Area ANCs vote to support Connecticut Avenue bike lanes

They’re four for four now.

The four advisory neighborhood commissions in the Connecticut Avenue reversible lane study area have passed resolutions in support of a concept that removes the rush-hour lanes and adds bike lanes north of Calvert Street NW.

The Chevy Chase ANC held the fourth and final vote. On Monday, April 26th, five ANC 3/4G commissioners voted for their resolution, one voted against, and one abstained.

Earlier this month in Cleveland Park, ANC 3C commissioners voted 7-1-1 for their own resolution supporting Concept C. Commissioners on ANC 3E, which represents Tenleytown, and ANC 3F in Van Ness/Forest Hills voted unanimously to approve theirs.

ANC 3/4G Commissioner Lisa Gore noted that communities have a lot of time to work with DDOT on the design, which is also to include left-turn lanes and 24-hour parking on one side of the commercial areas.

“If we take this vote tonight, it’s not the end, just the beginning,” Gore said. “We’re letting DDOT know where our priorities lie.”

ANC 3F first presented its draft resolution at its March meeting and asked the community for feedback. At its April 20th meeting, commissioner Stan Wall said the ANC received a significant amount of feedback both for and against bike lanes, and that the resolution sought to balance the varying views. The draft resolution was revised, in part, to address residents’ concerns that removing the reversible lanes and adding bike lanes would divert more traffic to adjacent streets. DDOT projects an additional 100 vehicles per peak hour on Broad Branch Road, and 50 on Reno Road, for example.

“[DDOT] presented that diversion as fairly insignificant in their view of their study, but we heard from you all and we recognize very clearly that that is a significant diversion,” Wall said at the April 20th meeting. “We understand that it will have impacts to you, to our neighborhoods, to us.

Wall mentioned the cut-through drivers already speeding on some neighborhood streets. The final version of the resolution urges DDOT, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council member Mary Cheh to immediately fund and and implement traffic safety and calming measures on Connecticut Avenue and adjacent streets.

“We’re not wanting to wait until the implementation of these new changes of the corridor… because we do have some of these issues today,” Wall said.

DDOT estimates that Concept C would cost $4.6 million, and Concept B, which does away with reversible rush-hour lanes and does not include bike lanes, would cost $1.9 million. After the public comment period ends on May 1st, DDOT staff will spend six weeks collecting the comments and preparing their recommendation, which they are to present to DDOT management by June 30th.

If a concept is selected, DDOT will proceed with developing a 10 percent design, then compile the environmental documentation. The next public meeting, DDOT says, is planned for this fall.