Still on DDOT’s Connecticut Avenue safety to-do list: Left-turn lanes and curb extensions. No longer on the list: bike lanes.
DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum revealed the new plan during the DC Council’s budget hearing for the agency, under questioning by Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin.
Kershbaum reiterated the change in plans in an interview with NBC4’s Adam Tuss.
“The decision right now is to do the safety project without a bike lane,” she said.
So, the next designs we may see for the three-mile stretch of Connecticut between Chevy Chase Circle and Calvert Street are for curb extensions that shorten the crossing distances for pedestrians, lanes for left-turning vehicles, and 24-hour parking that will reduce Connecticut Avenue rush-hour travel lanes from six to four.
The 24/7 protest at the Israeli embassy. “Outside the embassy’s main entrance, the protesters have dug in,” writes a reporter for Forward. “Each night, a new shift arrives.”
Help a new local news outlet choose a name. It’s been seven weeks since WAMU/American University announced the immediate shutdown of DCist.com, and let more than a dozen reporters and other staff go. Now, some former WAMU and DCist reporters are forming a new worker-led news outlet, and they’re asking the public for help in naming the organization.
“We’re committed to representing what it really means to live in D.C. Our coverage will serve the whole city: every ward, and each community that lives in and loves the District. Our reporting will be guided by justice and equity, tackling the complex issues facing our city, like housing, safety, and education, from the perspective that all residents deserve these fundamental rights. Of course, we’re also going to be funny, curious, and irreverent at times… honoring the DCist tradition.”
So DCist… but also not DCist. DCish springs to mind, and indeed, that is one of the five options on the survey form. And if none of the five floats your boat, the team is welcoming other suggestions.
Three weeks after DCist’s demise, WAMU.org gave the site a more fitting sendoff, with DCist’s co-founders, former staffers, and readers sharing their memories.
In other news
“CVS stores that should have apartments above them, ranked” – Greater Greater Washington
“Apartment dwellers plagued by secondhand smoke have little recourse” – The Washington Post (no local mentions but of relevance to the neighborhood’s many high-rise residents)
“Students get UDC campus ready for big ceremony” – WUSA9
“I Toured Metro’s ‘Newly Renovated’ Bathrooms. Here’s What I Found.” Washingtonian
“What would you name your Single Member District? We mapped our ideas for all 345 of them” – Greater Greater Washington
Social media mentions
Goodbye to Reno Road’s northbound exit onto 36th Street. The small-scale speedway is being closed off, as cars leaving Reno Road often did so at non-residential street speeds.
And for those looking to make that right turn, Warren and Windom Streets are still open for business. pic.twitter.com/Yk89fSiHBN
— Tenleytown & Around (@Tenleytown411) April 4, 2024
Technology looked a bit different back in 1971. Here, a student in the computer science program at Washington Technical Institute works with an early IBM computer. #UDC1851 #UDCFirebirds #OneUDC pic.twitter.com/4nNBvUabnO
— UDC Library (@udc_library) March 22, 2024
RS says
Extremely disappointed with the short-sighted and myopic leadership in this city that once again bends to the whims of a minority of wealthy NIMBY’s. Bike lanes on Connecticut Ave are not just sorely needed, but would have been a significant step in making this corridor more pedestrian friendly. DC continues to say one thing, and then do another. Leadership claims they want to move the city in a sustainable direction and support multi-modal infrastructure, but then do things like cut bike lanes, eliminate the Circulator and underfund WMATA. Which is it? Do you want everyone to drive or don’t you? This city has so much potential and it’s continually be run into the ground by leaders that cave to fringe activists and a vocal minority who desperately want to cling to some imagined utopia from yesteryear. SMH.
Livia Bardin says
DDOT has made a sound decision, most likely based on a better understanding of how Connecticut Ave functions during most hours of every day, such as the need for trucks to supply small businesses up and down the street. But RS is right that draining funds from public transportation will only encourage people to drive. If DC goverment really wants to discourage driving, they should raise taxes on parking, especially downtown.
RS says
In fact, the decision DDOT made will make traffic, deliveries, and rideshare pick-up significantly worse because the decision was not only to eliminate the addition of bike lanes, loading zones, and pedestrian/bus islands, it was to remove rush hour parking restriction to allow the curb lanes to be parking 24/7. As a result, Connecticut Avenue will be 4 driving lanes WITHOUT a dedicated turn lane (another element that would have been added with the bike lanes). Which all means you can guarantee that there will be constant gridlock as one lane will be constantly blocked with delivery trucks, rideshare pick-up and waiting, and the people that are too lazy to find parking and just leave their vehicle in the driving lane with the hazard lights on. I fully expect there to be an increase in accidents and pedestrian fatalities as irate suburband Maryland drivers speed through red lights and into oncoming traffic now that they are losing their highway to 495.
