TheWashCycle

New protected bike lanes planned for 6th NE, Brentwood Parkway and Pennsylvania west of the White House

Back in January, DDOT submitted an addition to the 2015 Financially Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan (CLRP) in the form of 10 new protected or normal bike lanes that it would like to build.

DDOT recently submitted Description Forms about these bike lanes that give a little more information about what is planned. In every case DDOT is talking about a road diet. You can read all of the forms here (Attachment A, starting on page A-1)

4th Street SW from M Street to P Street This project will reduce roadway capacity through converting the existing roadway configuration from four general purpose travel lanes to two lanes with a center turn lane and bicycle lanes.

Length: 0.3 mile

Cost $10,000

6th Street NE from Florida Avenue to K Street This project will implement recommendations from the recent Florida Ave study. It will reduce roadway capacity through the conversion of the existing roadway from two-way to one-way operation with one general purpose travel lane and two-way protected bicycle lanes on the east side of the road.

Length: 0.26 mile

Cost: $30,000

7th Street NW from New York Avenue to N Street This project will reduce roadway capacity through converting the existing roadway configuration from four general purpose travel lanes to two lanes with a center turn lane and bicycle lanes.

Length: 0.3 mile

Cost: $20,000

12th Street NW from Pennsylvania Avenue to Massachusetts Avenue 12th St is a four lane, one-way northbound road with two rush-hour restricted parking lanes. This project will reduce rush-hour roadway capacity by one lane by changing the east side rush-hour restricted parking lane to full-time parking and adding a bicycle lane.

Length: 0.64 mile

Cost $20,000

14th Street NW from Florida Avenue to Columbia Road This project will reduce roadway capacity through converting the existing roadway configuration from four general purpose travel lanes to two lanes with a center turn lane and bicycle lanes. It will connect existing bike lanes, making it the longest continuous bike lane corridor in the city.

Length: 0.52 mile

Cost: $20,000

Adams Mill Road NW from Kenyon Street to Klingle Road Adams Mill Road has two southbound lanes and one northbound lane. This project will reduce roadway capacity through the elimination of one of the southbound lanes to provide room for the addition of 5’ bicycle lanes on either side of the roadway. It will provide a bicycle connection between the National Zoo and Mount Pleasant to Klingle Road/Porter Street and neighborhoods to the west of Rock Creek Park.

Length: 0.24 mile

Cost: $10,000

Brentwood Parkway NE from 6th Street/Penn Street to 9th Street This project will reduce roadway capacity through converting the existing roadway configuration from four general purpose travel lanes to three lanes. Traffic analysis is still required to determine which lane would be eliminated. The extra space will be used for bicycle lanes on either side of the road, or a two-way protected bicycle lane on one side of the street. This will connect the 6th St NE bike lanes to the 9th St Bridge.

Length: 0.22

Cost: $10,000

New Jersey Avenue NW from H Street to Louisiana Avenue This project will reduce roadway capacity through converting the existing roadway configuration from four general purpose travel lanes to two lanes with a center turn lane and bicycle lanes.

Length: 0.45 mile

Cost: $25,000

Pennsylvania Avenue NW Protected Bicycle Lanes Pennsylvania Avenue is a four to six lane corridor with two additional parking lanes. This project will reduce roadway capacity by reducing the existing travel lanes by one to two lanes and installing protected bicycle lanes.

o 17th to 18th Streets will be reduced from 6 to 4 lanes

o 18th to 20th Streets will be reduced from 5 to 4 lanes

o 20th to 26th Streets will be reduced from 6 to 4 lanes

o 26th to 28th Streets will be reduced from 5 to 4 lanes

o 28th to 29th Streets will be reduced from 4 to 2 lanes

Length: 1.03 mile

Cost: $250,000

Wheeler Road SE from Alabama Avenue to Southern Avenue This project will reduce roadway capacity through converting the existing roadway configuration from four general purpose travel lanes to two lanes with a center turn lane and bicycle lanes.

