no kids in laps? Would 3 "adult" passengers be better wording?
Seat belt rule - will this pin passengers under overturned pedicab - there are no roll bars? Does this carry any safety benefit at all? What does the seatbelt even need to be anchored to? The law doesn't say.
Brakes - law describes technology, but for bikes it's performance based. Performance based (stopping in x feet) is better.
Why do lights have to be battery operated? Why not USB or dynamo? Just say light and how bright - not how to power it.
Turn lights are required, but there is nothing in the law requiring their use. Is that ok?
Rules on stopping to load and unload should also prohibit stopping in the bike lane.
Is stopped with operator on bike "parked"? Should be defined.
Rule on locking bike makes it seem that they can not be locked to anything even bike racks. Should they be parked on the sidewalk or the street? What can they lock up to?
Reflective vest requirement is for all times of day. Is this appropriate? Why not at times when lights are required? Would a "slow moving vehicle" emblem be better?
Definition of pedicab makes it unclear if all adult tricycle's are pedicabs. Or if a pedicab with the cab in front is a pedicab. Or if a pedicab without passengers in it is a pedicab. If a person transports people for a "donation" are they for hire? And if not are they not a pedicab anymore.

Meetings are open to the public but space is limited.

RESOLUTION - Support of Bicyclists' Rights Legislation

2011-09-20T06:32:00.003-04:00

At the last DC Bicycle Advisory Council meeting held Wednesday, September 7, WABA discussed its efforts to introduce legislation before the Council of the District of Columbia to create better protections for bicyclists who are harassed or threaten by motorists.

According to WABA, the proposed law creates a civil right of action for an assaulted cyclist and provides for attorneys fees if the cyclist-plaintiff prevails--thereby providing an incentive for attorneys to represent the victim.

Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells will co-introduce an anti-harassment bill with Ward 2's Jack Evans and Ward 1's Jim Graham.

Below is a resolution supporting the anti-harassment bill and the rights of bicyclists who use of District streets.
Resolution - Support of Bicyclists Rights

Dr. Gridlock chat (9-19-11)

2011-09-19T13:25:00.006-04:00

As a public service, below are bicycle-related comments/questions issued to Robert Thomson on his Monday midday Dr. Gridlock chat on the Washington Post website, unedited.

This week, two comments about bicycling - "Why share Beach Drive when trail is right there" and "Bicyclists don't follow the rules"...

Feel free to post your thoughts.

I want to share the road, really I do
Question. but here's my question: is it okay for drivers to be even slightly annoyed when bikers ride on Rock Creek Parkway (Beach Drive) when there is a bike path just steps away? The parkway is a one-lane, winding road with no shoulder. Frankly, it's dangerous to come around a curve to traffic that is stopped due to a biker on the road. I mean, shouldn't cyclists be required to use the bike path when one is available? I think everyone needs to strike a balance in these situations.

Answer. Robert Thomson - Bikers aren't required to use the path, and I know what they say about the trail: That it's in no condition to handle modern bike traffic and is at least as dangerous for cyclists as riding on the parkway.

Sharing the parkways is certainly an issue. The park service recently restated the often-ignored ban in cycling on the George Washington and Clara Barton Parkways. I've done several Dr. Gridlock columns presenting exchanges of views on this. Here's a link to one.

"Share the Road" -- With Rules
Question. Dear Dr. "G"-- I'm happy to "share the road" with cyclists, IF they follow the rules. But when they whiz dangerously past me on the right when I'm properly stopped at a red light, and then they do a "fake-right-turn, fake-U-turn, fake-right-turn" maneuver at the crossroads to run the red light that I am stopped at, and then they glide on, blocking the road beyond the intersection when the light changes, I wonder who is sharing what with whom? If this cyclist had been in an auto, "road rage" would be the term for her/his behavior. "Share the road" can work, but we need rules. To be allowed on public roads, all bicycles should be required to have officially-issued licenses and large legible license plates. They should have warning bells and should use them whenever overtaking autos or pedestrians. The cycles and their riders should have lights and bright reflective markings at night. And they should operate on the public roads by the same rules as motor vehicles - including not cheating at lights and turns. Funny -- in the small town I grew up in, this was all required sixty years ago. "Share the road" can work. But it will NOT work if the cyclists want it all their own way. Alongside the President, I am an optimist -- but my optimism is so far a hope, not a reality. Cyclists, WABA, all -- hey, folks, be positive and do your share. Help set some rules -- visible, enforceable rules -- so the bad actors with two wheels can be identified, and the rest of the pedalers don't suffer. Thanks.

Answer. Robert Thomson - As I know the folks at WABA would say, cyclists are required to obey the same laws as drivers when they're on the public roads.

Like you and many other travelers, I've seen cyclists ignore those laws, especially at intersections. In fact, I'm surprised at your description of the elaborate technique for getting through the intersection. More often, the cyclists I see just blow the stop sign clean and ride straight across.

But to me, the bottom line is that if you believe in sharing the road, you share the road. You don't decide that one category of traveler is the official representative for the entire category and if that person violated the rules than no one else in that category is entitled to courtesy.

Metropolitan Branch Trail Clean Up

2011-09-13T03:41:00.005-04:00

Below are pictures from the Saturday, September 10, 2011 Day of Service on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Volunteers from the community and trail users cleared and cleaned the trail from Franklin Street NE to R Street NE spending a part of this weekend giving back, helping to maintain a public asset.

The event was sponsored by the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy and its Director of Trail Development, Kelly Pack, the NOMA BID, the DDOT Bicycle program's Heather Deutsch.

If you are interested in being a part of future activities on the trail join the Metropolitan Branch Trail Facebook group or the Yahoo group Listserv.

Bimonthy Meeting Tonight

2011-09-07T10:16:00.000-04:00

Tonight, Wednesday September 7th, DCBAC will have its general meeting. The meeting will be in Room 1114 at 441 4th Street NW (One Judiciary Square) and begin at 6pm.

We will start the meeting with a presentation by the DC Office of Planning on Mayor Gray's new sustainability initiative. Please feel free to invite other interested cyclists to join us for the presentation. Folks are welcome
to stay for the rest of the DCBAC meeting as well.

Below is a draft agenda:

1. Introductions (10 minutes)
2. DC Office of Planning Sustainability Presentation with Q&A (30 minutes)
3. Approval of Minutes (5 minutes)
4. Legislative Committee Report and Discussion (20 minutes)
5. Safety Committee Discussion (10 minutes)
6. Facilities Committee Report and Discussion (20 minutes)
7. Planning Committee Discussion (5 minutes)
8. Other Business (20 minutes)

Notes from the Rolling Facilities Meeting - Far NE Livability Study area

2011-08-14T22:39:00.003-04:00

Below are notes from the far northeast livability study area riding meeting hosted by Jeanie Osburn, BAC Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) chair.

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The objective of this rolling meeting was to assess the bicycling aspects of the area covered by the Far Northeast Livability Study which is a triangular area bounded by East Capitol Street to the south, Eastern Ave. to the east, and the Anacostia River to the west. The area itself has many pleasant residential streets, however there are significant challenges in connecting these streets to destinations. Many of the pleasant streets feed into major arterial roads such as East Capitol Street, Minnesota Ave., and Benning Rd, or they change one-way directions from block to block, or they simply are streets that stay within a neighborhood. There are only 2 places in the study area to cross the “rivers” created by the Anacostia River, I-295, and train tracks. At present there is only one way for cyclists and pedestrians to cross from the study area to western destinations in DC, and that is the overpass at Benning Rd. East Capitol Street is essentially a freeway that goes under I-295 just east of RFK stadium, and is completely unsuitable as it is now for cyclist/pedestrian traffic, particularly since the sidewalk does not connect in the I-295 area.

As stated above, many pleasant residential streets feed onto major thoroughfares. Crossing East Capitol Street anywhere other than where there is a traffic light is dangerous or impossible. Due to high traffic volumes and speeds, cycling on East Capitol Street is dangerous, and to accommodate cyclists/pedestrians it needs to have a separated facility. Given that East Capitol and Benning Rd are the only east-west corridors over the maze of train tracks and highways, they both carry heavy automobile traffic. The intersection of Benning Road and East Capitol Street is nightmarish. Here the two east-west arteries meet, and there are 6 lanes (including turn lanes) on Benning Rd and 8 lanes (including turn lanes) on East Capitol Street. That intersection needs thoughtful attention by an engineer who thinks of things other than moving automobiles/motor vehicles.

