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Posts Tagged ‘infrastructure’

DDOT has released its evaluation of its innovative bike facilities and is hosting a meeting to discuss those projects and future projects, including the L Street cycletrack.  Please plan to attend, review the evaluation, and provide your feedback on the proposals.  (Hint: this might be a good chance to weigh in on whether you think anecdotal evidence from New York provides sufficient justification to include “mixing zones” on L, or whether you believe better separation is merited.)

From DDOT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 18, 2012

***PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE***
Public Meeting on Innovative Bicycle Facility Research and Protected Bike Lane on L Street, NW

(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host a public meeting on Thursday, May 3, 2012 to discuss the results of the Innovative Bicycle Facility Research Project and present and take comments on a proposed protected bike lane for L Street, NW.

The Innovative Bicycle Facility Research Project is a one-year effort to analyze three existing bicycle facilities:  (1) bicycle signals and bike boxes at the intersection of 16th Street, U Street, and New Hampshire Avenue, NW; (2) the two-way cycle track on 15th Street, NW between E Street and V Street; and (3) the center median bicycle lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
An executive summary of the study is now posted online at http://ddot.dc.gov/DC/DDOT/Publication%20Files/On%20Your%20Street/Bicycles%20and%20Pedestrians/Bicycles/Bike%20Lanes/DDOT_BicycleFacilityEvaluation_ExecSummary.pdf.

The study assesses the operations, safety, and perceptions of the bike facilities through extensive quantitative data collection and analysis, as well as intercept, neighborhood and business surveys.  The objectives were to improve the safety and operations of these existing facilities, and guide future DDOT projects, including the proposed L Street, NW protected bike lane.

The proposed L Street protected bike lane between 25th and 12th Streets is planned for summer installation.  Separated by flexible posts, the bike lane will be placed on the north side of the road.  It will be the second of its kind in the city (15th St was the first), and will provide more protection from cars than a typical bike lane.  The plans will be available for review at the meeting.
What:               Public Meeting on Innovative Bicycle Facility Research
and L Street, NW Protected Bike Lane

When:              Thursday, May 3, 2012
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Where:             Reeves Center
2nd Floor Community Room
2000 14th Street, NW

Getting There
Transit: The Reeves Center is one block from the U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metrorail station on the Green Line. It is also accessible via the Following bus routes:
*       DC Circulator – Woodley Park/Adams Morgan/McPherson Square Route
*       Metrobus – U Street lines 90, 92, 96 and 14th Street lines 52, 53, 54
Bicycling: There is a Capital Bikeshare station adjacent to the Reeves Center on 14th Street and another at 16th and U Streets, NW.
Parking:  On-Street metered parking is available.
DDOT is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, its projects, programs, and services on the basis of race, color, national origin, or gender, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or on the basis of disability as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
If you need special accommodations or language assistance services (translation or interpretation), please contact Mike Goodno at             202-671-0681       ormike.goodno@dc.gov<mailto:mike.goodno@dc.gov> in advance of the meeting. These services will be provided free of charge.

Last week, WABA and others testified before the Montgomery County T&E Committee on the need for a safe Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) crossing of Wisconsin Avenue.  For a trail of the ridership and importance of the CCT, connectivity and safety are key components.  Thus, we continue to support the completion of the paved connection between Bethesda and Silver Spring alongside the Purple Line.

Wisconsin Avenue and the CCT Tunnel

Yet on the issue of the crossing of Wisconsin Avenue, the County has not committed to an at-grade crossing of sufficient design to justify the removal of the trail from the tunnel.  We recognize that the revised cost estimates of keeping both the trail and the rail in the tunnel have led county officials to consider removing the trail from the tunnel.  This is what the County Council’s Deputy Staff Director, Glenn Orlin, has recommended.

But to date, the County has made no commitment to a design that truly accommodates the ridership of the trail functionally and safely through downtown Bethesda, as the tunnel does.  WABA is not unyielding in its position on many details of the tunnel’s design, we cannot support the taking of the tunnel from cyclists without a well-designed, functional, and safe alternative.

The County has not yet committed to such an alternative design.  So in the absence of an appropriate alternative, WABA opposes the removal of the trail from the tunnel.

The Montgomery County T&E Committee will hold a critical vote this week on the future of the trail.  That vote will be followed by a vote of the full Council. Please CLICK HERE to send an email the Council supporting a safe and functional crossing at Wisconsin Avenue and the completion of this important connection from Bethesda to downtown Silver Spring.