Length: 0.94 mile

Cost: $35,000

The TPB meeting materials include several other bike-relevant items.

• About the I-66 Multimodal improvement project "The Multimodal Study identified approximately 60 capital and operating projects inside the Beltway. The Supplemental Report examined projects deemed to be the most regionally significant of the 60, based on (1) projects that can impact bicycling and walking for relatively large numbers of people and (2) projects that enhance the connectivity and functionality of the regional network. Sample projects include:

o Custis trail/W&OD trail improvements

o Fairfax Drive connector

o Arlington Boulevard trail- Glebe Rd. to City of Fairfax

o West Falls Church connector trail

o VA 7 – Tysons to Falls Church

• A slidshow with this chart showing that the use of biking and walking are expected to grow faster than population while VMT is forecast to grow slower.

• And this slide of current and forecast mode share by region

• In 2010, the Transportation Planning Board received a TIGER grant to pay for the Regional Priority Bus Project. There are several things this project aims to do, one of which is to add a bike cage to the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station.

For improvements at the Franconia-Springfield transit station, the construction contract was awarded in June. The intention is for construction to start this month (September) with concrete work completed by November. Installation of the bike cage and bus canopies will take place through the winter, with work completed by March 2016.

Driving makes a comeback in DC commuting, biking down (but not in Silver Spring)

The Census' 2014 American Community Survey data is out, and the DC area showed mixed results in bike commuting.

In DC, bike commuting went down from 4.5% of all commuters last year to 3.9%, a substantial drop to the lowest level since 2011. Driving was the big winner in 2014 rising in DC to 40.7% from 37.6%. Meanwhile, walking is down to 13.1% from 13.6% and transit dropped from 38.5% to 36.1%. 

Among major cities, DC fell from #2 in bike commuting to #4, behind Portland, San Francisco and Minneapolis. Portland, meanwhile, has cracked 7% mode share.

Elsewhere in the region:

Arlington is up to 1.8% from 1.7%  and Alexandria is way down, to 1.0% from 1.7% last year. 

Silver Spring is up to 1.3% from 0.8% last year - making Silver Spring the brightest spot in this year's report.

From the archives: The 13th Street Cycletrack - DC's first!

Continuing to look at old Washington Post articles I learned, from this article about the 1999 Metropolitan Branch Trail formal groundbreaking ceremony, that DC used to have a cycletrack-like facility on 13th Street from Logan Circle "all the way to the Maryland border"

Bicyclists and drivers have long gotten on each other's nerves, and that tension is widely blamed for the "retrocession" of 13th Street NW.

In the late 1970s, the city government designated one lane of that thoroughfare for bikes only. The lane ran from Logan Circle all the way to the Maryland border. It was widely hailed by bicyclists as the beginning of a cycling-commuting revolution.

But the lane was sparsely used, and it was quietly returned to automotive traffic in the early 1990s. Bike enthusiasts say the 13th Street lane would have been used more if motorists weren't so hostile and confrontational toward cyclists.

I'd never heard about this before and the article makes it sound like the bike-only lane was the width of one full size traffic lane, but there are other errors in the article that raise questions - like the fact that 13th Street doesn't go all the way to Maryland (not uninterrupted at least). Also there is this:

It's called the Metropolitan Branch Trail. It runs for 7.7 miles, from Union Station to Silver Spring. Within a few months, the 10-foot-wide trail will be fully paved. 

Though there was a groundbreaking (attended by Hillary Clinton) at the time, Levey may have been confused about the timeline. 

2nd Annual Ride to Conquer Cancer

WHEN: Saturday, September 19^th and Sunday, September 20^th

WHAT: On Saturday, participants will begin the 2^nd annual Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 150-mile cycling fundraiser benefiting Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Sibley Memorial, Suburban and Howard County General Hospitals.

Moments before the start, an executive from Johns Hopkins along with event organizers will address hundreds of participants and share the total number of participants and funds raised at the 2015 Ride.