From the Benning Rd Station we proceeded on Brooks Street to try to avoid Benning Rd. The sidewalks on Benning Rd are narrow, have lots of glass and obstacles, and there are many businesses with parking lots where cars cross the sidewalk making even riding on the sidewalk a challenge. Brooks is a very pleasant (one-way westbound uphill) street that T’s into 42nd Street. At 42nd Street, you can either go up the hill and take a side street to the MN Ave Metro station, or you feed into Benning Rd. If trying to get to the shopping center where the Safeway is, you either have to ride along the Benning Rd. sidewalk, or go up and down hills searching for a backway into the Safeway. Don told us you cannot get to the Safeway from 42nd Street, so we rode along the new (and STILL NARROW) sidewalk to the shopping center where the Library and Safeway are. The brand new granite curbs have no curb cuts to cross from the north side of Benning Rd into the shopping center. Whoever designed these sidewalks certainly had no intention of cyclists or handicapped people crossing from the north side of Benning Rd. to the shopping center. To do that, you have to go down the hill to the intersection of MN Ave and Benning (another nightmarish intersection), cross, and then come back up the hill. Appalling. Simply appalling. There needs to be a curb cut and a signalized cross walk at the Library/shopping center entrance.

We proceeded to the intersection of Benning Rd and MN Ave, and passed an area on the sidewalk that was more than 50% overgrown with weeds/bushes. At the intersection of Benning Rd. and MN Ave, the sidewalk is so narrow going from Benning Rd. north onto MN Ave, that we watched as a handicapped gentleman squeezed through with about 2 inches on either side of his wheels to get between the post holding the red-light camera and the curb of the business property there. We also observed a cyclist climbing the very narrow sidewalk on the south side of Benning Rd to go on the overpass. Mike rode to Benning Rd. Metro over that same sidewalk, and both ends of that sidewalk are dangerous: the west end due to ramps feeding I-295, and the east because you come down a pretty steep grade into one of the nastiest intersections in DC (MN Ave and Benning Rd). There are many businesses in the MN Ave/Benning Rd area and plenty of foot/bicycle traffic, so this is another place where a creative engineer who thinks of things other than motor vehicles is desperately needed.

We then rode north on MN Ave (staying on the sidewalk till we were at the MN Ave Metro). The street itself is in bad shape, and has 2 narrow lanes each way with heavy bus and automobile traffic. MN Ave (A Street SE to Sheriff Rd) is part of the Great Streets project, and again, needs an engineer who is cognizant and respectful of multiple modes of transportation including bicycles and pedestrians. At the intersection of MN Ave and Nannie Helen Burroughs Street, we stopped to check out that intersection. Don told us the sidewalks on the other side had been completely redone, though getting to them can be a challenge. Nannie Helen Burroughs goes under the train tracks, and either into a quiet neighborhood just outside the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens or to a ramp to I-295. I know from having lived in the area that people drive crazy on NHB when trying to get onto I-295. While there are sidewalks on both sides of NHB under the tracks, they are extremely narrow, and there is no barrier between the roadway and the sidewalk making it very dangerous to go east-west under the RR tracks.

Sheriff Rd, by contrast has good potential for pleasant cycling. The traffic is much lighter, the lanes are wide, the street has nice tree cover, and we generally felt very safe riding on Sheriff Rd. We took Sheriff Rd to 49th Street, and it, too was a very pleasant street which runs all the way to East Capitol Street. Of course, there you have challenges, because there is nothing on the other side of East Cap to continue, though the quiet Central Ave will take you to Sycamore where you can cross E. Cap to pick up 49th on the other side. If 49th Street is to be a signed bike route, signs need to direct cyclists at Central and 49th to go east on Central and then south on Sycamore. We wanted to ride on 55th Street, so we rode to Brooks and turned around, because it was one-way westbound. We rode easbound on Blaine, and when we got to 55th, we found it was one way south bound, so we turned around and rode back to 49th Street and at the bottom of the hill rode along the Marvin Gaye trail to 55th Street. It was great seeing people walking and riding along the trail, and just sitting and chatting with neighbors. 55th Street was very pleasant with some new homes and very little traffic. Though 55th Street crosses E. Cap into SE DC, we took 55th to Ames and 49th to Central to return to Benning Rd to complete the ride.

The priorities for using funding to improve cycling in the Far Northeast Livability Study area should be:

Safe east-west passage for bike/ped
Safe accommodation of bike/ped on major arterials (E. Cap, Benning Rd, Minnesota Ave).
Improve minor arterials such as Sheriff Rd (repaving, signing, possibly lane striping)
Signage to help people navigate around all the one-way streets.

1 and 2 are critical. Mike and I were both amazed at the number of people riding in the area particularly given the conditions they have. Hats off to Don and the other intrepid Far NE cyclists!

Picture This

2011-08-03T02:01:00.003-04:00

As a companion to the the details of the Tommy Wells ride, below are pictures from the Thursday, July 28, 2011 Council Member Tommy Wells' Bike Ride for Better Connections on South Capitol Street. The pictures highlight some of the issues with the corridor and well as shows the potential for the development of better cycling and pedestrian facilities.

BAC Facilities Rolling Meeting - Far Northeast

2011-08-02T12:40:00.001-04:00

The DCBAC Facilities Committee and its Chair, Jeanie Osburn (Ward 5 Rep.), will hold its August rolling meeting this Monday, August 8, 2011 beginning at the Benning Road Metrorail Station at 6PM. DCBAC appreciates your comments regarding bicycling in the area and invite residents and bicyclists to attend.

The ride will explore the proposed bicycle improvements listed in the Far Northeast Livability Study and allow DCBAC to provide feedback to the District Department of Transportation. This will give riders a first-hand view of the bicycling conditions in areas such as Deanwood, Benning, Benning Heights and Marshall Heights.

Tommy Wells Holds Ride to Highlight South Capitol Street Bike Issues

2011-08-02T11:45:00.005-04:00

Council member Tommy Wells, District Department of Transportation (DDOT) officials, Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) staff, representatives of DCBAC and the public toured South Capitol Street and the surrounding corridor. At least 20 people were in attendance, along with representatives of the media (Fox 5 and WAMU) who reported on parts of the ride. DCBAC would like to hear what the public has to say about this project and how bicycle access to this area can improve.

The purpose of the ride was to highlight some of the planned changes to this area which is anchored by the redesign of South Capitol Street and the replacement of the Frederick Douglass Bridge as recommended in the recently completed Final Environmental Impact Assessment. The ride also provided an opportunity for the DDOT project director to view the sight for himself to see the current impediments and listen to the concerns of the bicycling public. Along with WABA, DCBAC drafted a letter in May outlining bike and pedestrian concerns that the were lacking FEIS, which included access to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, Diamond Teague Park and the implementation of aspects of the Bicycle Master Plan for this area.

DCBAC members Jeanie Osburn Liam Healy asked the DDOT project director, Ravindra Ganvir, several questions about the replacement Douglass bridge. Specifically, we learned that most optimistic timeline for completion of the bridge would be 5 years, the sidewalks on either side of the bridge would be 20 feet, and that the stairs leading to the Anacostia Trail will likely be modified to include provisions for bicyclists and people with disabilities. As reported by WABA, Mike Goodno, DDOT transportation planned provided his assessment of items discussed on the ride that DDOT, should address:

Lack of designated bike lanes or cycle tracks included in FEIS preferred alternative for S. Capitol Street north of the Douglass Bridge
How safely bicyclist will be able to navigate the proposed traffic circles on both sides of the bridge, including the travel design speeds of both and any special accommodations being included for bicyclists. There was concern that if you are on the wrong side of the bridge, it may be difficult to cross the many exit and entrance lanes of the circles. The particular example used was if they are cycling on the downstream side and they then want to get to historic Anacostia. How would they do this?
Making sure the shared paths across on both sides of the new bridge are wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles at the same time, not narrow like the current bridge
Why is the new bridge being built south of the existing bridge?
Making sure a mechanism is in place for more frequent and improved removal of trash and debris from the path than currently happens
Having ramps, rather than stairs to allow bicyclists to ride rather than walk from the bridge paths to portions of the Riverwalk Trail on both sides of the river
How soon new bridge could be built if funding were available?
More clear understanding of the routes bicyclists could travel between the bridge and metro stations southeast of the river
Improved bike accommodations, such as a wider sidewalk/shared path on Firth Sterling so bicyclist don't have to navigate the Streetcar tracks
The group expressed broad support for continuation of the existing Suitland Parkway Trail along the pkwy to the West side of the Anacostia Metro station. People wanted a separated bike path, as opposed to the current on-street signed route, and mentioned that the current facility is not safe for children to bike on. The group also discussed the connection of an extended Suitland pkwy trail to a proposed Firth Sterling trail.
Group expressed a need to connect both of these points to the Anacostia River Trail, either through a separated alignment along Howard Rd, or an alternate route.

