In late February, DDOT Director Jeff Marootian testified before the District's Committee on Transportation & the Environment for their annual oversight hearing and during that he discussed a few items relevant to cyclists. There was also testimony from the Pedestrian and Bicycle advisory councils, ANC representative and various civic organizations about transportation.
First of all, Marootian talked about the District's biggest transportation project, the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, which includes several miles of bike facilities.
In 2018, we broke ground on the South Capitol Street Corridor project, which is the largest construction project in the agency’s history. Phase One is the replacement of the 67-year old Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge over the Anacostia River and includes new pedestrian and bicycle connections. Phase Two includes a new interchange on Suitland Parkway at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, plus reconstruction and streetscape improvements on South Capitol Street north of the Nationals Ballpark and on New Jersey Avenue north of M Street SE.
He also highlighted a couple of bicycle projects and it's kind of a sad list
We installed five miles of bike lanes and broke ground on the Met Branch Trail Fort Totten extension.
Worse is that DDOT told the BAC they did 3.7 miles of bike lanes. The same thing happened in 2018 when they said in the oversight hearing that they did more than 5 miles of bike lanes, but they told us they did 3.3 miles.
Another thing they talked about was bikeshare
The Capital Bikeshare Program continues to see steady ridership numbers, and, in FY 2018, DDOT added 13 Capital Bikeshare Stations across the District to provide even greater coverage. We also introduced an electric bike pilot deploying 80 e-bikes across the system this year. We have had positive feedback on this pilot and are preparing to announce a significant expansion in the coming months.
Separate from the Capital Bikeshare program, DDOT plans to launch an Adaptive Bikeshare program and will be conducting public outreach through March 2019 to better understand desired locations and times of operation.
DDOT transitioned the dockless program from a demonstration period to an application-based, official permit program in January 2019. The demonstration period allowed DDOT to collect data and better understand potential safety and operational enhancements needed for a longer-term program to be successful. We also realized the need to invest in more bike racks across the District and quickly mobilized a “Rack Attack” to install over 300 bike racks in the last year.
During this time, we also saw the dockless bikes being rapidly supplemented or replaced by dockless scooters. When I testified a year ago, there were no escooters in operation, and, in that time, we have been able to adjust our program to allow for this popular new mobility option. The Bowser Administration’s approach to this program is reflective of the way we view the ever-changing transportation landscape – we are open to innovation and supportive of new types of mobility that reduce dependence on single-occupancy vehicles and will continue to support these changes with pilots that allow for iteration, time for public feedback, and, ultimately, a thoughtful approach that serves the changing needs of a growing District.
And Vision Zero where they have a new Vision Zero division and director.
We also made significant progress on major Vision Zero projects, such as reconstructing the intersection of Benning Road and Minnesota Avenue NE, adding major safety improvements to Ward Circle, and breaking ground on long awaited streetscapes such as 14th Street NW
Vision Zero
DDOT’s top priority is safety, and it is at the center of all the work I have already highlighted today. While safety informs every decision we make, I want to focus on our work toward our Vision Zero goals over the past year. While the Vision Zero initiative aims to improve the safety of all modes of travel, special attention is focused on vulnerable users, such as pedestrians and cyclists. Under the Mayor’s leadership, we have taken a holistic, interagency approach, and we are committed to exploring all options to reach our goal.
In FY 2018 and 2019, DDOT introduced a number of safety initiatives including the elimination of dual turn conflicts, left turn hardening, the targeted prohibition of Right Turn on Red, the formation of the Vision Zero Working Group, the launch of the redesigned Vision Zero website, and the creation of the Vision Zero office at DDOT. We also implemented the Vision Zero rulemaking, which gives the District more tools to reach our goal through a variety of methods, including imposing higher fines for the most dangerous behaviors and creating slow zones near areas such as schools, recreation centers, and seniors centers.
We also look forward to continuing to deliver on our streetscape program, which aims to beautify our city while making it safer. In FY19, we will break ground on the long-awaited Maryland Ave NE project; fix some of our most troubled intersections, like Blair, 4th and Cedar NW; utilize an expedited planning and design process to begin to fix the safety problems along Alabama Avenue SE; and formally look at our options for making Connecticut Avenue safer.
Mary Cheh, before DDOT testified, said that she'd like the District to be more like Barcelona, with more space for bikes and pedestrians and more segregation of users. [If only she had some power to make that happen. Oh well, someday.]