WHY: This year, it is estimated that one in every four deaths in the United States will be caused by cancer.The Ride is a global event, which brings together communities of riders, survivors and their supporters for one common goal: to conquer cancer. Funds raised through The Ride to Conquer Cancer support vital cancer research and accelerates transformational cancer discoveries at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Sibley Memorial, Suburban and Howard County General Hospitals.

 

DAY 1 – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th

Start Line/Opening Ceremonies – RFK Stadium Lot 6, 2400 East Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20003

·       6:30am – Media check in

·       7:00am – Opening ceremonies begin 

Lunch Stop – The Business Side, 6835 Olney Laytonsville Rd, Laytonsville, MD 20882

·       7:45am to 2:30pm

Overnight Camp & Evening Activities – Mount Airy Activity Grounds, 1001 Twin Arch Rd, Mount Airy, MD 21771

·       11:30am to 8:00pm (last rider expected at 7:30pm)

·       Riders will enjoy a warm meal, hot showers, live entertainment, and a night under the stars

 

DAY 2 – SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th

 

Breakfast – Mount Airy Activity Grounds, 1001 Twin Arch Rd, Mount Airy, MD 21771

·       5:30am to 8:00am (last rider to be en route by 8:00am)

Lunch Stop – Cloverly Park,900 Briggs Chaney Rd, Colesville, MD 20905

·       8:00am to 3:30pm

Finish Line – RFK Stadium Lot 6, 2400 East Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20003

·       10:00am to 6:00pm (last rider expected by 6:00pm)

Rooftop bike parking

At the new Silver Spring Transit Center along the Met Branch Trail. It opens on Sunday.

What's in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act of 2015

Holy mackerel, Cheh's Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act has a lot in it. In short:

• Lots of data reporting
• complete streets policy
• pedestrian and bicycle priority zones
• stop as yield  Idaho Stop (sorry Crickey)
• dooring language change
• bicycle insurance provisions
• universal street safety education mandate
• targeted for-hire vehicle operator training
• study of a remediation and deferred disposition program
• escalating fines for repeat offenders
• tougher distracted driving law
• a new penalty for aggressive driving
• required side-underrun guards and blind spot mirrors or cameras on trucks
• study of pedestrian alert devices on District-owned large vehicles
• access to video for crash victims
• creation of a major crash-review task force

Thanks to Greg Billing to proving me a link to the bill. 

Unpacking it a bit.

1. DDOT will have to regularly publish crash data, sidewalk closure information and information on citizen petitions for for traffic calming measures on its website, MPD will do the same with moving violations. DDOT will also report annually on dangerous locations. Every 5 years DDOT will report with recommendations on how to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety.

2. DDOT is instructed to create Bicycle and Pedestrian Priority Areas (at least one per ward) where right-turns-on-red can be abolished, speed limits lowered and more TCO and camera-enforcement can be utilized.

3. DDOT will adopt a complete streets policy. [They have one now, but is one issued by the DDOT Director, and thus can be removed by them at any time. This one will be law.]

4. The law will be changed to allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, just as pedestrians do. DC would adopt an Idaho Stop law. (I had to reread it to catch it) Cyclists approaching a stop sign or stop light will be required to slow down, and if required for safety, stop before entering the intersection. After slowing or stopping, the cyclist will yield the ROW, after slowing and yielding the cyclist may proceed through the intersection.

5. Dooring will be redefined to explicitly include bicycles.  

6. Bicycle insurance will be governed by the same laws as motor-vehicle insurance, and bicycle insurance providers may require policy holders to register their bikes.

7. All schools will have a curriculum available to them on safe cycling and walking.

8. For-hire vehicle operators will be required to learn about issues related to bicycle and pedestrian safety as part of existing mandatory training. And those using digital dispatch will require additional training.

9. The Mayor is required to study a remediation and deferred disposition program for people committing moving violations. 