Neil Berger says
Very thankful that our city leadership eliminated the proposed plans for the unpopular, dangerous, and impractical dedicated bicycle lanes for Connecticut Avenue that would benefit only about 2 percent of the travelers on this busy thorough.
There are other ways to accommodate bicyclists such as looking at Reno Road as a more residential north-south pathway or considering widening and partitioning the sidewalks along Connecticut Avenue similar to what is done in some European cities.
For environmental concerns, more travelers should think about using our public bus service rather than their private vehicles.
RS says
The reason there are so little cyclists is because the infrastructure doesn’t exist to make cycling safe or efficient in DC. It might surprise you to learn that Amsterdam was once as car obsessed and traffic clogged as DC is today and after years of increasing pedestrian and traffic fatalities, the city took drastic steps to rethink the roadways. Was it easy? Of course not. I’m sure there were a lot of car-brained people who couldn’t imagine living their life without being a slave to the gas pump. This mentality is myopic at best and benefits no one but the sole person driving said car. DC is trumpeting being a progressive, sustainable minded city but then not backing it up with projects that actually achieve that goal. You mention the bus network – WMATA has been historically underfunded and one of the main areas that has been affected is the bus system, which has significantly degraded in recent years and will be the first thing that is cut in a few months when they don’t receive the funding they requested from our tri-state leadership. The Circulator bus network is being 100% axed in Bowser’s budget proposal.
Green Eyeshades says
For readers who don’t want to bother enabling Instagram on their browsers, this is full text of Frumin’s Instagram post except for a note about the video he embedded:
“Director Sharon Kershbaum said safety improvements are soon coming to Connecticut Avenue. I’m pleased there’s urgency in improving traffic flow and reducing speeding by removing rush-hour parking restrictions and including turn pockets and curb extensions. However, the plan does not include bike lanes, and after years of delay it is frustrating that DDOT is abruptly moving away from a plan that would improve safety for all road users. Director Kershbaum said the safety improvements coming would not preclude a bike lane in the future, and that DDOT’s upcoming bike plan study will prioritize a north-south bicycle connection in Ward 3.”
WTOP covered a lot of crowing from the “Save Connecticut Avenue” crowd but they are going to eat their words, I promise you:
https://wtop.com/dc/2024/04/dcs-plans-to-redesign-connecticut-avenue-wont-include-bike-lanes/
Channel Nine local teevee news had a more accurate headline:
” ‘A big disappointment’ Connecticut Avenue safety project will not include bike lanes”
https://www.wusa9.com/article/traffic/connecticut-avenue-safety-project-not-include-bike-lanes/65-6d877985-8bf8-4163-9dd0-dd6c71bd6686
ed says
DOT plan to have 24 hour parking on Conn Ave to frustrate commuters trying to return to downtown afrer scrapping bike lanes is like frying pan to fire. Why is our government so dumb ?
P. Brown says
I think there is a misguided perception by many that people only ride bikes a) for recreation or b) to commute. Actually, a growing number of people see bicycles as a means of transport from point A to point B.. The Bike share ridership numbers prove this. Unfortunately, far too many streets in DC are too dangerous to ride on, Connecticut Ave being one example.
This decision to not build protected bike lanes basically precludes bicycles as a means of getting from, say, Chevy Chase to Van Ness, for example. Too dangerous to ride on Connecticut. Instead, it says take the bus, walk, or drive. Cycling not encouraged. At your own risk. Which is too bad. Bad for the climate and bad for a mix of transport options.
I wish we could all learn to share the road. And provide a safe protected lane for bikes. Even if it means slowing my commute; I write this as a driver who doesn’t own a bike. So I lament DDOTs decision, which I suspect was a political decision to appease a wealthy, loud group of NIMBYs. Profiles in courage it was not.
Funny, but LA, car land ground zero, just approved a safe streets ballot initiative – 65 percent in favor.
Green Eyeshades says
Washington Post interviewed people no other press or teevee or radio reporters spoke to, and got additional views that teevee & radio reporters missed:
“At a hearing Thursday [April 11] of the D.C. Council’s Committee for Transportation and the Environment, Sharon Kershbaum, acting director of the city’s Department of Transportation, told legislators that the bike lane had been scuttled.” [snip]
It was news to me that Kershbaum is only “accting” director of DDOT. That means DC Council did not confirm her appointment.