Connecticut Avenue Crossing

Also at last week’s T&E Committee hearing, it was revealed that MTA is considering the removal of the long-promised grade-separated crossing at Connecticut Avenue.  Unlike the Wisconsin Avenue issue, this is not a matter of addressing higher costs due to the discovery of unanticipated construction conditions.  This is simply MTA looking to save money by reneging on its promise to provide a grade-separated crossing of Connecticut Avenue for the Purple Line and the Capital Crescent Trail.  WABA sent a letter last week telling Purple Line Project Manager Michael Madden, MTA Director Wells, and MDOT Secretary Swaim-Staley that this alternative undermines the project, betrays commitments to the public in general and trail supporters in particular, and should be pursued no further.

Please join us in expressing our opposition to this backsliding plan to have the Purple Line and the CCT cross Connecticut Avenue at-grade rather than via a long-promised bridge by emailing Mr. Madden at mmadden@mta.maryland.gov.

Thanks to DDOT Director Bellamy for responding to WABA’s highlighting of the slowed progress in bike lane installations in 2011. We appreciate his direct response to our concerns.  We stand by those concerns that the year’s progress on bike infrastructure was somewhat subpar, yet we agree with Director Bellamy that the District has taken major steps to make the District more bike-friendly for both experienced and novice cyclists.

Director Bellamy’s response does, however, point out the possible need for a new set of metrics for the District.  Advocates and constituents need to know what DDOT is working to deliver.  In his response, Director Bellamy cites expansion of bikesharing as a 2011 success.  We agree.  But we were counting other things, including bike lanes, because that is what DDOT committed, through the Bicycle Master Plan, to providing on a year-to-year basis.

Regardless, we need to catch up on the lost bike lane progress of 2011, and Director Bellamy’s response states a clear commitment to begin striping on several projects as soon as the weather allows.  We appreciate that response and look forward to the results.  But it is also time for cyclists, advocates, and officials to think about the next five to ten years and the projects and deliverables we want to see.  Much has changed since 2005, and it is likely time for an update to the Bicycle Master Plan to reflect the growth and development of bicycling.

The existing Master Plan’s remaining goals and DDOT’s Action Agenda provide a strong starting point for infrastructure changes, but a new Master Plan also presents the opportunity to bring together other agencies with significant roles to play in providing a safer and more bike-friendly District, including the Office of Planning, Department of Motor Vehicles, Metropolitan Police Department, DC Public Schools, and others.

So again, thank you to Director Bellamy and DDOT for the straightforward response.  We appreciate the work you have done and continue to do, and we look forward to continuing to work with DDOT to bring about improvements.  Those who interpret our efforts to ensure accountability on these metrics as political misinterpret our motivations and goals.  We highlight deficiencies to spur action, not to complain about the actors.  We look forward to a 2012 of fast progress on the metrics of the existing Bicycle Master Plan and to working with Director Bellamy, under Mayor Gray’s leadership, to stay on track to meet its goals while developing the next Master Plan and setting goals for an even better bicycling future.

Here’s to early Spring and early progress on those ready-to-install bike lanes in 2012.

The following is a response from DDOT Director Terry Bellamy to WABA’s posting, “Where Did All the Bike Lanes Go?”:

WABA has been a great partner with DDOT as we work to increase bicycling in the District and expand our bicycle infrastructure. However, that doesn’t mean we always see eye-to-eye and that’s why I felt it was important to respond to WABA’s blog posting “Where Did All the Bike Lanes Go?” posted on Tuesday, December 20.

As the article notes, there are more than 50 miles of bike lanes in the District now, all added since the 2005 Bicycle Master Plan was adopted. Under the steady leadership of Jim Sebastian, our Bicycle Team has made tremendous strides to make the District one of the most bicycle-friendly cities on the East Coast, earning a Silver Award from the League of American Bicyclists. We now have bike lanes down the center of America’s Main Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, and a popular cycletrack on 15^th Street, NW. Bikestation DC at Union Station is an architectural landmark and one of the most impressive bicycle facilities in the nation.

We have not been resting on our laurels though. This year we have expanded the Capital Bikeshare system and are already planning to add 50 more stations and 500 more bikes next year in the District. That will include the first bikeshare stations on the National Mall. We have expanded our trail network along the Anacostia River and in addition to the new bike lanes installed on 11^th Street, SE, Edgewood Street, NE and East Capitol Street, we’ve also installed several miles of sharrows across the city.

