The Pennsylvania Avenue Repaving is Particularly Bad for Bikes

Holey Moley
Images by author

Many long-time Washingtonians know what happens to Pennsylvania Avenue just before the election of a new President – the repaving of Pennsylvania Avenue. The repaving and reconstruction of certain street elements happened later this year than when this was last done for the inauguration President Obama, September of the previous year.

The #BikeDC hashtag on Twitter contains several complaints and concerns from bicyclists regarding the reconstruction of Pennsylvania Avenue, including the following:

these pavement cuts on Penn near 11th-12th are deep, not easy to see, and hazardous. Watch out, #bikedc pic.twitter.com/CaTUEvvcz3

— JDAntos (@JDAntos)

There was no coordination between redline safe track and @DDOTDC regarding removal of #bikedc lanes https://t.co/CDDUzyobqd

— Paul Angelone (@PaulAngelone)

Haven’t ridden my bike since 10/6 due to injury. Was going to today until I saw all the tweets about @DDOTDC‘s Penn Ave death trap. #bikedc

— Nasty Woman (@nikki_d)

Hey @DDOTDC big gap in pavement EB #PennAve cycletrack at 6 St NW – no warning, seen a few cyclists nearly crash, very dangerous #bikedc pic.twitter.com/NLw2VczkWB

— Robert Svercl (@bobco85)

While this work was expected (and perhaps not needed), many things are wrong with the how the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has managed the milling and repaving of Pennsylvania Avenue, NW so far.

Below is a list of concerns that are troubling given the importance of this corridor for both motorists and bicyclists.

  1. Notice. Tuesday afternoon, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) issued a press release. That release stated that construction would begin work between 3rd and 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW – THAT NIGHT. Bicyclists using a major transportation route in the morning would have it removed in the evening. There was no signage along the route warning of the change so cyclists could use an alternative route. DDOT issued no advanced notice to bicycle groups or the media. The following morning, many people still had no idea what happened to their relatively safe route, did not know how long the construction would last or any alternative routes.

    If the inauguration repaving continues to the White House, it likely means that the 15th Street protected bike lane will also be repaved and its protective barriers removed. Temporarily. Sill waiting on verification on this potential road work.

  2. Milling. The process of milling removes the top layers of the pavement and produces a grooved effect. This grooving runs roughly parallel to the travel direction of travel. While it’s some what of a nuisance as the street condition reduces cyclists speeds and causes enough vibration to shake parts off of the bike, it’s not a particularly bad for bicyclists.

    The major problem are the craters and cliffs.

    By craters, the process occasionally leaves potholes in areas where they are cracks or voids in the surface or even to the supporting concrete. These potholes can be several inches deep and wide. They can appear at any location and are hard to see at speed, must less so if it becomes a container for rainfall.

    The milling process also creates a two or more inch grade separation between the milled street and the remaining brick crosswalks. Experienced cyclists can jump them or move into vehicular travel lanes to avoid them.  At other locations, road conditions are so poor that cyclists are forced to ride into oncoming traffic, according to the following statement from JDAntos on Twitter.

    Penn. Ave cycletrack this morning. Cyclists riding into oncoming traffic to avoid deep pavement cuts. #bikedc pic.twitter.com/c9qlLOhaaE

    — JDAntos (@JDAntos)

    Bicyclists have to dodge these problems, in the middle of busy arterial with vehicles moving at speed, without the important pieces of the roadway. This doesn’t seem safe.

    Below is a sample of roadway problems along the “protected bike lane”:

    6th and Pennsylvania, westbound
    6th and Pennsylvania, eastbound
    13th 1/2 and Pennsylvania, eastbound
    13th 1/2 and Pennsylvania, westbound
    Constitution and Pennsylvania, eastbound
    Constitution and Pennsylvania, eastbound queue

  3. Markings. As part of the milling process for Pennsylvania Avenue, the lines and road components that keep order and protect disappear. Temporarily. While most lines reappeared for motorists, they did not for bicyclists. No bike line lines, no protective bollards, no signage, nothing. In certain areas, where motorists heading westbound and make left turns, they received and extra lane – the former protected bike lane.

    The areas of most concern are the left at Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW and at Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th 1/2 Street NW. At Constitution, the prior configuration had two vehicle left turn lanes parallel to the center bike lane controlled by a vehicular signal. Now, the bike lane marking are missing, so vehicles make lefts in it. DDOT states that the flexible posts and other bike lane barriers will not be replaced until after the presidential inauguration.
     