The radio station, WAMU, reported that the ride was a protest against the safety conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians who use the Frederick Douglass Bridge. This was highlighted by many of the riders occupying the right lane to travel over the bridge. While safety and the need for better travel options on the bridge are important, the 'taking of a lane' was just one component of the ride and project, and the fastest way over the bridge.

Jonathan Kass, staff member to Council Member Tommy Wells, provided a map of the route and the planned changes to it as part of the project and helped lead the discussion.

CM Wells Handout for SCap Bike Ride

DCBAC invites public comments on this topic. Please feel free to let us know what you think and how the District should continue making improvements to its infrastructure.

New (and Expanded) Capital Bikeshare Locations (Map)

2011-07-27T12:04:00.007-04:00

Below is a Google map showing 32 new Capital Bikeshare locations (Blue pins) and 18 current stations that will see expansion (red pins), most of which should be installed by the fall of 2011.

According to a press release issued by goDCgo, the District Department of Transportation Director Terry Bellamy states that, "With this expansion we will not only increase the overall reach of the system, but we will expand the program’s capacity by 22 percent in the downtown area, by 80 percent in our East of the River operations and by an average of 38 percent throughout each of the additional Wards.”

Most of the new locations add capacity in the system's core but CaBi appears to also expanded east of the Anacostia River in the neighborhoods of Fairfax Village, Benning Ridge, Congress Heights and downtown Anacostia. Areas not receiving new or expanded stations include upper regions of Ward 3, 4, and 5.

View New (Blue) and Expanded (Red) CaBi Bike Stations in a larger map

Picture This

2011-07-22T10:48:00.001-04:00

Picture This, a photo by uno000 on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The WMATA reminder, no bikes at the center doors!

Pedicab predicament

2011-07-22T08:11:00.006-04:00

DCBAC is would like to here your comments and suggestions with regard to altercations between the District's Pedicab operators and the National Park Service Police (NPS) on or in the vicinity of the National Mall. Also, DCBAC is interested in the public's thoughts on the proposed pedicabs operator regulations.

DCBAC plans to gather this information and will likely present it to local and federal authorities. DCBAC would especially like to hear comments from actual pedicab operators. Comments can be left below or you can send an email to dcbac@dcbac.org.

As reported by various news outlets including Patrick Madden of WAMU radio and David Schultz of Transportation Nation, the District's pedicab operators have been targeted by the NPS Park Police as part of its “education campaign” designed to remind pedicab operators of the laws they have to follow. According to some Pedicab operators, however, the Park Police have been targeting them unfairly for tickets and arrest, in one case, being subdued by a Taser.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is drafting new regulations for pedicab operators. The proposed rules would amend the DC Code, Title 18, “Vehicles and Traffic", Chapter 12, "Bicycles, Motorized Bicycles, and Miscellaneous Vehicles”, by adding a new section - 1213. The full text of the proposed rules can be found on the Secretary of the District of Columbia website, the DC Municipal Regulations and Register.

According to the Washington Post columnist John Kelly, DDOT proposed new pedicab rules this past April (with an early draft in December of 2010), which included no riding on sidewalks, no riding on streets with speed limits of more than 30 mph, seat belts for passengers, but DDOT has not yet issued them.

Dr. Gridlock chat (7-18-11)

2011-07-18T14:43:00.002-04:00

As a public service, below are bicycle-related comments/questions issued to Robert Thomson on his Monday midday Dr. Gridlock chat on the Washington Post website, unedited.

This week, two comments were posted on the discussion site regarding bicycling - comments about bike lanes and the improvements to Virginia trails.

Regarding these issues, the washcycle recent observations about the 15th street Cycletrack and the South Capital Street Trail.

Bike lanes
Q. How are the comments running about the bike lanes?

A. Robert Thomson - Not too much lately. Cyclists seem pretty happy with them, including the new lanes on 15th Street NW in DC. Drivers never like sharing the road with cyclists. They tend to object either to setting aside space for cyclists or to having the cyclists in the regular travel lanes.

Further Bike/Running Trail Evolution
Q. The recently completed links connecting Eisenhower valley through the Wilson Bridge are wonderful. There's now a "missing link", that if constructed, would be a boon to VA, PG County, DC, Nats Park, new Arena Stage, the rapidly rehabilitating Anacostia waterfront, etc . It would also facilitate a significant new non-car commuting capability to/from the military bases along 295, as well as the huge new DHS complex at St. Elizabeth's, and the Navy Yard area. That missing link is a bike/running trail between the Wilson Bridge and the South Capitol Street Bridge. Are there ANY plans for that, or even discussions about it.

A. Robert Thomson - I did a Commuter page feature shortly after the Wilson Bridge trail opened. This one: http://wapo.st/ddYcYC . But I can't remember the prospects for connecting with a trail to the north. (Perhaps some cycling enthusiasts could help in this?)

I know that plans for the new 11th Street Bridge include a bike path but don't know how far south that might take you.

Picture This

2011-07-17T15:47:00.002-04:00

Photo by thedceye

The group, Black Women Bike, hit the road early this past Saturday, July 17, at Eastern Market. Getting more people to see bicycling as a transportation alternative requires a commitment to building the infrastructure and supporting groups like this.

Public Scoping Meeting for Broad Branch Road

2011-07-15T18:21:00.001-04:00

Project area courtesy
of Google Maps

The first public scoping meeting regarding the rehabilitation of Broad Branch Road NW was held at the Chevy Chase Community Center on Thursday, July 14, 2011. DCBAC representative Eric Rosenberg (At-Large) also attended the meeting, provided comments and spoke to the project team.

DCBAC would like to hear bicyclists and pedestrians comments on this road and what amenities should be added. Early suggestions included adding a cycletrak, bike lanes, or even reducing automotive travel to one direction to make room for bicyclists and pedestrians. DCBAC will include your comments and transmit a document to the project administrators. You may leave your comments below or email them to blog@dcbac.org.

A small section of this road has been recently discussed due to the collapse and construction of a temporary bridge over Soapstone Creek in April. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) posted a sign that restricts bicyclists and pedestrians from the use of the bridge. As an important transportation corridor, bicyclist voiced their concerns that the restriction undermined the complete streets practices that DDOT appeared to be implementing on other projects. Your comments on this issue will possibly help reduce the exclusion of pedestrians and bicyclists consideration on other projects.

According to the project website (still under construction), the purpose of this action is to rehabilitate Broad Branch Road NW to satisfy operational and safety needs and while maintaining the natural setting of the project area. This includes the improvement of the roadway structures, shoulders and stormwater management. The public scoping meeting allows for early public input into the scope of the study, potential alternatives, and areas of concern regarding Broad Branch Road.

Specifically, the project scope involves the rehabilitation of an approximately 1.5 mile section of Broad Branch Road NW from Beach Drive NW to 32 Street NW in Ward 3. Broad Branch Road NW is a two-lane rural-like road that runs within Rock Creek Park. The road is narrow, winding and relatively steep in certain sections. In certain locations, the road abuts rock outcroppings and is parallel to the Rock Creek tributary, Broad Branch, where erosion threatens the road.

The current road conditions almost exclusively serve automotive purpose as it has no sidewalks trails or bike lanes. However, it is used by bicyclists and pedstrians as it connects to the Rock Creek and Soapstone Valley trails as well as other bike routes. This road also serves as a westerly link to Rock Creek Park, allowing those who travel from the Forest Hills, Upper Chevy Chase, and Friendship Heights sections of the District direct access to Beach Drive and then downtown and or to the east side of the city via Blagden Avenue.

This is the second in a series of meetings to determine the how the road should be reconstructed. The meeting schedule is as follows:

Agency Scoping Meeting
March 24, 2011

Agency Alternatives Meeting
Late Spring 2011

Public Scoping Meeting
July 13, 2011

Public Alternatives Meeting
Summer 2011

Environmental Assessment
Fall 2011

Public Hearing
Fall 2011

The project managers may be contacted directly at BroadBranch@parsons.com. Steve Walter of the Parsons Transportation Group and Design Contractor for this project, can be reached by mail at Parsons Transportation Group, 100 M Street, SE, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20003. Again, if you have suggestions, please feel free to leave them below.

How to Make the MBT a Safer Space

2011-06-28T07:38:00.001-04:00

(Photo by thedceye)

The Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT)is a great transportation assets for the District. For it to reach its potential; however, trail users, advocates and the community that surrounds the trail must determine what the the future of the trail should be and how we can make it more safe today.