Also, I can tell you that we have more than 4 miles of planned bike lanes that are now ready for installation and will be put in as soon as the weather breaks in early spring. That includes:

• Columbia Road, NW between Connecticut Avenue and 16^th Street
• 4^th Street, SW between Virginia Avenue and I Street
• New York Avenue, NW between 15^th Street and 9^th Street
• Upshur Street, NW between 8^th Street and Rock Creek Church Road
• I Street, SW/SE between 7^th Street and New Jersey Avenue
• Tilden Street, NW between Reno Road and Connecticut Avenue
• R Street, NW between Florida Avenue and the Met Branch Trail

That list does not include additional bike lanes planned for 2012 or the crosstown cycletracks that are awaiting the completion of a study of the 15^th Street and Pennsylvania lanes.

It is true that in the out years of the Bicycle Master Plan – now that the low hanging fruit has been picked – we are dealing with more complex environments and more constrained scenarios, which can extend the planning and development horizon for adding new lanes. With competing priorities, getting community buy-in for these projects can also be more complicated. That’s not an excuse; it’s the reality we face.

However, I can assure you, my commitment – and Mayor Gray’s commitment – to bicycling and bike lanes has not changed. We might not always move as fast as some would like, but if our progress slows from time to time that is not an indication of shifting priorities, but rather a reflection of the environment we’re working in, and our desire to do it right.

As Mayor Gray announced today, Census Bureau figures show the District is leading the nation in population growth. More and more people are moving here to enjoy the quality of life the city offers. We feel confident our joint effort to make the city more bicycle-friendly is one of the attractions, and we look forward to continuing to work with WABA and the community to gain more ground and make the District an even more desirable place to live, work, play and cycle.

Terry Bellamy
Director
DDOT

2011 was not the year for bike lanes in the District.  Since 2006, DDOT has  installed on-street bike lanes at a rate of four to eight additional miles per year. Less than one mile of new bike lanes was installed in 2011.

As DDOT nears the end of the timeframe laid out in 2005′s Bicycle Master Plan, the target for miles of bike lanes installed per year gets fuzzy. On average, the Master Plan calls for 10 miles of new bike lanes per year. The more recently adopted 2010 DDOT Action Agenda sets a goal of 80 miles, total, of bike lanes and protected cycle tracks by 2012.  As of today, the District has about 50.

DDOT had planned to install about 6.5 miles in 2011.  Of that 6.5 miles, approximately 4.25 miles are studied, designed and ready for installation.  But these have not been installed due to internal delays at DDOT.  The bike planners seemingly have done their part, but 2011 will end without these lanes installed, as it is now too cold for road striping.

The other 2.25 miles of that 6.5 that were slated for installation but have been put on hold for various reasons including a lack of ANC approval or a delay in necessary roadwork and signal work.

The map below shows on-street bike projects we expect in the next year.

• Red indicates projects slated for 2011 that are planned, designed, and ready–but not installed.
• Orange indicates projects slated for 2011 but pending additional work (ANC approval / additional roadwork) before they are ready for installation.
• Purple highlights projects slated for 2012.

After installing less than a mile of bike lanes in 2011, DDOT needs to dramatically improve its performance just to meet the 10 mile per year average of the Bike Master Plan, much less the 80 mile goal of the Action Agenda.  This year’s performance is unacceptable, and signifies broken promises to the District’s cycling community.

Director Bellamy and, ultimately, Mayor Gray need to recognize that this year’s performance is unacceptable, and that major improvements are needed in 2012.

The National Park Service (NPS), along with DDOT and FHWA have released their environmental assessment for the Rock Creek Trail.

The preferred alternative includes:

• Resurfacing and widening the trail (Alternative 3)
• Creating an 8 ft. spur trail to Peirce Mill (Option B)
• Resurfacing the Rose Park Trail at 6 ft. width (Option B)

The full document is available HERE, and a public hearing will be held December 14 from 6pm to 8pm at the Columbia Heights Education Campus at 3101 16th Street, NW. (When you’ve finished commenting, you can join us at Big Bear Cafe to celebrate this step toward a much-improved trail.)

Full announcement below:

PUBLIC NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY AND PUBLIC HEARING:

ROCK CREEK PARK MULTI-USE TRAIL REHABILITATION

The National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) would like to announce the availability of the Rock Creek Park Multi-Use Trail Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA analyzes a range of alternatives for the rehabilitation of this multi-use trail located within Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. The rehabilitation would cover the section of the trail from Broad Branch Road, NW to P Street, NW, including an existing social trail from Broad Branch to Peirce Mill. The project also would include part of the Rose Park trail from M Street to P Street, NW, and the Piney Branch Parkway trail from Beach Drive to Arkansas Avenue, NW.

