At the ANC 2E Meeting with the Georgetown BID and DDOT, Something Unexpected Happened with a Bike Lane Project

Seersucker (61 of 214)
Along Water Street Below the Whitehurst Freeway
Image: Randall Myers

The Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID), Toole Design Group and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) participated in an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E (ANC) meeting held Monday, April 3 at the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. They discussed draft plans of the Water Street NW bike lane project.

Something interesting happened, the ANC, with a few reservations, supported it. This is a win for bicycling.

According to The Georgetown Current, the construction of the first phase of the project will begin this fall. It will include a protected bike lane, also know as a cycle track, between 34th and 30th streets NW. The proposed plan also improves and expands crosswalks, provides for a system to handle tour bus operations, and other road improvements. While the plan addresses some short-term bicycling, pedestrian and vehicular issue, it is flexible enough to accommodate future Streetcar extensions or further development as shown in the BID’s K and Water Street corridor concept plan.

ANC Meeting

Years ago, the idea of removing parking in Georgetown for any reason would be the non-startiest of non-starters. The headline of the Georgetown Current’s article on the meeting evoked that feeling in stating that “K/Water Change Would Cut Into Parking Spaces“. In reality, the planned extension of the popular bicyclist commuter and recreational trail – the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) – was endorsed. In fact, some members of the ANC wanted to extend the lanes as quickly as possible.

A resolution introduced by Lisa Palmer – Commissioner, 2E05 – supported the protected lanes. In her statement, she noted that metered parking makes traffic for her constituents worse. Allured by the hope of free parking, she said that drivers are encourage to drive around, making it difficult for those she represents to leave their homes. Some commissioners and members of the public voiced concerned that the removal of 43 metered spaces could be disruptive and potentially put pressure on other free or low-cost parking spaces.  However, the measure supporting the lanes passed unanimously.

Protected Bike Lane Details

This draft concept layout consists of a two-way protected bike lane, between 30th Street NW and the old Aqueduct bridge, below the Whitehurst Freeway. The draft rendering listed below show a 10′ to 12′ protected lane with a 3′ buffer and protection on the south side of Water Street, providing a link to the entrance of the CCT.

Illustration of the protected bike lane, potentially removing angled parking and narrowing travel lanes.
Image: Google

At intersections, other improvements include green safety paint, the realignment of crosswalks to match ADA compliant ramps, and the extension of striped bulb-outs with flexposts to protect crossing pedestrians from turning vehicles. The plan also adds bike lanes along Wisconsin Avenue that may connect with the C&O Canal or continue to M Street.

The draft plan is below.

 

Cautious Optimism

Katie Harris of Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) discussed the potential of this trail extension in her organization’s blog in September of 2016. Basically, the CCT is a bike superhighway that ends in a see of parked cars. She also notes that the plan as it currently is shown misses certain connective elements.  Wayfinding signage and additional bike parking would be necessary to help bicyclists and pedestrians navigate and visit the Georgetown waterfront. Also missing is an actual connection to the Rock Creek Trail. Again, this is a preliminary plan but showing how bicycles will be from 30th Street to the Rock Creek Trail is critical.

Potential ideas could include the rebuilding of the sidewalk along the connector road to the Rock Creek Parkway and trail, near 29th and Water streets. The current sidewalk is narrow, high, and without ADA-compliant ramps but reducing the width of the vehicle travel lane a few feet would give pedestrians or bicyclists a safer connection. A second alternative could be to bypass that area and have bicyclists and pedestrians use 30th street to connect to the Rock Creek Trail. However, during peak and not-so-peak hours that route can be pack with visitors.A more direct connection to downtown along K Street is also absent. This is the complicated intersection of 27th, K, Water, and Whitehurst, which probably needs it’s own study and may be rebuilt to accommodate the Georgetown branch of the Streetcar.

Parking Changes

Angled parking will be eliminated
Image: Google

Vehicular travel along Water Street will remain two lanes in each direction, with turning lanes at most intersections or major driveways. The plan removes the painted median that separates traffic from 29th and Water to Wisconsin. The removal of angular vehicular parking along the south side of Water Street and replacing it with parallel parking along the protected bike lane route eliminates about 30 vehicle parking space in this area. Another 10 spaces are removed elsewhere along the corridor.

The center median will be removed to free up
space for the protected bike lane on the left
Image: Google

The Current also reports that a turnaround at Water and 34th streets NW — previously slated for the project’s first phase  has been delayed until 2019, when the Key Bridge reconstruction is complete. Long-term plans for K and Water streets include accommodating the proposed DC Streetcar extension by relocating the bike lane onto a pathway through Georgetown Waterfront Park.

This plan connects an otherwise suburban trail with the rest of the District. While the current plan is tentative, its ANC approval and support by the Georgetown BID shows that the District is making progress on a goal of creating a cohesive bicycle network.

The BikeSpecific View of the FY 2018 Proposed Budget

Safe bicycling requires more money
than what’s shown in this photo
Image: BikeSpecific

Many people would consider the Mayor of the District of Columbia’s Proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget, which was unveiled April 4, 2017, to be the epitome of boring.