On Wednesday, June 22, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy hosted a Trail Safety Open House to discuss ways to protect users of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from crime. Several nearby residents and trail users attended the event and expressed some of their concerns to government and community representative as well as talked amongst themselves.

Now that we've met on the MET, what's next?

Public Involvement. The immediate next step includes viewing the great video by the Guardian Angels and then signing up for the MBT Volunteer Safety Patrol. The first patrol will be Wednesday, June 26 - 6:00p to 8:00p at the Pocket park on the trail at S and 4th streets NE. According to Rails-To-Trails, one of the more successful methods used to address crime and safety on trails in other cities has been the establishment of community patrols like the Guardian Angels.

Oh look, a mountain of asphalt
(photo by thedceye)

Public involvement is an important factor for making the trail safe but good policing is also important. Recently in Indianapolis, IN, three people were attached over an 8 day period while using the Monon Trail. The response by Indianapolis officials included involving extra bicycle officers to complement the 18 park rangers who regularly patrol the trail as well as adding special units mounted units. This is a comprehensive security plan that the District doesn't have. The next steps should be to determine the problems surrounding the trail and determining how to correct those issues.

Make it inviting. The property between the trail and the WMATA Rhode Island rail yard currently contains at least 3 mountains of asphalt, various construction equipment and concrete casts of sewer mains. The buildings adjacent to the trail include a property called the Sanitary Bakery building, which was purchased by MCI World Network Services in 2000, a Post Office facility, and the Fort Myer Construction Company concrete plant.

These businesses could actively support the trail by helping to make their property more inviting. This could be as simple as signage, a mural, or to better organization of supplies. Planting trees or grass on the edges of their property that abut the trail may help reduce the visual impact of the mountains of asphalt.

Connect it to the Community. Related to being a less-than-inviting area, the trail should be more than just a transportation corridor especially for those who live north of the area and work in the downtown core. For those who live a few blocks from the trail, there are few signs that show that the MBT exists. Richard Layman of the Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space blog suggested at the open house that better signage on and leading to the trail would both make it easier for users to navigate it but help the community around the trail find it. Also, once on the trail, there is little signage on the trail, directional or street signs (many of which are currently missing).

More importantly, there is very little that draws people to the area. The parks at S Street NE and on Rhode Island Avenue NE are relatively narrow with little more to do than just sit on near by benches. Recently, Dan Reed of Greater Greater Washington wrote about public art can draw inspiration from within the community. With ample way space and some murals in place, the trail can be a showcase for wall art.

Create a Long-Term Plan. Currently the trail acts as a freeway, a strip of tarmac that moves users more quickly than city streets; the trail passes over and behind the community but doesn't have a strong attachment to it. To remedy this, the District needs a community plan for the trail. Much like the District's Great Streets initiative, which according to the District's website, transform under-invested corridors into thriving and inviting neighborhood centers using public actions and tools as needed to leverage private investment. The MBT appears to have the beginnings of anchors as shown by the Rhode Island Station development to the north and the NoMa West residential development at the southern end, just north of New York Avenue NE.

This section of Eckington has few areas of green space. If properties adjacent to the railroad tracks become available, it may be prudent for the District to purchase the land and convert some of it to parkland. Along with the MBT, it would provide a lasting amenity to residents and visitors and help create a destination.

Making the trail safe involves not only near-term policing but the continuing effort to help it grow. The trail could one day be an access point to a park as well as a city-wide destination. While the development of the trail, the park and the surrounding community may take years, the it could help anchor development just as Meridian Hill Park spurs development at 16th Street Heights.

Oregon Avenue Environmental Assessment Hearing June 29

2011-06-17T08:23:00.002-04:00

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 29 from 6:30p to 8:30p at the Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Avenue, NW to discuss the Environmental Assessment (EA) that rehabilitates a 1.7 mile section of Oregon Avenue NW. This hearing will help the project planners determine the optimal construction alternative that will make the road, which abuts Rock Creek Park, more accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists, among other goals.

BAC and the DDOT Supervisory Transportation Planner, Jim Sebastian, are interested in public comments about the project. Also, those who live in the area or use the road, are encouraged to attend the hearing to provide suggestions or observations. This is the third public hearing for the project and is likely the final opportunity for public comment. The final decision document will be transmitted some time this summer with reconstruction of the road estimated to last 6 to 9 months.

Oregon Avenue NW is a relatively narrow two-lane rural-like road that runs parallel to Rock Creek Park from Military Road NW to Western Avenue NW. While the Oregon Avenue trail parallels Oregon Avenue between Military Road and Wise Road, it is narrow in certain spots and does not extend the to Western Avenue. The current road conditions are somewhat difficult to navigate for pedestrians who would like to access Rock Creek Park and for bicyclists who would like to use the road. This is because there are no sidewalks, bike lanes or shoulders. Additionally, some vehicles use the road as an alternate to Beach drive, making travel on bikes challenging due to automobile traffic that occasionally travels above the posted speed limit and little or no space for car or bikes to pass.

According to the EA, the alternatives development consisted of a three‐step collaborative process with the study team, stakeholders, and the public to develop a range of alternatives that incorporate elements to address each of the project’s needs that include roadway, storm water and drainage, and bicyclist and pedestrian elements as well as improving access to Rock Creek Park.

The EA developed four alternatives with the no action (no-build) option being discarded. The Candidate Build Alternatives are:

Alternative #2 - Rehabilitation of two 10‐foot travel lanes with curb and gutter and the installation of 5‐foot sidewalk on the west side of the road and a curb on the east. The total estimated construction cost for this option is $23.4 million.

Alternative 2

Alternative #3 - Oregon Avenue would be reconstructed similar to Alternative 2, with two 10‐foot travel lanes with curb and gutter and a 5‐foot sidewalk on the west side and a curb on the east. South of Nebraska Avenue to Military Road, where the existing right‐of‐way is 33 feet, Oregon Avenue would be reconstructed similar to Alternative 2, with two 10‐foot travel lanes with curb and gutter and a 5‐foot sidewalk on the west side and a curb on the east.

North of Nebraska Avenue to Western Avenue, this alternative would transition to a cross‐section width of approximately 43 feet and would consist of two 10‐foot travel lanes with a 2‐foot shoulder, a 10‐foot grassy area and a 10‐foot shared‐use path on the west side. The total estimated construction cost for this option is $30.5 million.

Alternative 3

Alternative #4 - While the area south of Nebraska Avenue is similar to Alternative #3, north of Nebraska Avenue to Western Avenue would have a cross‐section width of 44 feet and include two 10‐foot travel lanes, a 4‐foot bike lane, 10‐ foot grassy area, and 5‐foot sidewalk on the west side, and a 4‐foot bike lane. Some of the sections of roadway will require retaining walls in order to stay within the right‐of‐ way and preserve the use of the adjacent homes’ front yards. These walls are estimated at 2 to 5 feet high in the Southern Section and up to 8 feet high in the Northern Section of the project. The total estimated construction cost for this option is $35.3 million.

Alternative 4

Of the three Candidate Build Alternatives, alternative #4, which includes bike lanes appears to be the option most advantageous for cyclists; however, BAC would like to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to leave comments on this page or send an email to jim.sebastian@dc.gov.

Both oral and written statements will be taken at the Public Hearing. Comments may also be submitted to OregonEA@parsons.com or to Wayne Wilson, Project Manager at the District Department of Transportation, Infrastructure Project Management Administration 55 M Street, SE Washington, DC 20003. Comments will be accepted until July 14, 2011.

Metropolitan Branch Trail Safety Open House June 22

2011-06-15T18:27:00.006-04:00

Stephen Miller, bicycle advocate and coordinator for Urban Pathways for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, will be hosting a Trail Safety Open House to discuss ways to protect users of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from crime, Wednesday, June 22, from 4:00p to 7:00p in the pocket park near S and 4th Streets NE.

The Metropolitan Branch Trail is a shared use trail that runs roughly parallel to the former B&O (currently CSX ) right-of-way, mostly in the Northeast quadrant of the District. The trail will eventually cover approximately 8 miles from Union Station in the District to Silver Spring Metro Station in Maryland. Last May, an important segment opened that linked New York Avenue to Franklin Street NE and allowing a contiguous 1.5 mile car free route.

Recently, criminal activity has been reported on the trail with assailants appearing to target bicyclists. This informational may prove useful in helping trail users avoid and even thwart crime. According to a posting by Stephen on the Met Branch Trail group page, the open house will give trail users the opportunity to meet the neighbors and users of the trail and instill a sense of camaraderie while fostering a safety discussion with the following organizations:

Representatives from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to speak with you about how MPD polices the trail and investigates criminal behavior
Staff from the District Department of Transportation to discuss trail lighting, trail design and maintenance
A video booth for you to express your concerns, suggestions and experiences as part of an educational film Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is producing on trail safety
Volunteers from the Guardian Angels to discuss the creation of a trail safety patrol.