As provided for by regulations guiding the implementation of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (NHPA), the EA also provides documentation to comply with Section 106 of that act in support of a Finding of No Adverse Effect on cultural resources (36 CFR 800.8(c)). The District of Columbia State Historic Preservation Office (DCSHPO) concurred with this determination on October 19, 2011. Consulting parties wishing to comment on the finding of no adverse effect may do so by commenting on the EA.

EA NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY

WHEN: The EA will available for public review on December 2, 2011.

WHERE: The EA will be available to review in its entirety at the NPS’s Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website:

(http://parkplanning.nps.gov/RockCreekTrail Rehab) and the following District locations:

District Department of Transportation, Infrastructure Project Management Administration: 55 M Street SE, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20003

National Capital Planning Commission Library: 401 9th Street, NW – North Lobby, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20004

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library: 901 G Street, NW, Washington, DC  20001

Cleveland Park Branch Library: 3310 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC  20008

Mount Pleasant Interim Library: 3162 Mt. Pleasant Street, NW, Washington, DC 20010

Tenley-Friendship Library: 4450 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20016

Rock Creek Park Headquarters: 3545 Williamsburg Lane, NW, Washington, DC 20008-1207

Rock Creek Park Nature Center: 5200 Glover Road NW, Washington, DC 20015

Rock Creek Park Peirce Barn: 2401 Tilden Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008

Only written comments can be accepted. You may submit comments electronically at NPS’s PEPC website (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/RockCreekTrailRehab) or by mail at the following address:

Austina Casey, Project Manager

District Department of Transportation

Infrastructure Project Management Administration

Attn: Rock Creek Trail EA

55 M Street SE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20003

Comments must be received no later than January 13, 2011.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

In cooperation with the FHWA, DDOT and NPS will be hosting a public hearing to provide interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed action and the EA.

WHEN: Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Open House: 6:00 – 6:30 p.m.

Presentation and Comments: 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Columbia Heights Educational Campus, Auditorium

3101 16^th Street, NW

Washington, DC  20010

Registrations to provide comments will be accepted on a first come, first served basis starting at 6:00 p.m. The first twenty (20) individuals to register are guaranteed the opportunity to comment. Comments are limited to two (2) minutes.

DDOT is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of its projects, programs, and services on the basis of race, color, national origin, or gender, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or on the basis of disability as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act.  If you need special accommodations or language assistance services (translation or interpretation) please contact Austina Casey at  (202) 673-6813 or by email at austina.casey@dc.gov at least four days in advance of the meeting. These services will be provided free of charge.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO COLUMBIA HEIGHTS EDUCATIONAL CAMPUS: The Columbia Heights Educational Campus (CHEC) is located one block from the Columbia Heights Metro Station on the Green Line. The Campus is adjacent to the Headquarters of the DC Parks and Recreation and the Capital City Charter School. The CHEC is located on the corner of 16^th and Irving Streets, NW.

For more information visit http://parkplanning.nps.gov/RockCreekTrailRehab

By this point, every bicyclist in the city has seen, encountered or at least read about the closure of the sidewalk along 15th St. NW from G St. south to Pennsylvania Ave. The earthquake in late August damaged some of the decorative stonework atop the Treasury building, and in response, the sidewalk was fenced off in order to make sure nobody was hurt in the event that parts broke off and fell to the ground. In the weeks since the earthquake, pedestrians attempting to use the sidewalk simply walked in the cycle track instead.

Needless to say, this situation created a host of potential conflicts. Bicyclists have complained about the pedestrians, and pedestrians complained about the bicyclists. DDOT put up signage to educate pedestrians on the proper procedure (crossing the street to use the sidewalks on the east side) and WABA’s Bike Ambassadors spent some time directing traffic, but it was unclear if anything could be done to actually fix the problem.

Over the holiday weekend, however, it looks as though the Secret Service and the General Services Administration have decided on a solution. On Sunday, as @sharrowsdc reported on twitter, the fences that closed the sidewalk were moved, freeing up space for pedestrians to remain on the sidewalk. He also posted a photo.

Here are a few more pictures of the freshly reopened sidewalk and pedestrian-free cycle track:

Bike lanes connecting the Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan and Dupont neighborhoods on Columbia Rd., NW are an important missing connection in the bicycle network. DDOT officials have confirmed they have received the appropriate approval of ANC 1C   and the lanes will be installed by Thanksgiving.  Community members’ concerns centered on the need to remove paid parking spots to accommodate expansion of commercial loading zones.

Currently, incomplete and disconnected bike lanes exist on Columbia Rd., NW on the parts of the 1600, 1700, and 1800 blocks.  When complete, the Columbia Rd NW bike lanes will connect with bike lanes on Euclid St., NW, bike lanes on Adams Mill Rd. / Calvert St., and the shared lanes on 18th St., NW (under construction, to be complete by May 2012).

