At a recent ANC meeting, DDOT announced plans to speed up the West Virginia Avenue (WVA) road diet completing the 2-phase project about a year earlier than originally announced. Work will start in the spring of 2021 and finish up by summer. Phase 2 was to complete in 2022, but now will also be built this year.
The project will remove a travel lane from WVA in order to add the two 8' wide PBLs. Phase I will build the northern section from Mt. Olivet to New York Avenue (NYA) and Phase II will build south of there to Florida Avenue where it will connect to the new bike lanes on that road. In the middle, DDOT plans to add bike lanes heading west on Mt. Olivet. And someday they plan to build a bike trail along NYA, though maybe not as far east as WVA.
Very exciting stuff. As a former rail road corridor, WVA is a nice flat route making it perfect for biking and bike lanes have been something DC aspired to have there since at least the 2005 plan. They're calling these protected bike lanes, but it's unclear what the protection will be (barriers? flexposts? flexposts and curb stops?). Regardless it will be a step up from what's there now.
Between Florida and Mt Olivet there is only one travel lane each direction, with parking on both sides. Are they removing parking on one side in that section? I don't see how there would be room otherwise.
Posted by: Purple Eagle | February 11, 2021 at 10:24 PM
The Mt Olivet PBLs are nice, especially since the Brentwood Parkway lanes are already complete. Starting to look like a network!
Posted by: Jacob | February 23, 2021 at 08:48 PM
West Virginia Ave was not a good choice for this project. You took parking away from the people who live in this neighborhood on both sides and wrote people $150 tickets while the lane changed overnight. The neighborhood should have been allowed to vote on this project. There are streets nearby more suited to having bike lanes.
Posted by: Grace | September 25, 2021 at 08:19 AM
What road would have been better for creating a safe connection?
Yes, taking on-street parking away is one way to create more space for other users. Why is on-street car storage a better use?
We don't normally have people in the neighborhood vote on things like this - but I'm certain your ANC was consulted. What did they say.
Posted by: washcycle | September 27, 2021 at 12:23 PM
I don't believe ANC represents the neighborhood interests about this issue. In the project plans they sell that there will be just 24 parking spot in front of houses lost. In reallyty there is more than that and not all the buildings around the Ave has garages or private parking spots to allocate. Just in the block of 1700 W Virginia ave there are around 32 spaces lost.
Posted by: Carlos | September 28, 2021 at 05:07 PM