Initial plans as shown in the Metropolitan Branch Trail Public Art / Civic Design Sketchbook ~~called for~~ envisioned the conversion the of then fallow land into recreation / greenspace. While aspects of that plan are less certain today, this event will allow trail users an opportunity to discuss the future of the trail and current development surrounding it.

Update according to Metbranchtrail group:

Who will be there...

Guardian Angels to discuss the MBT volunteer safety patrol
MPD to discuss policing and safe behavior by trail users
DDOT to discuss trail maintenance and lighting
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to discuss upcoming trail events
NoMa BID Ambassadors to discuss homeless & NoMa maintenance issues
Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) to help you will all questions bike-related
YOU! Meet neighbors and trail users as we work to keep our communities safe.

The forecast: Partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 90. Don't worry, we'll have a tent to keep you dry if a storm comes by!

At the event, we will have...

Video station for people to express their thoughts on MBT trail safety for a video Rails-to-Trails is producing
Free t-shirts and limited amount of bottled water
Sign-up sheets for MBT emails, MBT listserv and MBT volunteer safety patrol
Info sheet containing safety tips and contact information

Legislative Hearing on Pedestrian Safety Act

2011-06-08T08:24:00.001-04:00

The Committee on Public Works and Transportation will hold a public hearing, Wednesday June 8, at 2:00p in Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

"The Pedestrian Safety Reinforcement Amendment Act of 2011”, Bill 19-0291, will be discussed. along with other items on the agenda. The purpose is to amend the Pedestrian Protection Amendment Act of 1987 to rectify the amendment which went into effect on November 25, 2008, and to clarify that the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), pursuant to the District of Columbia Traffic Adjudication Act of 1978, has the legal authority to issue rules and fines.

BAC found documents on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation that showed that DMV has enforced the act by ticketing bicyclists and pedestrians, which appears to run counter to the law's intent. Tens of thousands of dollars have been collected over the last several years as a direct result of DMV's enforcement focus.

The hearing can be seen live on the Council's website beginning at 2:00p.

Dr Gridlock chat (6-6-11)

2011-06-06T20:05:00.001-04:00

As a public service, below are bicycle-related comments / questions issued to Robert Thomson on his Monday midday Dr. Gridlock chat on the Washington Post website, unedited.

This week, several comments about rolling through stop signs, improvements to the humpback bridge for bicyclists and pedestrians, and drawing a correlation between allegedly reckless Zipcar drivers and allegedly reckless Capital Bikeshare users.

"At least they slow down"

Q. Dr. Gridlock, several times in the last few months you've written that "drivers run stop signs too, but at least they slow down" as though that is a sign of greater virtue. But isn't different behavior by different modes just a result of the technology, not the virtue of the operators? Drivers slow down because they're going faster to start with, they can't see or hear as well as cyclists, and they aren't as maneuverable. In short, they slow down because they have to to avoid a crash. The prevelance of other illegal behavior seems to negate any claim to higher virtue. Would you not agree that cyclists, drivers and pedestrians do what they feel they can get away with without getting caught or being in a crash. So no group is more virtuous than other, right?

-June 06, 2011 9:39 AM

A. Robert Thomson:

My point exactly: Travelers generally comply with traffic law when they think there's a reasonable chance they'll get caught for a violation. Drivers complain about cyclists. Cyclists complain about drivers. But I don't see any class of travelers having the moral high ground on complying with the law.

As in: The law doesn't say "slow down" for a stop sign. It' says "stop."
– June 06, 2011 12:01 PM

Capitol Bikeshare / Zipcar

Q. Dr. G- Do you think the Capitol Bikeshare, in some way, may put negative strain on the transpo system? I've noticed that many (I'd say most, but it would not be statistical) do not wear helmets and pads. They seem to be even more cavalier than most people on bikes as far as obeying the traffic laws. In other words, it introduces novice people on bikes that are unfamiliar with the rules-of-the-road (or where they are going) as it relates to bikes and traffic. I feel the same is true about people driving Zipcars. They tend to be unfamiliar with the car they are driving (e.g., where the windshield wipers are in a down pour) and are often unfamiliar with the driving rules or where they're going. I try to avoid being near a Zipcar for fear of sudden, unexpected movements.
– June 06, 2011 9:09 AM

A. Robert Thomson:

I think Capital Bikeshare -- or something like it -- is here to stay and believe that's a good thing. I was pleased to see how much of the traffic on the 15th Street cycle track is made up of these rented bikes.
I do wish they'd all wear helmets, though.

I'm not sure -- not denying it, just not sure -- that Bikeshare riders or Zipcar drivers are any less skilled than the average street user. (I don't have a high opinion of the average street user's skills.)

If a Bikeshare rider or a Zipcar driver does something dumb, it stands out and you tend to remember it. You may be seeing just as many dumb things done by other cyclists or drivers in rental cars not as clearly marked as the Zipcars are.

– June 06, 2011 12:32 PM

Humpback

Q.As a cyclist and a runner, I can already see the improvements to the trail that uses the bridge. By widening it and eliminating two very steep climbs and drops, it will be safer for all. Still trying to see what it will do for traffic though.

– June 06, 2011 12:13 PM

A. Robert Thomson:

In a way, it's the same thing. Driving over the bridge won't be quite the circus ride it used to be. One of the problems with the old design was that cars would be speeding along and, because of the hump, they wouldn't see the red tail lights ahead of them till it was too late.

– June 06, 2011 12:47 PM

Alexandria, VA

Q. OK, as a driver, I admit to being occasionally prone to the "I totally paused" stop-sign behavior. (TM: the movie "Clueless) However, what I don't see from drivers is regular and deliberate running of red lights in heavy traffic, which I not only see from cyclists on a daily basis, but I hear the behavior defended on forums like this one. "Stopping makes me lose momentum!" they say. Hey, you know what else makes you lose momentum? Getting hit by a bus. Or mowing down a pedestrian.

–June 06, 2011 12:11 PM

A. Robert Thomson:

Exactly: Drivers think there's a chance they'll get a ticket for running a red light. They think that's much less likely if they slide through a stop sign, though it's also illegal.

Of course, when it comes to making a right on red, many drivers will simply slow down for that turn. Maybe they're afraid of losing momentum?

– June 06, 2011 12:49 PM

The law doesn't say "slow down" for a stop sign.

Q. It does in Idaho. Cyclists in Idaho can treat stop signs as yield signs. Can we make that the law here? (DC/MD/VA) It makes a lot of sense.
– June 06, 2011 12:18 PM

A. Robert Thomson:

I know many cyclists would prefer to ignore those bothersome stop signs, but I'm not sure what works for Idaho would work in DC.
– June 06, 2011 12:50 PM

The law doesn't say "slow down" for a stop sign. It' says "stop."

Q. But the legality isn't really why drivers complain. The problem is, bicyclists are the only operators of slow vehicles who blow through stops. Operators of other slow vehicles, such as construction equipment or buses, stop at the stops. What bothers drivers is when bicyclists ignore stops and then are slow afterwards. If bicyclists understood this it would help everyone use the road together

– June 06, 2011 12:11 PM

A. Robert Thomson:

I can see why that would bother many drivers. What bothers this driver is that cyclists blow through stops signs and create a hazard for themselves and others.

I think what the cyclists would say is that it's more of a hazard for them to come to a full stop, and then try to regain speed. On a city street, the difference in speed between them and motorists is most apparent when the cyclists and the motorists are accelerating from a stop.

– June 06, 2011 1:04 PM

The Seersucker Social Ride Makes Biking Look Good

2011-06-06T03:55:00.002-04:00

High style (photo by thedceye)

The Seersucker Social Ride, organized by group Dandies & Quaintrelles, was a great example of how bicycling can be a fun and fashionable communal experience, allowing people who would not ordinarily ride bikes do so with those who have extensive riding experience.

According to the Dandies & Quaintrelles site, the District-based social group was established in 2009 and organizes and hosts vintage-inspired, stylish events to support noble causes. This is the second year for this spring event and will be followed in the fall by arguably the more popular Tweed ride, typically held in November.

While the ride has happened in other areas of the world and while people riding bikes in vintage clothing is not new, the Seersucker Social ride has developed quite a following in the District. Last Spring's Seersucker ride drew about 300 cyclists. While total numbers are somewhat hard to determine because the riding portion was a free event and unregistered, it appeared that the number of bicyclists exceeded the initial 700 estimated by co-organizer Eric Channing. The event's flickr page provides a comprehensive look at the fashion and bicycles in attendance.