  4. Safe Accommodation. This is a law. DDOT must provide a reasonable alternative. According to the DDOT press release, DDOT will maintain safe accommodations for people on bikes during the repaving. The center bicycle lanes will shift to the curb lanes and bicycle traffic will be maintained in both directions. This hasn’t happened as of this posting.

    Safe accommodation is a basic component of the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act, which is supposed to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from construction that poses a risk. According to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s comments about the similar safe accommodation question with the 15th and L Street construction project, under the Safe Accommodation regulations, DDOT is required to provide a protected bike lane adjacent to the motor vehicle lane as long as one motor vehicle lane can be maintained in the same direction of travel. 

The inauguration is important – bicyclists understand this. However, if an important artery for bicycling is removed, DDOT should go out of its way to provide notice and provide a safe and realistic alternative BEFORE work begins. How do we encourage new bicyclists to use District roadways if they are removed with almost no notice? How can we can ask bicyclists to ‘make due’ with temporary but horrendous the road conditions?

If the District is serious about Vision Zero and making bicycling a viable alternative for residents and visitors, they must prepare in advance for major street construction and ensure that all road users have a reasonable and safe alternative.

A Closer Look: D.C. United Bike Transportation Plan for its New Stadium

Artist conceptualization of the new 1st Street SW

DC United provided additional information regarding the construction of its new soccer stadium at Buzzard Point.  In documents submitted to the District’s Zoning Commission prior to its November 2, 2016 hearing, United unveiled its transportation plan as part of the planned-unit development process. United claims that the new stadium could “become one of, if not the most bike friendly soccer Stadium in the country“.

Let’s take a look at what they plan. Of course, the plans are subject to change.

LEED Certified Spaces
According to the plan exhibit, most of the bicycle parking will be provided along 2nd Street and First Street near stadium entry gates. The stadium will contain at least 83 short-term LEED bicycle parking spaces. Under LEED requirements, the spaces should provide long-term bicycle storage for at least 5 percent of all regular building occupants, but no fewer than four storage spaces per building in addition to the short-term bicycle storage spaces. LEED also requires at least one on-site shower with changing facility.

Capital Bikeshare

X marks the spot of the bikeshare desert

United will work with the District to install at least one Bikeshare docking station of an undetermined size. On certain high volume days, United will partner with Capital Bikeshare to create a corral, allowing users to park their bikes with using the typical docking procedure.

The stadium plan notes that there are five stations along the northern edge of the study area that contain a total of 113 docking stations; however, they are a half-mile away.  While the corral system may work on certain game days, the lack of additional station may make it difficult to dock bikes on typical days or days when United does not request a corral. The half mile walk, if the station nearest to the stadium is full, may discourage Bikeshare use. The District, or some other entity, may hopefully provide additional docks.

As part of United’s marketing plan to encourage getting to the stadium by bike, they may provide discounted bikeshare memberships to season-ticket holders in lieu of or in combination with any parking discounts.

Street and Trail Facilities
Along the First Street SW entrance, which is considered a private street, DC United will install enough bike racks to accommodate at least 90 bicycles. This area will be shared with pedestrians and potentially vehicular traffic, also, the street may only be open on game days.
In public space along 2nd Street, United is working with the District to include an as-yet-determined number of bicycle racks in public space. Also, permanent and temporary way-finding signage along the bike route on game days to direct people towards the bike valet location and to other bike parking locations. Temporary cones and barriers could also be used along the access routes to direct bicycle traffic to the Stadium before the match and away from the Stadium at the end.

Like Nationals Stadium, United will have a free bicycle valet service. United will monitor the amount of available bike parking and add more racks or more space to the valet as needed to accommodate demand. The plan suggests that 60 percent of bike parking spaces would be served by bike racks and the remainder accommodated by the bike valet system, with most of it centralized along the north and east sides of the Stadium as more cyclists are likely to be traveling from these directions.

Planned bike infrastructure, with rebuilt South Capitol Bridge
Gorove / Slade – Zoning Commission

The District is also considering creating a two-way protected bike lane along 2nd Street SW as addressed in the Buzzard Point Framework Plan, which United supports in its proposal. That plan calls for a protected bicycle lane along Potomac Avenue / R Street that connects to the existing bike lanes on Potomac Avenue across South Capitol Street and a protected bike lane along 2nd Street that will ultimately be part of an extended Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, a part of the Anacostia Waterfront Transportation Plan.