It is.

However, BikeSpecifc is boring. In light of that revelation, I’ve scoured the budget and will now share some initial observations and potential changes to how bicycling is prioritized.

This Is Complicated

While just about all of the bike-related infrastructure expenditures are in the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), there are other agencies that spend funds to promote or help educate residents and visitors about bicycling. An example includes the DC Public Schools funding a bike education program for all second grade students in last year’s budget. The FY 2018 Proposed budget doesn’t tout what other agencies are doing to expand bicycling; however, I may have missed something, so feel free to check behind me.

Second, the Mayor’s budget also doesn’t provide many specifics. While the Proposed Budget highlight new initiatives, it doesn’t always provide granular information – details of when and what infrastructure will be built. The budget document is a guide of what the Mayor plans to do; the implementation details are typically left to the agencies who tell you in meetings or websites.

Lastly, this isn’t the final budget. The Council of the District of Columbia will also make changes and may add or subtract from bicycle or trail infrastructure. The may also institute new laws or funding sources that support specific current or new projects.

Because that’s all complicated and filled with how the sausage is made details, let’s focus on DDOT’s budget. If you’d like, view the budget details.

Operating Budget

The FY 2018 DDOT budget is divided into two major pieces:  Capital and Operating.

The capital budget supports the multi-year, multi-million (billion) dollar medium to long-term assets like pedestrian bridges, streetcars, and snow plows. Much of the infrastructure is supported with capital dollars. I’ll talk more about capital later.

The operating budget supports the cost of day-to-day operations, people, and supplies. The operating budget contains the planning of initiatives, the analysis of data, and the assessment initiative outcomes. How well or how poorly did the Pennsylvania Avenue protected bike lanes do to deter vehicles from making u-turns or how many people use the Metropolitan Branch Trail are examples. Operating also supports certain contracts for services, grants to organizations, and payments to other jurisdictions for what they do for the District. 

Saying all of that, let’s talk about DDOT’s Operating budget highlights.

Reorganization of DDOT
To comply with some of the suggestions and provisions of the “FY 2016 Transportation Reorganization Amendment Act“, the District Department of Transportation engaged in a restructuring of the agency into five administration.

For bicycling, this appears to be a good change. The previous structure generally placed design segments of bicycling in the Progressive Transportation and Planning Policy and Sustainability programs. The new proposed 2018 structure appears to consolidate most bicycle functions with the Project Delivery Administration (PDA).

The PDA, which has a proposed budget of over $20 million with 36.0 positions, focuses on multi-modal infrastructure project planning, design, and construction; policy development and implementation; transit delivery; and traffic engineering and safety. Of that amount, about $3.6 million supports salaries and about $16 million supports contracts and grants. the remaining amount covers operating costs.

What’s been one of the biggest gripes about DDOT is that the construction, planning, and design of infrastructure was siloed – bridges without bike and pedestrian access, poor or non-existent implementation of certain laws (like safe accommodation), or at time disconnect between when projects are planned and when they actually happen (Well, you know). The Planning and Sustainability Division supports much of the District’s planning regarding the integration of multimodal transportation. This will hopefully reduce some of the agency overlap, siloing, right-hand/left-hand ambiguity; and allow programs to work together to plan and implement the building of infrastructure.

Specifically, the DDOT budget chapter states that the PDA:

  • Establishes strategic goals for multi-modal transportation program development, including pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure, through design and plan review; 
  • Incorporates environmental management and sustainability; 
  • Administers safety programs; coordinates the development of the regional Transportation Improvement Program and District-wide Transportation Improvement Program; and 
  • Manages the Capital Bikeshare and Safe Routes to School programs.

The placement of the TIP or Transportation Improvement Program within the same administration The budget does not list all of what DDOT plans to do for biking and walking, it simply describes certain changes that are of particular importance to the Mayor.

BikeShare Enhancement
The Mayor proposed an additional increase of $1.6 million to support Bikeshare operations with the aim of keeping the membership rate at the current level of $85 annually. This presumes that without the additional funds that certain BikeShare costs are exceeding contract cost with the District providing additional funds to help maintain the cost of membership.

Vision Zero
Not specific to bicycling but considered by the Mayor to be an important element to reduce injurious and fatal crashes, the Mayor added $4.5 million to the Vision Zero Initiative. The additional funds support 45 new Traffic Control Operators along with 26 new School Crossing Guards.

Agency Performance Plans
The DDOT budget contains a revised, better organized, Agency Performance Plan or agency defined objectives or projects and indicators of performance. The plan articulates these objectives through activities, and DDOT has a bunch, that are specific projects the agency hopes to complete this fiscal year. They include the integration of performance management databases, the continued development of the Vision Zero Initiative, Capital Bikeshare planning, and several long-term capital construction projects. This data can also be used to show trends.

The Key Performance Indicators show FY 2015 actual measurements through 2016 projected targets. For example, DDOT will enhance data collection of bicycling and pedestrian usage by installing counters from three in 2016 to a projected seven in 2018.