The day started with a comfortable temperature somewhere just north of 80 degrees at Meridian Hill Park. Completed in 1936 and designated as a National Historic Landmark, the park was a picturesque location to begin the ride. The local bike shop BicycleSPACE was kind enough to provide minor tune up to arrivals as they waited for the ride to commence and dispensed liquid refreshments at one of the rides rest spots.

The ride was divided into two routes. The shorter ride was less than seven miles (reported to be only 5 miles), venturing around the Columbia Heights, Petworth and through Rock Creek Park and the other totaled approximately 12 miles (reported to be only 10 miles) and traveled throughout Northwest Washington and included stops along Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House and Sherman Circle. The ride ended with a somewhat challenging hill, riding a quarter way up Tilden Street NW and then up another steep incline to the Hillwood Estate and Museum and Gardens. Once at the Estate, guests were treated to a period-themed band, crochet and other games of leisure, and drinks of varying strength in a garden that mirrored elements within the Palace of Versailles.

Vintage (photo by thedceye)

The event allowed for the gathering of the distinct community bicycling of types. That community was evident as the longer 12-mile ride meandered along typically car filled U, 14th (twice) and Eye Streets. With hundreds of riders, the motorized traffic waited several minutes to allow participants safe passage with only a one or two less-than-accommodating drivers.

Vintage bikes and clothing along with no-so-vintage bikes and clothing created an opportunity to bridge what some have called the "bicycling culture gap". That gap can be described as a separation between those who ride for recreation, those who ride for transportation and those who ride for sport. This division is not hostile but it does make uniting on various biking issues much more challenging. Typically, club riders, those who ride semi-professionally at great speeds and for long distances, are not interested in bike facilities in the city. Those who ride daily may not like the increased numbers of novice bicyclists on the streets. The event showed that bicycling need not be a Lycra and team jersey wearing, carbon fiber, high speed affair but one that as approachable to the average person.

In addition, the event likely brought people who had not biked in years perhaps because they felt comfortable biking relatively slowly in large numbers. The ride marshals from Earthcycle Tours along with volunteers, also helped make traversing certain intersections easier. With ladies in dresses and fancy hats and men in ascots and wingtips, it showed that bicyclists in the region can come together. More than just transport the fashionably dressed, it showed the bicycling in the District can be both fun and safe.

Part of the reason could be attributed to the work that the District government and many advocacy groups have done. As the District adds bike infrastructure like bike lanes and Capital Bikeshare (which had a substantial showing), the comfortable people become open to riding. The majority of onlookers, both pedestrians and motorists, appeared supportive and positive as the event moved along city streets. Having great bicycling-centered events and an expanding infrastructure go hand-in-hand with reaching out to the District's neighborhoods. Each contributes to the unique culture of the District and continues to cement its status as a progressive bicycling community.

Picture This

2011-05-24T22:42:00.002-04:00

Pictures from Bike to Work Day - Freedom Plaza - May 20, 2011

DCBAC transmits comments to DDOT regarding the South Capital FEIS

2011-05-19T15:38:00.000-04:00

The DCBAC issued comments regarding the South Capitol Street Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS) submitted by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).

As mentioned previously, the FEIS is a massive transportation infrastructure project that will replace the Fredrick Douglass Memorial Bridge and many of the the roads and sidewalks that approach it on both sides of the river the bridge crosses, the Anacostia.

While DCBAC supports many improvements associated with the project, the FEIS neglected to implement certain bicycle enhancements contained in build alternatives not selected and well as improvements stipulated in the District of Columbia Bicycle Master Plan.

DCBAC recommended several enhancements including the following: better access to the Anacostia River and its trail, better separation of bicyclist from motorist and pedestrians, and better access to the Anacostia Metrorail station.

If you can comments or suggestions, please post them below.

Second Meeting for I-395 Air Rights Project

2011-05-17T13:15:00.001-04:00

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are holding public meeting for the I-395 Air Rights Project Environmental Assessment, Thursday, May 26, 2011 at the Holy Rosary Church (Casa Italiana).

This is an opportunity for the general public to offer its suggestions regarding the public infrastructure created by the project, which should include additional bicycle facilities.

This is the second meeting of the project and will discuss the alternatives the proposed by the and potential impacts. The alternative build options will be discusses as well as provide an opportunity for comments from the public. The meeting will be an open house and attendees may arrive any time between 5:30p and 7:30p.

The meeting will be at:
Holy Rosary Church (Casa Italiana)
595 1/2 3rd Street, NW
Washington DC, 20001

The purpose of the project is to propose modifications to the transportation infrastructure between 2nd Street, 3rd Street, D Street, and H Street, NW and examine alternatives proposed by the project team. According to the project website, DDOT and FHWA are considering alternatives that would enhance the functionality of the transportation infrastructure while creating room for seamless, economically, and environmentally sustainable development of the air rights over the interstate between E Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW.

Early conceptual drawings for the project included the addition of public amenities such the restoration of D and H Streets NW above the freeway, public green space and bicycle infrastructure. The bulk of the area will contain 2.2 million square feet of mixed-use development.

Bike and Pedestrian fines - Unexpected Results

2011-05-15T23:25:00.002-04:00

Obstacles (photo by thedceye)

As part of the fiscal year 2012 budget process, District of Columbia Council members, through their Committees, ask questions regarding a litany of topics so that they can make programmatic and fiscal decisions. Recently, the Committee on Public Works and Transportation asked the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to provide answers to 21 questions related to its budget and operations.

Question 17 on the Committee's list asked the agency to provide information about the amount and type of revenue collected within the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Fund (DC ST § 1-325.131) from fiscal years 2009, 2010 and year-to-date figures for 2011. Specifically, the Committee was likely seeking information about the implementation of DC Law 17-269, the "Pedestrian Safety Reinforcement Amendment Act of 2008".

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Fund is a nonlapsing revenue source (its year-end balance 'role over' to the subsequent fiscal year) totaling $1.5 million per fiscal year. Its funding is derived from fines generated from the enhanced neighborhood parking control initiative and fines collected as result of the Pedestrian Safety Act. Its purpose is to enhance the safety and quality of pedestrian and bicycle transportation in the District, including traffic calming and Safe Routes to School enhancements. While the legislation allows the District Department of Transportation to administer the transportation projects, it is DMV that collects the funds.

With regard to question 17, DMV identified the amount of revenue and the number of citations issued to bicyclists and pedestrians. This appears to be a misinterpretation of the intent of the Pedestrian Safety Act, which, among other things, increased points and fines against motorist who failed to yield to pedestrians or parked in bicycle lanes. That issue notwithstanding, below is an analysis of the infractions issued to and revenue collected from bicyclists and pedestrians as shown on attachment 11, as submitted by DMV to the Committee.

Bicyclists
For fiscal year 2009, the most common violation was T072, "disobey traffic device or officer while on a bike". A total of 54 tickets were issued with a total of $1,205 in revenue collected -- an average amount per violation of $22.31.

In fiscal year 2010, "disobey traffic device or officer while on a bike" was again the highest grossing violation with the largest number of infractions - 179 tickets issued, a 231.4 percent increase. This violation collected $2,720, which represents a 125.7 percent increase over 2009. While more tickets were issued in 2010, the average amount per violation decreased, $7.12 to $15.20.

From October 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011, violation T072 was once again the leader in citations and revenue - 18 tickets issued collecting $1,120. So far, this represents an average violation amount totaling $62.22.

Pedestrians
For fiscal year 2009, the most common violation was T575, "fail to obey don't walk or wait traffic signal". A total of 479 tickets were issued in that year collecting $8,240, which represents a per violation average of $17.20.

For fiscal year 2010, violation T575 had the highest issuance, 320 violations, but this represented a decrease of 159 tickets issued from the prior, a decrease of 33.2 percent. The total revenue from this infraction was $6,010, an average amount per violation of $18.78, which represents an increase of 9.2 percent over 2009.

For the first 6 months of fiscal year 2011, "fail to obey don't walk or wait traffic signal" was not the violation with the highest number of tickets issued. Violation T528, "pedestrian walking so as to create a hazard", was issued 47 times - ten more than T575. Nevertheless, T575 collected the most revenue so far, a total of $1,590.

Findings
During the 2 1/2 year period, pedestrians have contributed a total of $22,845 in fines ($12,665 more than bikes) and were issued a total of 1,586 citations (1,033 more than bikes), a per citation average of $14.40. However, the per citation average for bicyclists over the same period was $18.41, or 21.7 percent more than the average fine for pedestrians.

