Review of Florida Avenue Study

Below is a document transmitted by members of BAC regarding our review of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Florida Avenue Multimodal Safety and Planning Study. This document represents the views of five BAC members and the chair of BAC's Facilities Committee. This does not necessarily represent an official BAC response, as that requires approval by a quorum of BAC members.

Regarding the Study, BAC has learned that funding has yet to be designated for the construction. A DDOT representative stated that the agency is waiting for the completion of the Study, likely this June. Once an alternative is selected, DDOT will produce cost estimates, add the project to DDOT's Transportation Improvement Program, and then begin design and eventually construction.

If you have observations or suggestions, please add them to the comments section below or on twitter using the #FloridaAveStudy hashtag.

DCBAC-FloridaAveStudy by D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

FY 2015 Council Budget Oversight Hearing for DDOT - April 29

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Mayor’s Proposed budget was released April 3, 2014. It sets the Mayor’s priorities for the coming year and is the first step in the budget process.

The next step in the process is the review of the budget by the Council of the District of Columbia. Council has begun its process by asking District agencies to provide details on their budgets and may recommend changes. 

As port of its information gathering efforts, the Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment will hold its hearing on the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Tuesday, April 29, 2014 beginning at 11am in the Council Chamber of the John A. Wilson Building (Room 500), 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

The Committee encorages the public and organizations to provide testimony on the proposed DDOT budget and its plans for the upcoming year. BAC encourages the public to voice praise, concerns or suggestions with regard to the proposed spending for complete streets that include accommodation for bicycling at this hearing. For those interested in testifying at the DDOT hearing, please contact Aukima Benjamin or call 202-724-8062.

Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee - April Bimonthly Meeting

The bimonthly Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee (SEE) will reconvene at Merzi in Penn Quarter, 415 7th Street, NW (Downhill in same block as Carmine's, across from Hill Country, just north of D Street). The meeting will be Wednesday April 23, beginning at 6 pm.

The agenda includes discussion regarding educational issues per BAC testimony at the District Department of Transportation / BAC / PAC oversight hearing last month. SEE will also discuss creating an immediate and practical educational intervention pertaining to the G and I Street NE contraflow lanes.

Capital Bikeshare stations are nearby at 8th & D Streets NW and 6th Street and Indiana Ave NW.  A bike parking corral is located at 8th and D Streets.  If you have questions, please contact Andrea Adleman,Chair of the SEE Committee.

Benning Road Transportation Improvements Environmental Assessment

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration are preparing an Environmental Assessment for the proposed Benning Road and Bridge Multimodal Transportation Improvements.

Benning Road Study Area - Image courtesy of Google Maps

The meeting will be held Tuesday April 22, 2014 at the Department of Employment Services Building, 4058 Minnesota Avenue, NE from 6:30 pm. to 8 pm.

The study area is along the Benning Road NE corridor, from Oklahoma Avenue to the Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road Metrorail Stations. This public meeting will serve to inform attendees about the project’s scope and discuss transportation issues. The approximately 1.7 mile corridor  is the planned route for the H Street / Benning Road streetcar extension into Ward 7, which currently ends near Spingran High School.

The BAC Facilities (BAC - FAC) committee has specifically called for action on this section Benning Road as the bridge over route 295, the Anacostia freeway, and the Alexandria Extension of the CSX railroad, which are are barriers for bicycles and pedestrians. Specifically, Benning Road at this point has entrance and exit lanes where cars move at highway speeds, making it difficult for bicyclists and pedestrians to cross or use the travel lanes for bicycling.  Also, the sidewalks on the bridge are particularly narrow.

As part of its rolling meeting series regarding the Florida Avenue Multimodal Transportation study, BAC - FAC will also ride from the NoMa-Galludet Station to the foot of the Benning Road bridge to investigate the bicycling impediments and planned improvements along this corridor. The ride will be Saturday, April 19, 2014. BAC encourages you to attend our rolling meeting, leave comments below or send us a tweet @DCBAC.

BAC Legislative Committee Meeting - April 2

The next bimonthly BAC Legislative Committee Meeting will be held April 2 at 6:30pm. The meeting will be held at the Two Rivers PCS Middle School, 1234 4th Street, NE.

The meeting will be short, 30 minutes, so that we can participate in the District Department of Transportation meeting regarding the rebuilding Florida Avenue, possibly with bike lanes or cycletracks.

Updated:
The Committee will discuss the following:

1. The Transit Benefits Establishment Act of 2013 was withdrawn and reintroduced as part of B20-573, the “Sustainable DC Omnibus Act of 2013.”  BAC sent a letter of support for the withdrawn act and should probably send (the same?) one for the reintroduced bill.
2. The bike parking regulations, originally required as part of the 2007 Bicycle Commuter and Parking Act, have been completed by DDOT and are now available for comment. We will review these and recommend comments. The comment period ends before the next BAC meeting.

Please feel free to contact the committee chair, David Cranor for meeting details or topics of discussion.

We look forward to seeing you.