Key Performance Indicator for DDOT
Image: FY 2018 Proposed Budget

Measures also include those associated with the Vision Zero Initiative, which aims to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries for all road users. For example, the “number of crashes with bicyclists involved” shows 647 in 2015, a decrease of 201 in 2016, and a projected goal for 2017 and 2018 of zero crashes.

Capital Budget

The Capital budget includes many projects that have a direct impact on how bicyclists and pedestrians safely and directly get to where they want to go. The Capital Improvements Plan, or CIP, contains new projects and residual funding from prior year projects with available balances. The CIP projects spending over a 6-year period from FY 2018 through FY 2023. The CIP covers the construction of infrastructure but also the design work and certain planning elements.

Capital funds are derived from local taxes and fees and from federal sources, like highway funding, block grants and specific federal payments requested by Congress. Much of the District’s capital budget is funded with municipal bonds that must be repaid, typically in 10 to 30 years.

While there are many projects that could allow for better bicycling, like curb cuts, let’s focus on projects that specifically support bicycling and trails. The following projects are new or expand existing projects.

BikeShare Expansion
One of the largest new investments in bicycling support BikeShare expansion. The project, Capital Bikeshare Expansion (KA0-CBS02), provides $8.0 million over next few years to continue the expansion of system by purchasing additional bikes and stations. The proposed funding allocates $2.0 million in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 and another $2.0 million in 2021 and 2022.

11th Street Bridge Park
The budget also contains plans to expand or beautify the District’s trail network. The budget contains an additional $8 million for the 11th Street Bridge Park project (ED0D5), which when combined with prior year allocations, has a total of $29.5 million. The additional funding, to be spent in FY 2020, supports the design costs of the park. Preliminary plans include bike and pedestrian trails, outdoor performance spaces, play areas, gardens, information about the river and its ecosystem, a dock to launch boats and kayaks to explore the river.

Transportation Improvement Program
On the operating side of the budget, DDOT was reorganized potentially allowing certain short and long-term planning elements to operated more smoothly. The Travel Demand Management project (ZU000) contains much of the Transportation Improvement Program or TIP funding for the District. This project received an additional $33.4 million over the 6-year period. Also, the budget has multiple subprojects that allocate funds to achieve specific goals like Capital Bikeshare Marketing and Outreach (ZU057C), Bike Parking Racks (ZUT06A), or Bike Cycle Tracks (ZUD12A)

Specifically, the funding allocated in this project supports services and facilities that promote safe and attractive walking and bicycling as well as programs that promote mass transit, and other creative ways to provide alternatives to auto travel as well as significant outreach, education, and promotion. A list of all TIP projects can be seen on the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board website.

A list of bike-specific projects that are not classified as “Completed” can be seen below:

So that was a lot of stuff and only the first part, remember – the Council will have a role. As more information becomes available, we’ll talk.

If I’ve missed something or you have questions, let me know.

Florida Avenue Virtual Circle Multimodal Transportation Project Public Meeting

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm, the District Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting to discuss concept designs for intersection of Florida Avenue and New York Avenue NE, “Virtual Circle”.

The meeting will be held in the lobby of 1200 First Street NE.

Also known as Dave Thomas Circle, the meeting will discuss potential safety and practical improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists. The meeting will also discus streetscape deficiencies and improve vehicular circulation.

The design concepts developed by DDOT and its consultants will be presented to further refine the options considered, and complete this phase of the project. As one of the more progressive pieces of bike infrastructure in the District, an extension of the First Street NE Protected Bike lane as well as safer accommodations through the area for pedestrians would be a welcomed and complementary addition to the Metropolitan Branch Trail that runs parallel to it. In addition, the east / west bike and pedestrian travel along Florida Avenue is poor and hopefully will be addressed.

DDOT has come full circle with this intersection.

Decades ago, there were plans to extend the Center Leg Freeway above or below New York Avenue. In 2006, DDOT proposed a freeway style overpass. In 2014, Greater Greater Washington reported that a new study of pedestrian and bicycle safety along Florida Avenue NE was underway and that the “circle” and the nearby Wendy’s could become a simpler intersection and green space.

The most recent iteration of the Circle was discussed by DDOT in June of 2010 as shown in the video below, with most of the improvements completed as of December of that year.

Late last year, the Prince of Petworth blog noted that on some days, especially due to WMATA’s Red line SafeTrack shuttle busing, the intersection becomes impossible to navigate.

Hopefully, the circle of Wendy will come to an end.

Revolution Bikes Shop Sold to Trek?

It appears that a long-time bike shop has been sold to Trek. In an email sent this morning, the longtime owner of the regional bike shop Revolution, anounced that “The time has come for us to pass the baton and move into the next chapter of our lives”. 

“We have found that partner in Trek Bicycle. We know they will do a great job and that your experience with our shops and cycling in DC, Maryland, and Virginia will continue to improve under their guidance and leadership.”

The full message can be seen here.