DDOT’s plan for improving R Street, NE by connecting it to the Met Branch Trail and improving the road for bicyclists, has an important ancillary benefit: the improved route for children attending the numerous schools located in close proximity to the MBT, but not able to reach school via the trail, due to an incomplete trail to street grid connection. The current conditions of this area illustrate the barriers that school children face if they were to come down the MBT: a trash strewn, overgrown, abandoned lot to cross through with concrete barriers and illegal parking blocking the sidewalk on R Street.

McKinley Tech, Ideal Academy PCS, City Lights PCS, and Friendship Academy PCS are schools which draw hundreds of children from beyond a neighborhood boundary, due to the fact that they are a DCPS application only science and technology magnet school (McKinley) or public charter schools, which by definition, have no neighborhood boundary that they serve, drawing instead from the entire city for enrollment. In addition, Langley Education Campus, a DCPS pre-k through 8th grade school, is also located next to McKinley. And while Langley is a DCPS school with a traditional neighborhood boundary from which it draws, they are also a Science and Technology magnet school offering Chinese language instruction which is a very attractive curriculum for out of boundary families.

Many of these students are already taking the Metro to school every day and exiting the Metro system at the New York Avenue station. The connection of R Street to the Metropolitan Branch trail would enable these students the ability to walk up the trail and cross directly onto their school grounds, rather than attempting the extremely dangerous crossing of Florida and New York Avenues from the Metro, which is the current route most students take. This intersection is bad almost any time of day, but at school arrival and dismissal times, when it sits squarely in the middle of rush hour, children and parents are traversing a dangerous path in order to get to school. These R Street improvements would eliminate the need to cross New York and Florida Avenues at street level entirely, since they could walk up the stairs to the MBT and proceed to their schools.

The improvements to R Street and the connectivity of the Met Branch Trail into Northeast Washington are welcome improvements from DDOT. Not only would the R street improvements help pave the way to make it safer for bicyclists to ease off the MBT and onto a cross town route, but it will also make it easier for many hundreds of students get to school without the anxiety and potential harm of a dangerous street crossing.

Gina Arlotto is the DC and regional Safe Routes to School Network Coordinator.  Her work focuses on making it safer for children to walk or bike to and from school.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is pleased to announce its Regional Call to Action Summit on November 3rd, 2011 in Arlington, VA. At the Call to Action Summit, WABA will be presenting a five-year plan of regional and local priorities for bicycling in the Washington Region. The summit will include presentations on the Metro’s long-term bicycle and pedestrian plans, health planning and bicycles, a panel discussion on the economics of the bicycle industry and much more.

We want your input on the regional plan!

1) Please attend a Local Stakeholder’s Meeting

We will be holding short, two hour meetings in the six local jurisdictions that WABA serves in order to gather your ideas and give you–the region’s local bicyclists–a chance to provide input for the regional plan. We ask attendees to please download and complete the Pre-Meeting Planning Sheet prior to the meeting.

9/13 – Prince George’s Co. – Greenbelt Library Aud., 6pm to 8pm – More Info & RSVP
9/20 – Montgomery Co. - Kensington Park Comm. Library, 6pm to 8pm – More Info & RSVP
9/27 – Arlington Co. – Shirlington Branch Library, 6:30pm to 8:30pm – More Info & RSVP
10/4 – Alexandria Co. – Nannie J Lee Rec. Center, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm – More Info & RSVP
10/11 – District of Columbia – Benning Library, 6:30pm to 8:30pm – More Info & RSVP
10/17 – Fairfax Co. – Patrick Henry Library, Vienna, VA, 6pm to 8pm – More Info & RSVP

2) Can’t make the local meeting?

The one page PDF planning sheet gives a basic framework for providing input for the five year regional priority plan we are creating. Whether you are at your local meeting or not, WABA and your fellow bike advocates want to hear from you!

Please submit your input by emailing advocacy@waba.org by October 21st, 2011

Attend the Regional Call to Action Summit on November 3rd, 2011

Time: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Call to Action Summit Location
Waterview Conference Center
1919 N Lynn St
Arlington, VA 22209

Google Map Link (create bicycle directions!)
Metro Accessible via the Rosslyn Station on the Blue & Orange Lines
Bike Accessible via the Mount Vernon Trail, Custis Trail & the Key Bridge

More information and to RSVP for the November 3rd Call to Action Summit

We hope to see you at a local meeting or the Call to Action Summit on November 3rd.