Excluding fiscal year 2011, which could contain erroneous or misleading data, bicyclists paid an average of $17.60 per citation, or 22.1 percent more than pedestrians, who paid an average of $13.71 per citation. During fiscal years 2009 and 2010, pedestrians paid $11,730 more in fines than bicyclists and were issued 989 more violations. If bicyclists were issued the same number of citations (1,461) as pedestrians over that span, bicyclists would have paid $25,707, or $5,672 more than pedestrians, who paid $20,035.

As for the intended enforcement objective of Pedestrian Safety Reinforcement Amendment Act of 2008, ~~maybe Council better luck next time~~ DCBAC will discuss this with the Committee to see what can be done to make changes regarding how the law is enforced.

BAC Seeks Comments about Bike Parking at Metro Stations in DC

2011-05-14T22:42:00.004-04:00

(photo courtesy of thedceye)

This summer, the Washington Area Metropolitan Transportation Authority (WMATA) will begin assessing bicycle and pedestrian access at stations across the Metrorail system. BAC would like to hear your thoughts on the problems with bike accessibility to Metro stations located in the District. We hope to provide a list of stations that need improvement and suggestions on how to expand bike mode share to metro stations.

The WMATA Capital Improvement Program (CIP) will provide approximately $9 million over a six-year period to expand mode share at Metro stations and make reaching stations easier. The WMATA Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Capacity Improvements project hopes to increase bicycle parking capacity at Metrorail stations to meet current and future demands and improve connections to stations from local communities where existing pathways are poor.

According to the WMATA Access Planning and Policy Analysis program manager, the CIP project will provide funding to conduct an inventory of each station in the system to identify bicycling and pedestrian needs, creating a master list of projects. Once that list complete and reviewed, WMATA will prioritize those stations and fix accessibility problems in a way that balance agency goals, jurisdictional equity, project feasibility, project needs, and other factors. Currently, WMATA is identifying individual station improvements; however, some facility improvements are underway.

BAC is interested in bicyclist observations of stations within the District. BAC would like to hear about the availability of bike parking at stations, issues with bicycle security and ideas about possible improvements. In addition, BAC would like to know what specific actions or improvements the District could make to help increase the number of bicyclist who ride and park at Metrorail stations. We will consolidate your recommendations and submit them to WMATA.

Please used the comment link below and thank you for your thoughts.

BAC Seeks South Capitol Street EIS Comments

2011-05-09T20:19:00.008-04:00

As reported in WashCycle and on the WABA website, the preferred alternative for the South Capitol Street Final Environmental Impact Study does not appear to contain certain bicycling and pedestrian improvements. Improvements excluded from the selected alternative could increase alternative transportation options, like walking and biking, for District residents and visitors who use the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge to access the current (and future) amenities in this area of the District.

According to the study site, the purpose of the project is determine the build alternative that best supports improving the safety, accessibility, multi-modal mobility and economic development opportunities associated with the reconstruction of South Capitol Street and Suitland Parkway and the replacement of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. A comparison of the proposed alternatives can be found here.

BAC is seeking public comments regarding the findings of this study and its selection of the preferred alternative. Given the current pedestrian and bicycle accessibility difficulties in this area, is the preferred alternative sufficient or should BAC advise the District Council and the District Department of Transportation to include pedestrian and bicycling amenities that were absent from the selected alternative (i.e. bike lanes, bike parking, cycle tracks, wider shared paths)?

Adding bike and pedestrian facilities could promote a safer transportation experience for pedestrians and bicyclists in this area at a relatively low additional costs (the total FY 2014 estimated ~~proposed~~ cost of the preferred alternative is $806 million).

Please used the comment link below and thank you for your thoughts.

Picture This

2011-05-01T18:48:00.002-04:00

Metro bike patrol, a photo by uno000 on Flickr.

A rare sight, metro police has a bike patrol. Hopefully we'll see more of them on the trains and around Metro stations.

Via Flickr:

Picture This

2011-04-30T17:00:00.001-04:00

(photo by thedceye)

A beautiful day near a CaBi station near the Brookland - CUA Metro station. Just one thing, too many bikes but we talked about this before...

Is Metrorail hostile to bikes?

2011-04-29T15:15:00.003-04:00

Bikes are allowed, just not welcomed
(photo by thedceye)

Despite its faults, Metrorail is a good subway system.

No, really.

When compared to other systems in the country, it does double duty as a regional commuter rail and an urban heavy rail system. While that comparison seems natural to us only a few systems, like Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco, travel as far and as frequently as Metrorail.

That said, it's not perfect. Through countless blogs, reports, tweets and articles, the operations of the Washington Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) are subject to intense scrutiny. To some, its policies and practices seem to occasionally be counterproductive, making customers feel like they are imposing when they question why it takes a year to fix an escalator or why train operators sometimes allow 5 seconds for passengers to board and disembark trains at crowded stations.

In one respect; however, Metrorail seems downright hostile -- when it comes to bringing bikes on its trains. Hopefully this will change as a result of the system's new effort to expand mode share to its stations; but there is some concern that the predispositions of the operators of the system is to limit bicycle accessibility and usability of its trains.

The perceived hostility not be intentional but a result of an institutional compulsion to maintain an orderly and pristine cathedral to public transportation. Zachary Schrag, author of the book, The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro, outlines how and why a high level of architectural detail and aesthetic design were used to create a subway "suited to the grandeur and dignity of the world's richest nation.".

That institutional culture may have seeped into the current thinking with regard to bicycles on Metrorail. This sensibility is evident in a series of prohibitions or guidelines that WMATA deems necessary "for the safety, comfort, and convenience of all passengers" according to its Bike 'N Ride Bicycle Program and the Bike 'N Ride Policy pages. The following prohibitions were complied from the WMATA website:

Bicycles are not permitted weekdays between 7-10 a.m. and 4-7 p.m.
During weekdays outside of the hours above bikes are permitted but limited to two bicycles per car.
Bicycles are permitted all day Saturday and Sunday as well as most holidays but are limited to four bicycles per car.
Bicycles are not permitted on Metrorail on July 4th or other special events or holidays when large crowds use the system.
Folded bicycles are allowed on Metrorail during all operational hours, but must remain folded and inside a carrying case or bag during weekday peak hours.
Bicycles are prohibited from using the center doors because they are "emergency doors".
Bicycles longer than 80" long, 48" high, and 22" wide are prohibited.
Tricycles, training wheels, tandem bicycles or recumbent bicycles are prohibited.
Bicycles are not permitted on escalators.
Riding bicycles in stations, on platforms or on trains is prohibited.
While wheeling your bicycle, keep both wheels on the ground and the kickstand up.
There is no additional fee for riders to bring their bicycles on a bus or railcar.
At all times, Metro Station Managers or Metro Transit Police may exercise discretion to temporarily deny cyclists access to station mezzanines and platforms during periods of passenger congestion until the congestion is cleared.
Bicyclists under 16 are prohibited without an adult or someone over 18.
Adults are not permitted to accompany more than one child with a bicycle at a time.
When it appears that a bicycle will cause an inconvenience or possible injury to other passengers waiting for an elevator, bicyclists must wait for the next elevator.
Bicyclists are prohibited from using Metro property such as, but not limited, to poles, seats, and doors to support their bicycles.
In case of emergency evacuation of a Metro train, and/or upon direction of a Metro Train Operator, Metro Station Manager, Metro Transit Police or city/county police or fire officials, bicycles shall be placed on top of the seats and left on the trains.
Bicycles must be clean, free of excess grease and dirt, and not have sharp projections.
Bicyclists must wait for trains as far away from the granite edge of the platform as possible
Bicyclists are prohibited from allowing their bicycles to interfere with passengers on the platform when boarding or leaving train.
If these guidelines are not observed, bicyclists are subject to local fines and/or arrest by Metro. Additionally, the public conduct ordinances of the respective local jurisdictions provide for the possibility of fines and/or arrest and prosecution for violation of those ordinances.

(Some items were edited for flow and wordiness)

Sure, some of these prohibitions or guidelines are warranted. What passenger wants to have a bike with prohibition #19 oozing out of near their freshly-pressed suit? Committing prohibition #10 on a platform just isn't smart and when the crush of rush hour is upon the District, it may be prudent to employ prohibition #1.

When taken together; however, the perception is that a bicycle is a potentially dangerous device. The tone of the policy implies that the system is burdened by bikes and if it could, it would restrict them entirely or at least regulate them as they did in the past when they required a permit to travel with a bicycle (page 8). According to prohibition #16, if a bike potentially could cause an inconvenience, make your bike stop what its doing and beg for forgiveness. Sorry parents with your children just learning to ride, prohibition #8 applies to you. If bicyclists do not follow the guidelines, they are subject to prohibition #22.