“Council member Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3), whose questioning of Kershbaum led to the disclosure about the bike lane, said he was aware of the changes before the hearing. He lamented the long process that led officials to endorse the lane before moving away from it.
” ‘It took less time to put a man on the moon than it has to build this bike lane,’ he said at the hearing.
“In an interview, Frumin said Bowser had changed her mind about the plan because of concerns about traffic congestion amid her effort to revitalize downtown.
” ‘If they do the analysis again, there’s a good chance they’re going to conclude that Connecticut Avenue is the right place to do it, which is what they concluded before,’ he said.” [snip]
That comment reveals that DDOT did not obtain or generate any new “analysis” of DATA that justified canceling the protected bike lanes. DDOT’s “acting director” made a completely whimsical, arbitrary decision backed by zero new data or “analysis” despite DDOT’s statutory mandates to make decisions based on data.
“D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), chair of the Committee for Transportation and the Environment, said in an interview that he disagreed with the decision. To move people around the city safely and reduce climate change caused by cars, according to Allen, officials must look to other modes of transportation.
“However, Allen said he was skeptical that the Bowser administration would revisit its choice.
” ‘They want to move forward with a project that does not have protected bike lanes,’ he said. ‘We will live with that for 50 years.’
“The abrupt disclosure at the hearing brought the ire of activists who believed that the bike lane would make one of the District’s most important corridors more walkable and environmentally friendly.
“Bob Ward, chair of Cleveland Park Smart Growth, which advocates for bikers and pedestrians, said in an interview that Bowser had made ‘a 180-degree turn,’ abandoning a sound plan despite years of community input.
” ‘I think the reason why this abrupt about-face happened is probably a misperceived idea that the more parking she can put on Connecticut Avenue, the better business will be,’ he said. ‘It’s a real disappointment.’ ” [snip]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/12/connecticut-avenue-bike-lane-abandoned/
Green Eyeshades says
A week after the main blogpost was published, Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin wrote this in his weekly email newsletter on April 19:
“I am disappointed with DDOT’s decision to exclude bike lanes from the current proposed safety enhancements on Connecticut Avenue.
“Around a year ago it became clear Mayor Bowser had reservations about the inclusion of bike lanes in the plan. I consistently advocated to the mayor and her team that including bike lanes was an important component of the safety plan and as part of the broader effort to promote multimodal transportation, including through two public letters (December 2023 and February 2024).
“The mayor now proposes to go a different way. The suggestion is that there will be yet-to-be described safety improvements and exploration of where a north/south bike route in upper northwest should be located. There are more unanswered questions than answers in the administration’s current posture.
“The question now is what happens next.
“First, we need to fully understand what DDOT is proposing, including how it might promote safety and how it might not, as well as getting some sense of DDOT’s thoughts about possible north/south bike routes. Second, we need to make sure no rushed action is taken in this budget that would prevent having a bike lane on Connecticut Avenue in the future. There had been extensive analysis of the best location for a bike lane in upper northwest, and the finding was Connecticut Avenue. Until a compelling alternative vision is presented, we should not foreclose the Connecticut Avenue option.
“We are learning about this abrupt change in planning for a major corridor through an announcement in the budget process. There had been years of work put in on the proposed Connecticut Avenue plan with volumes of community input and advocacy on all sides. Until recently, the expectation was that DDOT would put out a detailed, revised plan to respond to public input. We cannot simply walk away from years of planning for a player to be named later.
“The genesis of Concept C (shown on slide 7 here) was a recognition that we needed to take steps to enhance safety and efficiency for all roadway users and that we must move toward a more multimodal future, including affording access to Connecticut Avenue businesses and amenities to cyclists. I fully intend to use the budget process to ensure we take pragmatic steps to ensure that the goals that drove the development of the safety plans for Connecticut Avenue are achieved.”
Councilmember Frumin offered a link to a slide from DDOT showing “Concept C,” but the link includes a massive encryption fingerprint and also links only to a PDF dated June 2020, so it is probably out-dated.
ANC3F has at least one slide deck showing Concept C posted on its ANC website; this link is dated internally as November 2022 but the ANC heading says it was presented in October 2022:
https://anc3f.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Connecticut-Avenue-Reversible-Lanes-and-Multimodal-Safety-Improvement-Project.pdf
Readers can find that link by visiting ANC3F’s “Archive” page and browsing the column labeled “Other Documents” at the very bottom of the Archive, far right column:
https://www.anc3f.com/archive