Also, the plan recommends improved pedestrian and bicycle connectivity by increasing sidewalk widths, decreasing vehicular lane widths, improving intersection controls, and organizing curbside restrictions  “helping to create a more inclusive environment of all modes of travel”.

As part of the planned reconstruction of the South Capitol Street – Fredrick Douglas Bridge, the trail would be extended under the bridge and connected to the Buzzard Point neighborhood at S Street, SW. According to the Transportation Improvement Program, which coordinates and outlines when and how the area’s larger infrastructure projects are completed, the reconstruction of the bridge is funded and could commence in 2017 or early 2018.

Working with the Bicycling Community
To encourage visitors to get to stadium events by bike, United will partner with bicycling-related organizations like the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA). This includes holding special promotions that focus on bicyclists to include creating apps or websites encouraging bicycling, providing bike-specific swag, and having bike-to-game days with planned activities and prizes. Additionally, DC United states that it will coordinate with the WABA on specific strategies to create a bike friendly environment at the stadium.

Below is the bicycle section of its transportation plan:

Eleanor Holmes Norton to hold Bike and NPS urban parks Community Roundtables

Image: BikeSpecific

The federal government has a key role in how the District creates and maintains its bicycling infrastructure and recreational parks. The District’s delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton, has invited officials from the District Department of Transportation Office and the National Park Service (NPS) to sit on a panel with her to hear testimony from the District’s bicycle and pedestrian community. This community roundtable discussions will help to determine what the federal role should be and how to best apply federal resources to the District’s bicycle network and federally-operated national parks.


The first roundtable, entitled “How New Federal Funds Can Help Residents Bike and Walk with Less Risk and More Pleasure” is on Thursday, October 27, 2016, at 6:00 pm, in room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building. This roundtable provides a forum for local bike and pedestrian leaders and District residents to discuss the best ways to use new federal funding for bike and pedestrian projects within the recently approved surface transportation bill, also know as the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act.

The FAST Act provides over $305 billion in funding over fiscal years 2016 through 2020 for surface transportation infrastructure planning and investment across the nation. Unlike prior authorizations, this allocation allows new flexibility in how states and the District may use these funds. The Transportation Alternatives section, which is comprised of smaller-scale transportation projects, allocates a total of $835 million per year for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 and $850 million in 2018 through 2020 is available. Small scale projects include on or off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities, recreational trails, safe routes to school projects, and other community improvements.The District will received approximately $3.2 million.

The second roundtable, “Focusing on our Neighborhood Crown Jewels: The National Park Service’s Urban Parks in DC”, is on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, at 6:30 p.m., at the African America Civil War Museum located at 1925 Vermont Avenue NW. Delegate Norton will be joined by NPS National Capital Regional Director Bob Vogel and the regional NPS superintendents. Many advocates and residents say that NPS could be more proactive in working with District residents add programming and provide maintenance to area parks. The roundtable enables District residents and NPS to discuss opportunities to work with each other to maintain the District’s neighborhood parks under NPS control and determine how to effectively spend funds from Congress.

The Bike Estate – October 17, 2016

While the Bike Estate focuses on the developer’s plans for bicyclists in their new buildings, bike stuff happens all over town all the time. Here are a few things happening at a bike lane near you:

  • The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) will hold its annual Cider Ride Saturday, November 5. The event offers two distances for your riding pleasure – the 47 mile Honeycrisp route or the 23 mile McIntosh route. The Cider Ride starts in DC’s Edgewood neighborhood in Northeast and end at the Dew Drop Inn where riders can enjoy a post-ride celebration, which presumably includes Cider. Prices range from $35 for individual early bird registration for the right only to $60 for a family with one adult and three children and a year membership to WABA. (WABA)
  • Boundary Stone isn’t just a bar it’s how the District was made. The 4th Annual Boundary Stone Bike Ride is Saturday, October 22. While the entire ride is at least 60 miles around the District and Arlington but feel free to ride less according to the organizers. The first 50 registrants receive a swag bag, and ALL participants get a free beer ticket. The after-party begins at 7pm, with a band, beer specials on DC Brau Brewing Company. The ride is Free. (BadWolf)
2013 Tweed Ride
Image: BikeSpecific
  • Communities with the greatest investment in supporting active lifestyles yield residents who do significantly better in key aspects of well-being. According to a recent Gallup survey of 48 communities, residents in the five highest-ranked active living communities have, on average, significantly lower obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and rates of depression than do residents of communities with comparatively little active living infrastructure. The DC region scored fifth highest in their overall support for active living behind Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York ranked higher, respectively, partly due to reportedly better exercise habits and lower levels of smoking. (Gallup)