In contrast, we have the aforementioned BART, which as similar restrictions on its bike rule page but seem much more civil. For example the second guideline says:

"Regardless of any other rule, bikes are never allowed on crowded cars. Use your good judgment and only board cars that can comfortably accommodate you and your bicycle. Hold your bike while on the trains."

Again, the tone appears much more accommodating, like BART wants bicyclists to transport themselves and there bikes - together. BART assumes that bicyclists will use common sense and be courteous.

In New York City, where the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operates one of the largest subway systems in the world, it could be assumed that because the system is old and the railcars are very narrow when compared to the width of Metrorail cars that they have restrictions that are equal if not more stringent, that violation of the rules would be punishable by jail, fine or worse.

Nope. You'd be wrong.

The assumption on MTA's safety page appears to have a similar tone to BART and anticipates that passengers with bikes will act responsibly and and show courtesy. MTA has 8 simple rules for riding its system that appears to be summarized by the last of its rules:

"Courtesy + common sense = bicycle safety. Consideration for others along with reasonable judgment help produce a safer, more comfortable environment for everyone, including bicyclists."

Metro's policy toward bikes appears much more restrictive because it implies a certain level of discomfort with allowing bikes on its system. If the words "stroller" or "suitcase" replaced bikes, the restrictions would seem a little silly. Actually, many of the rules regarding restrictions on use of the center doors and avoiding boarding during peak hours are the same across each system, it's just that Metro appears to want to ensure your compliance -- or else.

Metro now has a great opportunity to change its tone regarding how it interacts with the bicycling public. Its plan to encourage access to its stations will mean that more people will be interested in not only bringing their bike to the station bringing their bike with them to their destination. Metro should examine how BART and MTA view its bicyclist and make an effort to change its bike-related rules and its tone. After all, changing some of the more interesting rules, like #12, would be a step in the right direction.

Far Northeast Livability Study

2011-04-29T12:23:00.000-04:00

(photo courtesy of DDOT
historical photo archive)

DDOT Supervisory Transportation Planner, Jim Sebastian provided information about the Far Northeast Livability Study, which will present transportation and other development recommendations including those that support pedestrian and bicycle improvements.

The purpose of the study is to improve access to transportation options and increase the level of safety in the use of transportation modes.

The community meeting will be Saturday, April 30, 2011 between 10:00a to 12:00p at the Department of Employment Services headquarters, a few steps from the Minnesota Avenue Metro station.

The address is:
4058 Minnesota Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20019

For more information visit the website, contact Gabe Onyeador at Gabe.Onyeador@dc.gov or call (202) 671-0590

May BAC Meeting

2011-04-28T19:21:00.000-04:00

The DC Bicycle Advisory Council will meet Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 6:00pm.

Discussion will include:

Public Transit and Bike Parking with Kristin M. Haldeman, WMATA
Capital Bike Share Expansion update
Anacostia River Trail update
Committee updates

Our meetings are held at:
One Judiciary Square
441 4th Street NW
11th Floor, South
Washington, DC 20001

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BAC meetings are open to the public; however, you will need government-issued identification in enter the building. Limited bike parking is available at the building entrance and is at the 4th street exit of the Judiciary Square Station on the Red Line.

Does Cabi have staying power?

2011-04-27T17:39:00.000-04:00

Just another pretty face?
(photo by R. Myers)

Remember former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin? When she was selected by John McCain as his running mate in August of 2008 during his Presidential campaign, some said that her looks, the fact that she was a woman, her eye winks, her "momma grizzlies" and "you betchas", helped invigorate the McCain campaign and the Republican party. She was popular, and some have even said cool.

However, according to a recent Gallop / USA Today poll as discussed by Jon Terbush of TPM, 38 percent of respondents said they viewed Palin favorably, while 53 percent said they viewed her unfavorably, which is the worse rating she has experienced since she arrived from Alaska.

Currently, the region's Capital Bikeshare system (Cabi) is riding a wave of popularity. It's new, it's attractive and and most people like it. It fills a transportation gap that cars, Metro and walking couldn't completely fill. However, is that popularity based purely on how the bikes look, because is affordable or is it a substantive reason based on the view that Cabi as a better transportation alternative for short or medium distances trips? Once the notion of coolness ebbs, will people still use the system?

After years of fits and starts, the District and it's neighbor are aggressively looking to bicycling as a viable transportation alternative to the automobile and even public transportation. In an article in the Atlantic by Kaid Benfield, Director of the Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, he discusses how bicycling in the District is now cool thanks to Capital Bikeshare.

Citing an article by the Washington Post's Ashley Halsey, he states that the popularity of Cabi is due partly aesthetic reasons:

"The popularity of the program is due to the attractiveness of the sturdy red bikes--every distinctive Capital Bikeshare vehicle on the street is a rolling advertisement for the program--and its incredible convenience. The system is very easy to use, and riders may pick up a bike at any station and drop it off at any station, perfect for short, one-way trips."

That said, if the aesthetics of the Cabi system are one of the reason why it is now popular, what happens when the system gets old and more bikes are stolen?

According to Eleanor Beardsley of NPR, the Paris bike sharing program had a serious problem with theft and vandalism. The program, Vélib, had approximately 16,000 of the total 20,000 bikes replaced due to vandalism or theft. Of that amount a total of 8,000 bikes were stolen. While reported thefts from the Cabi system have been very low, Wikipedia lists information about several bike sharing programs that have failed due to theft. Like other cities with bike sharing systems, some operators failed to account for the replacement of stolen or vandalized bikes, which leads to a lack of available bikes for use, which could lead to people viewing the system unfavorably.

To look at a bike sharing system that did fail, we need only look at the District's own defunct Smartbike system. Under an agreement with Clear Channel communications and the District Department of Transportation, Smartbike opened in 2008 with fanfare and accolades. While theft did not appear to be a major cause for Smartbike's failure, Lydia DePillis of the Washington City Paper wrote that its demise was probably inevitable. Only two years after its introduction, a lack of advertising of the program, the selling of long-term membership only, and a limited number of bikes (only 120 bikes at 10 stations) hastened its end -- plus, and let's be honest, the bikes looked kinda blah.

If the use of Cabi is purely related to its novelty and not due to it's effectiveness as a viable transportation option, it could end up like dozens of other under utilized or abandoned systems. To avoid that, here are some suggestions:

Continue Expansion.
One of the basic reasons why bike sharing programs fail is because they do not reach enough people. The Vélib system in Paris is considered a success because people use it. People use it because its every where. This does not mean that Cabi should haphazardly open stations but it should have a plan that increases accessibility and connectivity to the system core.

Foster relationships with businesses.
The Living Social deal dramatically increased the number of Cabi users is a few days. This put bike sharing in the consciousness of not only people in the area but people around the world. To continue reaching new customers, Cabi and the District government should work with businesses to adopt bike sharing as an alternative to maintaining vehicles to travel relatively short distances or relying on cab to move about the city. Cabi has a corporate sponsorship program that could greatly expand the system if they encourage businesses to purchase a bike station in exchange for advertising or branding bikes or stations.

Foster relationships with communities.
An important aspect missing from Cabi's introduction is reaching out to District communities. As the system expands, it needs to show the benefits of bike sharing. Bikes are not just for children but its a great way to get somewhere local quickly and relatively inexpensively. Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, civic associations and religious organizations can be a great way to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system. Further, a sustained effort by Cabi and DDOT could show people who live in currently under served areas that the system is also for them.

Treat it like transportation and not a gimmick.
In Paris, which has a well-developed public transportation system, Vélib complements it. Previous iterations of bike sharing systems seemed to treat bike sharing as a perpetual pilot, something that is here today but not in the long-term financial plan. The District, Arlington and future jurisdictional adopters should look at bike sharing just like roads or public transportation.

Keep the system attractive.
The Cabi bikes are attractive, as Kaid Benfield said; however, eventually all things eventually fail. Since the system is still relatively new, it is unclear just how expensive it is to transport and service the bikes. If Cabi develops a reputation for poor maintenance or shabby-looking equipment, it could discourage use.

Hopefully, Cabi is not just pretty-faced bike sharing system. While it needs to be attractive is also needs have substantive uses; it needs to remain practical and accessible for it to be ultimately successful. Cabi should not be seen as a passing fancy but also as a legitimate transportation alternative for everyone.

DDOT should strive to work with local organizations so that they understand the system's health and environmental benefits and a vested in its success. If it succeeds in the District, it could mark a new chapter in bike sharing, one that doesn't end with the word "failed" or the phrase "former Governor of Alaska".