10. Repeat offenders will see larger fines - up to 5 times as much for 4th time offenses. This will be true for speeding offenses, crosswalk violations, right-of-way violations, stopping or standing violations (including in a bike lane, sorry UPS). 

11. Drivers will no longer be able to use the phone when the car is not moving. 

12. Drivers who commit 3 or more or a set of violations (like speeding or improper lane changes) can be cited for aggressive driving, which carries a penalty of $200 and 2 points and mandatory driver education.

13. All heavy-duty vehicles registered in the District will be required to have side under run guards, reflective blind spot warning stickers and either blind spot mirrors or cameras. This is currently the law for District-owned vehicles.

14. The Mayor is instructed to report to the council as to whether Circulator buses and District-owned heavy duty vehicles can be equipped with pedestrian alert technology.

15. If a District owned camera captures video of a crash all vehicle operators involved in that crash will be informed that the footage exists, the footage will be preserved and the parties will be assisted in acquiring the footage.

16. A Major Crash Review Task Force will be established to review every crash investigated by the Major Crash Investigation Unit and as a result, recommend changes to reduce the number of major crashes.

17. The Kitchen sink

This would represent a major improvement in the safety of DC streets for vulnerable users and put DC at the forefront of American cities with respect to pedestrian and cyclist safety. It's ambitious, but everything on here represents something for which consensus existed among the Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force (which was co-chaired by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and AAA Mid-Atlantic).  

Cheh Introduces “Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act of 2015”

I don't have time to write about this now, but as one who was on the Bicycle & Pedestrian Working Group I find this welcome news. (bolded part broken out by me).

Today, September 16^th, Councilmember Mary M. Cheh (D – Ward 3), Chair of the Committee on Transportation & the Environment, introduced the “Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act of 2015.” The bill provides a comprehensive update to the District’s laws and regulations as they pertain to motorist, bicycle, and pedestrian safety.

“Earlier this year, I convened a Bicycle & Pedestrian Working Group to foster a deliberative, thoughtful, and open discussion on how to best update the District’s approach to motor, bicycle, and pedestrian safety. The “Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act of 2015” is the end result of months of collaboration between my office, District agencies, law enforcement, and transportation advocates. By gathering everyone around the same table, we were able to debate and discuss what safety measures have been successful and what needs improvement from a variety of perspectives. This bill is a comprehensive and inclusive approach to making the roadways and sidewalks safer for all,” said Councilmember Cheh.

The bill would

• make a significant amount of crash, traffic violation, and closure data more readily accessible to the public
• establish the Bicycle and Pedestrian Priority Area Program to designate safety enhancement priority areas across the District in locations with heavy bicycle and pedestrian traffic
• incorporate a Complete Streets policy within DDOT to ensure that the construction,  reconstruction, and maintenance of roads includes infrastructure that accommodates all multimodal users, including those with disabilities
• and require the Mayor to study the feasibility of a remediation and deferred disposition program that would enable a person guilty of a moving violation to take a safety course in lieu of paying some or all of the associated fine.

“The “Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act” changes the way our agencies address and prioritize safety concerns in the built environment, and it also encourages users of our transportation system to engage in safer behavior –in this way we can establish a system of mutual accountability. For example, one aspect of the bill includes greater oversight of DDOT’s infrastructure improvements and traffic modifications, while another section of the bill prohibits aggressive driving, and creates an escalating fine system for repeat offenders of moving violations directly affecting bicyclists and pedestrians. The bill also establishes a universal street and bicycle safety education curriculum for District schoolchildren,” said Councilmember Cheh.

The Bicycle & Pedestrian Working Group was co-chaired by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and AAA Mid-Atlantic throughout six open forum meetings in May and June. Other members of the fourteen member working group include: All Walks DC, Bicycle Advisory Council, DC Surface Transit, Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking (DISB), District of Columbia Insurance Federation (DCIF), District Department of Transportation (DDOT), Mayor’s Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Pedestrian Advisory Council, PULSE Issues & Advocacy, and the United Spinal Association. The Working Group is currently composing a final report of recommendations to be presented to the Committee on Transportation & the Environment.