Stop as Yield
"Stop as Yield" came up and Mary Cheh admitted that she already does that most of the time, but wasn't sure about the safety impacts of such a law. She said that she likes the status quo - stopping at stop signs is legally required, but never enforced - and argued that things are "OK now" but changing the law would make things less safe. Cheh seemed to set the standard for Stop as Yield as being something that would make cyclists safer (which in my opinion is the wrong way to look at it). While the BAC supported stop as yield, one resident spoke later against it.
Eastern Downtown Protected Bikeway
The Sierra Club testified in favor or more protected bike lanes and to bemoan the slow pace of bike lane construction, especially protected bike lane construction. They specifically made note of the stalled Eastern Downtown Bike lane project.
After the DDOT testimony, Cheh asked about the Eastern Downtown Bike lanes. Marootian said that it's the kind of project that has lots of challenging back and forth with the community and that it has not stalled, even though it doesn't seem to be progressing. She asked DDOT to be better at communicating about it and the barriers it's facing.
Charles Allen more aggressively pushed Marootian on the project, which goes through his ward. Marootian again didn't commit to a time frame, instead listing all the things that make this project complicated. Allen said that this has been complicated for a long time, but that it feels like we've made zero progress the last few years. He wanted to know how we get to a decision. Marootian then made it clear that the problem is community resistance and said he didn't want this project to get installed and then have to remove it or change it because "the community does not embrace the project". So we're waiting for the community to be comfortable with it. Allen basically says that it's time for the Mayor/DDOT to show some political courage and make a decision. And Allen said something similar to what he said last year, which is that someone will be angry about this either way, so let's just make the best decision and then Allen promised to back them up. Hopefully he won't be saying it again next year.
Striping and Vision Zero
Several people representing community groups, ANCs and organizations like the Sierra Club and WABA showed up to discuss Vision Zero failures ranging from slow repairs and stalled projects, to poor public space permitting and the failure to release required data. WABA said that DDOT is sitting on an infrastructure debt, and that 2019 is the time to start paying that debt down. If nothing else, all the testimony made it clear that the idea that Vision Zero is a goal worth pursuing is permeating the public consciousness.
Allen voiced his frustration over the pace of Vision Zero, and to ask about some specific projects. First he asked about the maintenance of crosswalk and bike lane markings, and the lack of focus on replacing them when they're removed, especially when utilities do work. There's a $1000 fine for not replacing them, why is that not getting it done? Marootian said that striping work is seasonal, weather-dependent work, creating delays. But Allen pushed back on whether or not utility companies are even required to restore markings, because while Marootian says they're supposed to, Allen says they don't - or, at least, that he doesn't see it getting done. Allen was happy to see the hiring of a Vision Zero director and the other steps being taken, but he doesn't see the "big sweeping change" that Vision Zero necessitates.
In between the Advisory Council testimony and DDOT testimony some residents testified against flex posts installed on 21st St. NE and traffic lights that were installed in the same area with inadequate public input. [It's going to be a long tough slog to safer streets if every single safety improvement has to be litigated in full.]
Robert Gardner of WABA started his presentation by discussing crash data and new techniques for tracking "near miss" and then about DPW's statement about enforcing bike lane violations, which WABA found lacking.
Dave Thomas Circle
Conor Shaw from the Eckington Civic Association talked about Dave Thomas Circle*, the need to make it safer and he said that the current plan doesn't give enough consideration to cyclists and pedestrians. Cheh asked Marootian about it, and he agreed that it's a mess and stated that they can't fix it with short term fixes. He then added that fixing it won't be enough without fixing the roads that feed into it, specifically Florida Avenue. Cheh found his answer unsatisfactory, and asked for a timeline. He said they have to evaluate all the options and then listed a bunch of issues that keep DDOT from having a timeline. He hopes to have clarity within the next 6 months.
Foundry Branch Trestle and Palisades Trail
An ANC rep spoke about the public meeting on this, that was then upcoming, and about the lack of communication about it. Cheh used it as an opportunity to talk about an idea to connect Arizona Ave to the Capital Crescent Trail, which she has asked DDOT to do, but which has languished in the planning process. She also said it could keep "high-speed cyclists" on the Capital Crescent Trail, because neighbors have said they don't want them near their homes (eye roll). It sounds like Cheh is trying to offer the Arizona Ave connection as an alternative to the Palisades Trail, even though it wouldn't be. We should do both.
Cheh asked Marootian about the Arizona Ave connection to the CCT, and he said that this was being considered in the Palisades Trolley Trail feasibility study; adding that it includes lots of right-of-way issues and the need for a retaining wall.