The Bike Estate – October 12, 2016

The Bike Estate scours local blogs and government websites for information about bike facilities in new or recently opened residential or commercial buildings. The following are recently-filed development applications with the Zoning Commission.
  • Forest City proposed plans for the construction of a 10-story mixed-use building containing residential apartments on the upper floors, neighborhood-oriented retail uses on the ground floor and two levels of below-grade parking.

    The as-yet-unnamed project located near at 2nd and Tingey Streets SE at the Navy Yard will contain a total of 133 bike parking spaces. Of that amount, 24 are short-term U-racks at street level along the perimeter of the site in public space. Additionally, the project will include secure long-term bicycle parking totaling 109 spaces in a parking garage. A total of 87 long-term bicycle parking spaces are planned in private space, with 73 bicycle parking spaces are planned for the residential component, two bicycle parking spaces for the retail component and twelve bicycle spaces for a future hotel component.

    According to DDOT’s project review, the developer has noted that they plan to provide an onsite bicycle repair facility and are working on an agreement with the nearby Conte Bikes store to provide bicycle repair services for residents and the general public in The Yards Park area.

  • The Washington Gateway project proposal from MidAtlantic Reality Partners (MRP) shoe-horns two towers of residential and commercial developments between the Metropolitan Branch trail and the Elevation residential development at 100 Florida Avenue NE, near the intersection of Florida and New York Avenue NE.
    Fairly narrow Washington Gateway Site, which parallels the
    Metropolitan Branch Trail on the right.
    Image: MRP

    According to the Planned Unit Development (PUD), the project will provide “significant upgrades to the Metropolitan Branch Trail (the “Trail”); connectivity between the Trail, the project, and the Metrorail Station; and a new Metropolitan Branch Trial Atrium”.

    The project proposes a two-story, public bicycle lobby that contains a grand staircase with a bike trough (ramp) that allows riders to easily access the plaza located on the ground floor. In addition to bike storage, the estimated $1.2 million bike lobby will have space designated for information about the trail and surrounding neighborhoods, station maps, an automatic bike tire pump, drinking fountain, and bicycle racks. The trail will also receive $150,000 of paving and lighting improvements paid for by the developer.

    As part of the construction agreement, a temporary connection between the plaza at the Elevation and Metropolitan Branch Trail will remain open. 

  • A proposed 300 Morse Street mixed-used development from KF Morse, LLC will be constructed in multiple phases and consisting of approximately 63,000 square feet (sf) of retail space, 1,238 residential units, and 217,558 sf of office space. Built in two phases, with the total project containing over 900 bicycle parking spaces. Phase 1 will contain a total of 555 secure long-term bicycle parking spaces, phase 2 will include 360 long-term spots. Additional short‐term bicycle parking will be supplied within the interior and perimeter of the site.

    • The development plans to extend the proposed 4th Street protected bike lane that will enter the site from the proposed Morse Street NE extension before turning north along the alley. This should link it to DDOT’s proposed extension of a trail along New York Avenue NE. The 10 foot wide protected bike lane within the alley will include a curbed buffer separating it from the vehicular traffic. The project plan also includes bicycle repair stations in its bicycle rooms as well as in public areas. 

    Item number 6, (area in green above “The Alley”) is a 10-foot protected bike lane that could lead to
    future connection to a New York Avenue NE trail.
    Image: KF Morse, LLC 
  • 810 O Street NW will replace the Scripture Cathedral, located approximately two blocks from the Mount Vernon Square Metrorail Station. The proposed plan submitted to the Zoning board includes an eight story mixed-use building with 66 residential units and 6,879 sq ft of retail. The parking garage contains 66 vehicular spaces as well as 22 secure bicycle parking spaces for residents and retail employees as well as some parking on the adjacent sidewalk near the project.