“In addition to the Working Group meetings, I also coordinated site visits with DDOT, the relevant ANCs, MPD, and bicycle and pedestrian advocates to the top five most dangerous intersections in the District to evaluate what short-term and long-term changes can be made to mitigate safety concerns. Being on-site with residents and connecting them with the agency decision makers was an incredibly helpful way to evaluate the infrastructure and behavioral challenges we face when attempting to improve our transportation system. This bill, the Working Group report, and dangerous intersection site visits are all components of a larger effort to reform and modernize the way the District responds to safety hazards on the roadways. The input we received from the community has been invaluable throughout this evaluation process, and I encourage residents to remain engaged and invested in this continued effort,” said Councilmember Cheh.

A new bikeway along Virginia Ave SE will connect the Anacostia to Capitol Hill

CSX is rebuilding the railroad tunnel under Virginia Avenue SE, which means tearing up and rebuilding the streetscape. When the project is finished, the street will have a new sidewalk and bikeway next to each other, along with a new connection to a trail that runs along the Anacostia River.

The Virginia Ave Tunnel Project recently released renderings of what the streetscape, including the trail, will look like when it's finished; as part of a release of detailed plans.

The project will come with a bikeway along Virginia from 2nd to 9th Streets SE, including a small spur where Eye Street is now. There are future plans to connect the bikeway to 11th Street, creating an extension to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. This would be one of two planned "mall connectors," the other being along New Jersey and 2nd SE.

The plans include more than the street and trail. On the north side of H, between 1st and 2nd, WC Smith Developments has proposed creating an "H Street Greenspace" between H Street and the railroad tracks. The trail will cross over the tracks at 2nd and eventually through Garfield Park to 1st Street.

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail status in 2010

The DDOT Public Space Committee is accepting comments on these plans until September 20th and some ANC members are asking for comments too. On October 15, 2015  November 12 at 6:30 p.m., 1100 4th Street, SW, Washington DC, in the Hearing Room on the 2nd Floor, at the conclusion of the review period, DDOT Public Space Committee will hold a special meeting to provide their feedback on the submitted plans, evaluate community recommendations and make a final decision about the scope and nature of the restorations to be implemented. Prior to that DDOT, ANC 6B and ANC 6D are hosting a meeting on this on Monday, Sept. 28, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at 200 I Street, S.E., Washington DC, in the community room.

Virginia Avenue will look like this:

From 2nd to 4th, the trail will be a 10' wide shared use path on the south side of Virginia Avenue along side a wide green area. To reduce stormwater runoff, the trail will be built with porous asphalt pavement and the project will include porous asphalt parking lanes, several bioretention areas and permeable pavers for some sidewalks.

Going east from 4th Street, the path will split into an 8-foot wide bike path and a 6-foot wide sidewalk with 3 feet of separation between them and a wide green space to the south. This is a slight variation on a similar design for C Street, NE.

Part of the block of Eye Street between 4th and Virginia Avenue will be removed; the space will used to increase the size of the existing pocket park and create a 10-foot wide bike path connection to the remaining Eye Street stub.

The 8 foot bike trail/6-foot sidewalk configuration will continue to 9th.

But east of 7th, the green space on the south side of the trail will narrow and the number of driveway crossings will increase. 

 East of 9th, the plan is for the trail to cross the Virginia Avenue Park along the north side.

The path through the park will be built by "others" and is not a part of the reconstruction.The park will feature a lawn, dog park, benches, catch basins and an interpretive area.

On the east side of 11th, the rail portal will be moved east creating more space. While some of that space will be used to eventually extend 12th Street to M, it would be good to use part of what remains to create a direct trail connection from the end of the Virginia Avenue Park Trail to the existing ART, instead of moving trail users along 11th and M Streets.