Scooters
A representative of Bird showed up to argue that the 10mph speed limit is bad for mobility in DC, and it was interesting to see that WABA now sees itself as the advocacy organization for those who bike and those who scoot. (WABA is also a pretty good advocate for pedestrians, so that's not too surprising).
Cheh asked about the 10mph speed restriction. Marootian said the 10mph limit is the law in the District. [This is incorrect. It is illegal to ride a PMD at a speed faster than 10mph, but the law does not say a PMD must be capped at that speed. In a similar way that you can buy a car that goes 100mph even though you can't legally drive one that fast].
She then asked him if he thinks the speed should be raised, and he said DDOT would like to look at data when they have more, and best practices from elsewhere. Cheh suggested drafting legislation to start the conversation, and that the legislation could also define where scooters could be legally parked.
Metropolitan Branch Trail
A member of the Greater St. Paul Baptist Church on McDonald Place, NE showed up to complain about the Met Branch Trail plan. She noted that while the trail was created in 1989 (not quite accurate), that they just heard about it in 2015, and then by accident (eye roll + deep sigh). Specifically they don't want the trail to go on-street past their church (where it would get a contraflow bike lane), but instead to use the NPS land to the east. While I disagree with their reasons, I agree that the park land would be better. As I understand it the problem is the Park Service doesn't want the trail on their land. I hope they win.
Bike Parking
Allen then asked Marootian about "rack attack" and established that the ~300 new bike racks were the totality of new DDOT-installed bike racks for the year. Then he established that we had more than 300 dockless bikes. So Allen asked if adding 300 racks when we're adding more than 300 bikes is enough to keep up [I'll note that many more than 300 racks were installed because BIDs, developers and others have added to that number, which Marootian also said]. Allen wanted to know what was keeping DDOT from installing more, and if it was budgetary. Marootian said it wasn't but then went to say that it was limited resources, which seemed to imply that he doesn't understand the relationship between budgets and resources.
Bike lanes
Cheh asked Marootian about the overall vision for bicycle lanes in the District. He said that it was MoveDC and he said they were taking steps to update that document (Huh?) based on what they have done so far and where they think they can go next. She then asked him about the mileage done and planned (which might be inflated, see above) and suggested it wasn't aggressive enough. Marootian countered that DDOT is doing a lot and working hard, and is going to get more done this year. "It is as aggressive as we can be". She asked if they were committed to protected bike facilities, and he replied "everywhere we can." She pushed back on that pointing out that DDOT is the arbiter of where they "can".
Connecticut Avenue
Cheh asked about putting bike lanes on Connecticut and Marootian said they were in the procurement process for a study of this, which will be completed this year.
*I love that Dave Thomas Circle has become the unofficial official name for this intersection. I'm not 100% sure where the term came from or who started it, but the earliest reference I know of is this 2005 figure from a DDOT corridor study of New York Avenue, which is used years before it starts showing up in the Washington Post.
http://dc.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=29&clip_id=4883
1:52 At mark Kishan Putta
of ANC 2E He is from Georgetown.
He is the one who asked about the Palisades Trolley Trail and "thought it was a cool idea"
Posted by: Brett Young | March 27, 2019 at 07:00 PM
I don't think having a law that isn't the best but not enforcing it because it is realized that isn't the best is the correct way to go. It just infuriates motorists more, and without a clear law coupled with enforcement, it also encourages the poor behavior of some cyclists who feel it's okay to just ride straight through stop signs without yielding to other traffic. It would be preferable, for me, to have stop-as-yield, and to actually enforce the laws that are on the books, including that cyclists should yield the right-of-way.
Vision-zero for DC is pretty much vision-zero-enforcement though, so that's wishful thinking on my part, I know.
Posted by: huskerdont | March 28, 2019 at 08:48 AM
The scooter mph cap seems insane to me if the expectation is they use the street. The speed limit is 25mph anywhere you'd ride a scooter (not that people should always be driving at the limit) so why cap one vehicle at less than half that?
Re: East Downtown Bike Lane,
IIRC the only "community opposition" are the few churches that are afraid about losing their parking.
Is their something more than that? I agree with Allen that if the churches involved have drawn a line in the sand then its simply time to make a decision.
Posted by: drumz | March 28, 2019 at 10:54 AM
> "Cheh asked Marootian about the overall vision for bicycle lanes in the District. He said that it was MoveDC and he said they were taking steps to update that document (Huh?)"
Not sure if this is what he was referring to, but one of the summer interns DDOT intends to hire "will assist with several research questions related to the update of moveDC…[which] the District is directed to update…every five years": https://www.hutrc.org/d2019movedc
Posted by: infinitebuffalo | March 28, 2019 at 07:51 PM