Friday, October 11, 2013

Synopsis of the BAC-FAC Rolling Meeting 'To the Park'

Below are observations from Monday, October 7, "Get to the Park" BAC Facilities meeting from the BAC-FAC chair, Jeanie Osburn (BAC-FAC@dcbac.org):

To Rock Creek
District Department of Transportation staff person Mike Goodno and I rode around Columbia Heights last night looking for good routes from east-to-west and west-to-east to get to Rock Creek Park from the Park View section of the District. (This mid-city north, east-west corridor will likely be important as more bicyclists travel across town.)  By 5pm the rain had stopped, so the ride was dry.

Bicycle Networks in the Proposed WeMoveDC Plan

As the WeMoveDC process begins its transition from the information gathering to the planning stage, the ideas that they've gathered from thousands of District residents are now coming together - on maps.

In anticipation of WeMoveDC's third round of  Workshops – Ideas to moveDC - beginning October 21, BAC has obtained a draft version of the WeMoveDC maps that list ideas and approached for the District's bicycle facilities (displayed below). There are a lot of moving parts in this process, but thanks to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), we now have maps that break them into component as well as composite maps.

BAC would like #BikeDC to look at these maps and either tell us what you think or tell WeMoveDC at its upcoming meetings. We'd also like you to note if anything should be included, for example, with all these new routes, what about safe, secure bicycle parking?

WeMoveDC has three approaches or alternatives loosely based on themes of 1) Stay the Course, 2) Get Downtown and 3) Connect the Neighborhoods. In addition, the maps displays three types of bike facilities: bike lanes, protected lanes, and off-road multi-use trails. This creates 12 maps variations (including 'summary' maps) to consider.

Please review at the maps below and discuss them with your friends, neighbors, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners or members of Council - regardless of if they ride bicycles or not. We want to make sure that the you come with a lot of questions and suggestions based on the needs of the bicycling public and the people bicyclists are connected to each day. 

BAC, together with the public, hopes to identify the significant differences between the three approaches and communicate concerns, suggestions or support the DDOT. Once major differences are identified, we need to share/document our opinions. Ideally, we'll be able offer DDOT a fourth approach - 4) the best ideas!

If you have suggestions or are unable to attend the WeMoveDC workshops, please feel free to leave your thought below or on Twitter @dcbac.





Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Bicycle Safety Amendment Act Committee Report and Fiscal Impact Statement

Earlier this year, Council member's Mary M. Cheh and Tommy Wells introduced the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2013 (Bill 20-0140).  The purpose of this bill is to streamline and update certain aspects of the District's bicycling laws.

The document below contains two files, the Draft Committee Report and its Fiscal Impact Statement. The Committee on Transportation and the Environment's report explains in detail how the Council envisions the implementation and purpose of the law and what has transpired between the introduction and the anticipated final vote.

As required for most legislation, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer produced a Fiscal Impact Statement (FIS), which determines how the proposed legislation could affect the District financial plan and how much the law could potentially cost to implement. The FIS also provides a clear and brief explanation of the legislation. This document starts on page 10 below.


BAC - FAC Meeting - To the Park

Please join the Bicycle Advisory Council's Facilities Committee (BAC-FAC) for its October 7, 2013 ride this Monday. The ride will began at approximately 6:00 PM 5:00 PM from the intersection of Park Road and Park Place NW on the west side of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (Old Soldier's Home) in the Park View section of the District.

The objective is to scout reasonable east / west routes across Columbia Heights from Old Soldier's Home to Rock Creek Park.  We will be accompanied by a representative from the District Department of Transportation, who will help answer your questions. Please remember to bring a helmet and installed front and rear bike lights.

For those on the list who ride that area frequently have suggested routes or if you have questions about the ride, please contact Jeanie Osburn (BAC-FAC@dcbac.org), chair of this committee.