There's also space for a playground that would be more shaded, and more inviting, than the one that currently exists on the Hobson Apartments property south of K Street SE between 11th and 12th. 

RFK Stadium and Parking would be better as a Recreation Area

RFK site as envisioned by NCPC

Events DC is hosting the first of two community meetings to discuss its study on the future of the RFK Stadium site this Wednesday. There are no shortage of plans for utilizing the area for something other than a sprawling parking lot, so let me add mine here. It's actually not too different from ideas that have already been pitched, like the grass roots effort to turn the northern piece into the Capital Riverside Youth Sports Park, or the NCPC's RFK Stadium Site Redevelopment Study from 2006 which stated that

NCPC planners believe the RFK site should be an environmentally friendly gateway into the monumental core. It should include a large waterfront park, with recreational fields and open space, augmented by commemorative works and connected to the surrounding neighborhoods by pedestrian and bicycle paths

My idea is to turn the area, at least the area east of 22nd street, into Kennedy Brothers National Recreation Area. The land is already owned by the National Parks Service and so keeping it in their hands is probably the easiest option, but other NRA's are managed by other organizations, so it might be possible to have DC Parks manage it - since technically it's a part of the federal government. With RFK Stadium and the Ethel Kennedy Bridge nearby, keeping the connection to the Kennedy's - with sports and recreation areas especially - would be great way to honor the family which includes a President, a Senator, a cabinet Secretary and a WWII aviator who died in action. Also, it would likely gain support from some MA Congress members. 

Fill the area with sports fields and facilities, playgrounds, appropriate open green space, expanded trails and a simple memorial. Perhaps a museum could be included too.

The space, larger than many other urban parks, would make it possible to add some more niche facilities as well. For example,  the 2012 DC Olympic bid at one time considered the RFK site for the needed velodrome (although later that was moved to Baltimore at a site TBD), but the area would be a great place to build one. Attempts have been made to build one in Long Bridge Park and more recently at Buzzard's Point, but both have fizzled. But a real velodrome - like the one in Lehigh Valley, PA or the one frequently considered outside Philadelphia, could bring regiular events to DC, while creating a unique recreation opportunity too. 

Capital Riverside Youth Sports Park

It won't be easy. The politicians seem to already support a new football stadium.

CSX donates land in Pennsylvania for 9/11 National Memorial Trail

The September 11th National Memorial Trail is a 1,300-mile commemorative trail linking the National September 11th Memorial at the World Trade Center site in New York City, the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington County, VA and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, PA. and it just got some good news from CSX railroad last week when they agreed to donate 130 acres of undeveloped land, including miles of railroad ROW, in Pennsylvania to the project.

The properties CSX is contributing to the 9/11 trail traverse approximately 5.6 miles of undeveloped land between Garrett and Berlin, Penn., and four miles of undeveloped land between Berlin and Shanksville, Penn. The properties were previously used as a right-of-way for railroad operations. CSX has owned many of the properties for 145 years or more, since the 1870s.

It is envisioned as a multi-use corridor for hiking and bicycling and features an accompanying quiet, back-road motor route for driving, motorcycling and public and tour transportation. The Trail also has been designed to link historic points of interest along the route where the resiliency and courage inherent in American character have shone throughout our history.

Here's more about how it will connect to DC and the site includes a map of the Pentagon Memorial Trail Circuit in and around DC. 

The southern leg of the trail begins at the Pentagon Memorial extending northwest along the 184-mile Chesapeake & Ohio National Historical Park (www.nps.gov/CHOH) then connecting the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage (www.GAPtrail.org) completed to Pittsburgh. It is planned to proceed north for approximately 25 miles from the Great Allegheny Passage near Rockwood to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

The 337-mile eastern leg from New York City’s National September 11 Memorial & Museum to the Pentagon Memorial would align with the East Coast Greenway. 

The Great Allegheny Passage is in Garrett, by the way - so this land will make up almost all of the new right-of-way needed to connect the Pentagon to Shanksville.