DDOT presents updated Foggy Bottom protected bike lane plans

This week, DDOT presented design options for protected bike lanes in the 20th/21st/22nd street corridor. The purpose of the project is to identify a specific path for north- and south-running protected bicycle lanes between Dupont Circle, the western side of Downtown, and the National Mall on either 20th, 21st, or 22nd Street NW. The process started last spring, after discussions started in 2016, when DDOT hosted meeting #1. Planning won't be complete until 2021.  

Following the March meeting, they eliminated the option of a pair of one-way protected bike lanes on two streets and produced a 10% design for the three other alternatives. 

The three alternatives and sub-alternatives they're considered are:

1. A continuous two-way protected bike lane on the east side of 22nd Street from Massachusetts Ave to F Street
2. A continuous two-way protected bike lane on the east side of 21st Street from Florida Ave to Constitution Ave, and then
   • A Contraflow (northbound) unprotected bike lane and shared lane markings for southbound bicyclists from Florida Ave to New Hampshire Ave, or
   • A continuous two-way protected bike lane on the east side of 21st Street from New Hampshire Ave to Virginia Ave
3. A continuous two-way protected bike lane on the west side of 20th Street from Connecticut Ave to E Street

Alternative 1 does not provide a direct connection to the bike lanes on Q and R, but those could be extended if it's selected, or to the National Mall.  It has more right turn conflicts (2 high volume and 6 low volume) than the others, but it as fewer alley and driveway crossings than Alt 2. It's also 100% protected. 

Alt 1 at New Hampshire Avenue

At L Street, it would have a protected intersection corner, which would be a first for DC.

Alternative 2 Connects to Q and R and the National Mall, but is not 100% protected. Unlike the other alternatives, it has two left turn conflicts. It also has the most alley and driveway crossings.

Alt. 2 at New Hampshire

It would also include this complicated intersection at C Street, which is the result of the street going from one-way to two-way combined with the need for a truck inspection area at the curb.

Alt 2 at C Street

Alternative 3 connects to Q and R, but not the National Mall, though there is a potential for such a connection via Virginia Ave and C Street to continue on 20th Street. It has few turn conflicts and the fewest driveway crossings.

At New Hampshire Avenue, it also connects with L Street, where EB cyclists wanting to switch to 22nd are guided across the intersection with sharrows to a place where the PBL passes through a bump-out. Also, there are a few places where the current road widens at intersections. In those places, the space will be used to make a pedestrian island, with the PBL passing behind it. On the image below you can see that at M Street.

Alt 3 at New Hampshire

In some places the PBLs are behind parking and in others behind a raised buffer. Proposals will remove either a parking lane, a driving lane or both from each of the prospective streets to make room for the bicyclists. Many intersections will have separate light timing.

I don't bike through here often, but at first glance, I like Alt 3 the best.  DDOT is seeking comments through the end of January. To provide input, contact Megan Kanagy at [email protected] or visit the project website at https://www.dccycletrack.com/.

About 40 residents attended the meeting, which is not as many as I would've expected. And not all of them were in favor of the plan.

Kerry Bedard, a resident who lives on H and 21st streets, said implementing one of the three proposals would not reduce the number of bikers on sidewalks because bikers in the District do not use lanes that already exist.

“There are cyclists on the sidewalk every day, because they’re not required, or they don’t think they’re required, to use the bike lanes,” Bedard said. “They don’t know what the regulations are, nobody knows what the regulations are, and the bicycles should be licensed just like the cars are licensed.”

In this day and age I would have hoped that the media would have learned to not end an article with a fact claim that can be proven or disproved as this one can. Adding Protected Bike Lanes to a road definitely reduces the rate of sidewalk cycling (by 12% on 15th Street according to a 2010 study). 

I'll also say that it's rich to first state that you don't know whether or not cyclists are required to use bike lanes (they aren't) and then also complain because cyclists don't know what the regulations are (most probably do). But any legitimacy she might have had falls away when she calls for cyclists to be licensed. 

Comments

[Atlas]

I live in a rowhouse at 22nd and O, right in the middle of the affected area. I had a conflict that night, but I submitted written comments. Not that it will make any difference. We'll end up with (at most) a bit of white paint ignored by motorists; it'll arrive by 2025.

I'm so fed up with how dangerous these streets are that I've decided to move do a different part of Dupont. Every request for re-design or traffic calming over the years has been met with more or less the same response: "22nd St is a major arterial so we can't do anything to slow traffic here etc etc etc."

In the end, I realized that DDOT and the rest of the DC govt does not (or cannot) care about pedestrian/cyclist safety. If you want to be safe in that regard, you need to restrict yourself to the streets that are already "safer". The other streets will not change while Bow$er is in charge.

[Crickey]

I'm in the heart of that area. I think it'll actually work fairly well.

[drumz]

At least in that area if I'm on the sidewalk its because all the one way streets mean that I can either stay in heavy traffic for another 1/4 mile or I can slowly coast to my destination on wide sidewalks.

[Jacob Mason]

Planning won't be complete until 2021.

Why does it take so long just to do the planning? If our mayor actually wanted to move this faster, she certainly could.