D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

Please join the Bicycle Advisory Council's Facilities Committee (BAC-FAC) on a ride or 'rolling meeting' Saturday July 20, 2013, beginning at 1:30p. The second ride of the season will explore access the Capital Crescent trail within the District. The Capital Crescent trail (CCT) is a popular transportation route for bicyclists, however, access to the trail for District residents is limited. The main access points in the District are in Georgetown beneath the Key Bridge, Norton Street, NW and Fletcher's Boathouse .  Access to the boathouse location is particularly difficult for cyclists and pedestrians because the of a lack of sidewalks or signalization along Canal Road NW. Access at Norton Street is also difficult do to a lack of signage identifying the location of the trail entrance. The BAC-FAC team will be riding the CCT starting from the Georgetown entrance continuing to Norton Street and into Ward 3, stopping along the way to view access points.  We will likel...

On Saturday 6/23, the DC BAC Facilities Committee explored bike accessibility and connectivity to commercial areas along Georgia Avenue. Building walkable and bikeable communities is an important part of supporting local jobs - but to make it work, we need to make sure that people can get to commercial areas easily. Ride Attendees : Jeanie Osburn - Ward 5 BAC representative Randall Myers - At-large BAC representative Jameel Alsalam - Ward 4 BAC representative Nathan Picotte - Ward 4 resident Julianne Horn - Ward 4 resident On the ride, we visited : 1) 8th Street signed bike route 2) Walmart development site at Georgia and Missouri 3) Walter Reed development site 4) Crossing Rock Creek Park We want to send a special thanks to Coucilmember Muriel Bowser and staff members Judi Gold and Brandon Todd who joined us for the beginning of the ride. CM Bowser shared with us her priorities: expanding access to Capital Bikeshare in Ward 4, and ensuring that bicycling is an attractiv...

The DCBAC Facilities Committee will hold its October rolling meeting Saturday, October 15, 2011 from 9:30a to 11:30a. DCBAC appreciates your comments regarding bicycling in the area and invite residents and bicyclists to attend.  As a rolling meeting, those wanting to participate should at a minimum bring your bike, helmet and inter tubes. Due to waning daylight in October, this will be the final rolling facilities committee meeting of the calendar year.  The ride will begin at the southwest corner of M and 11th Streets SW SE (that's at the Navy Yard on the WEST side of the Anacostia). The meeting will ride over the 11th Street bridge into the Far Southeast  Livability Study area . The purpose of the study is to increase the livability and quality of life for residents and visitors to the area by making the area safer and more accessible to both residence and visitors who walk, bike, use public transportation or automobiles.  The meeting will cover some of ...

Below are notes from the far northeast livability study area riding meeting hosted by Jeanie Osburn,  BAC Facility Advisory Committee (FAC) chair.  ----

As a companion to the the details of the Tommy Wells ride, below are pictures from the Thursday, July  28, 2011 Council Member Tommy Wells' Bike Ride for Better Connections on South Capitol Street.  The pictures highlight some of the issues with the corridor and well as shows the potential for the development of better cycling and pedestrian facilities.

DCBAC is would like to here your comments and suggestions with regard to altercations between the District's Pedicab operators and the National Park Service Police (NPS) on or in the vicinity of the National Mall.  Also, DCBAC is interested in the public's thoughts on the proposed pedicabs operator regulations. DCBAC plans to gather this information and will likely present it to local and federal authorities. DCBAC would especially like to hear comments from actual pedicab operators.  Comments can be left below or you can send an email to dcbac@dcbac.org. As reported by various news outlets including Patrick Madden of WAMU radio and David Schultz of Transportation Nation , the District's pedicab operators have been targeted by the NPS Park Police as part of its “education campaign” designed to remind pedicab operators of the laws they have to follow.  According to some Pedicab operators, however, the Park Police have been targeting them unfairly for tickets and ar...

Bikes are allowed, just not welcomed (photo by thedceye) Despite its faults, Metrorail is a good subway system. No, really. When compared to other systems in the country, it does double duty as a regional commuter rail and an urban heavy rail system.  While that comparison seems natural to us only a few systems, like Bay Area Rapid Transit ( BART ) in San Francisco, travel as far and as frequently as Metrorail. That said, it's not perfect.  Through countless blogs, reports, tweets and articles, the operations of the Washington Area Transportation Authority  (WMATA) are subject to intense scrutiny.  To some, its policies and practices seem to occasionally be counterproductive, making customers feel like they are imposing when they question why it takes a year to fix an escalator or why train operators sometimes allow 5 seconds for passengers to board and disembark trains at crowded stations. In one respect; however, Metrorail seems downright hostile -- whe...