Morning Commute – 2/6

Trainspoting

The Morning Commute is an occasional look at meetings or other #BikeSpecific discussions and stories happening in the District. It also looks at interesting bike, scooter, or urban related ideas or concepts from other places across the globe that could possibly work here. Again, this isn’t journalism, just fun.

Today’s commute includes:

  • The War on Cars continues
  • Improvements coming to a dangerous intersection
  • The 14th Street improvement project needs additional improvements

A new front on the War on Cars. Washington Post columnist Robert McCarthy reiterates the recurring idea that drivers, who have a parking space on nearly every street in the District, are victims of a vast left-wing conspiracy. The most recent degradation is the proposed reduction of parking spaces from the planned redevelopment of Union Station.

Burnham Place will create a new community that sits atop of the current tracks leading into the the station. The project also calls for a reduction in the number of parking spaces. The current parking garage, part of which acts and a bus station, would reduce the amount of available parking from the nearly 2,200 available today.

A 4-level parking garage sits upon prime real estate and a vital transportation hub.

Last I saw, Union Station was a multimodal train and bus station. What is frustrating about this discussion is that those who advocate for vehicles don’t consider just how limited access is for everyone else. That, after 100 years, we still believe that a personal vehicle is the only choice, the only decision, is the problem.

Look, there is no current war on cars – cars won that war decades ago. Cars will never yield as there are inanimate objects driven by people. People love cars. They see cars as extensions of themselves. People write songs about driving in them and with them. Cars are the focal point of media and commerce. Cars are a culture – the American culture. Those people who love cars see cars not as just a tool to get from one place to another. Cars are an inalienable right – a life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness type of right. To see it otherwise would be to grossly devalue the car’s control over our economy, our sensibilities, our our minds, our very lives.

Once we acknowledge this, we can truly understand that there are no winners in this war – only victims. Greater Greater Washington, Washington Post

An Editorial examines how the loss of electric bikeshare bikes isn’t a deal breaker. In Philadelphia, an editorial from the Inquirer voices solid support for the its bikesharing system, Indigo, and its e-bikes – despite recent thefts. Philadelphia Inquirer

16th Street, NW Circle Safety Improvement Project. Last week, the District launched a construction project to rebuild a complex and crash-prone traffic circle at its boarder with Silver Spring. Located at at the intersection of 16th Street NW, Colesville Road, Eastern Avenue and North Portal Drive NW, the intersection is wide, confusing, and encourages vehicles to speed through it.

Mayor Bowser stated at the project announcement event that the improvements will focus on pedestrian and bicycling improvements as well as vehicular signalization. DDOT began work in mid-January and expects to complete the project by fall 2020. DDOT, WTOP

DDOT to make additional improvements to as-yet-to-be-completed rebuilding of the 14th Street corridor

On going construction along the 14th Street corridor. DDOT. Construction Manager’s Weekly Progress Report 1-18-2020

DDOT announced on Twitter Thrusday that additional improvements will be coming to intersections along the ongoing 14th Street Corridor improvement project.

Concerns regarding potential conflicts between bicyclists, pedestrians and vehicles, began during the project design phase but became more obvious over the last few months. At issue is how protected bike lanes interact with vehicles at certain intersections. Specifically, as bikes attempt to cross a street, they risk colliding with turning vehicles – partly due to drive inattention and how the island-style bus shelters obscure the views of both drivers and bicyclists.

The long-delayed project, which began in 2016 but was originally to be completed in 2018, would effectively rebuild 14th Street from Thomas Circle to the south to Florida Avenue, NW.

According to DDOT, the primary goal of the project is to create a safer, more livable, sustainable and attractive corridor that complies with the with the Americans with Disabilities Act and aligns with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s #VisionZero initiative. Specifically, project improvements include is to increase multimodal safety and accessibility, improve mobility and pedestrian safety and improve the appearance of corridor with the new streetscape.

In a series of tweets, twitter users and #BikeDC advocates have complained about and recorded near misses with turning vehicles. The current configuration of DDOT protected bike lanes, they argue, are dangerous and offer little protection and in fact, make using the corridor more risky.

The project has also replaced or reconfigured street infrastructure to include gas, water, and electrical lines. Bicyclists and pedestrians have noted that aspects of the project offer little to no safe accommodation, which risks the lives of vulnerable users and violates District law.

While as of the time of this posting, DDOT has not provided details regarding what specific corrective actions it intends to make, some bicyclists have argued that bike and pedestrian priority signalization at intersections would help mitigate potential crashes.

Tweet of Zen: