D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

Highlights of BAC accomplishments in March: The BAC held its bimonthly meeting on March 6. The guest speakers were representatives of the Department of Public Works, who briefed the BAC on bike lane parking enforcement and other issues of concern to bicyclists. On a related note, the BAC voted to support DDOT “Proper Behavior in Bike Lanes” rulemaking and submitted its official position favoring “rules that remove ambiguity around driver behavior in bike lanes, especially if such rules result in regular enforcement.” BAC Chair Pro-Tem and Ward 5 representative Tom Bridge was reappointed on March 19. This evening I swore in Tom Bridge to his 2nd term on the @DCBAC . I’m excited for you to continue your work making the District safer for cyclists! pic.twitter.com/8fJLm1ZcNQ — Phil Mendelson (@ChmnMendelson) March 19, 2019 BAC Chair and Ward 4 representative Rachel Maisler and member Anders Pedersen joined a March 31 community ride supporting bicycle facilities on K St...

Highlights of BAC accomplishments in November: The November bimonthly meeting featured law enforcement discussion with Sgt. Terry Thorne of the MPD. The BAC also submitted official comment on DDOT’s dockless bikeshare policy. This month: December activities BAC committees are meeting as follows: Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee Meeting Thurs., Dec. 13 6:30 p.m. Library Express 1990 K St NW (entrance on 20th Street) Large meeting room The meeting will feature discussion with MPD Assistant Chief Carroll. Facilities Committee Meeting Mon., Dec. 17 6:30 p.m. Library Express 1990 K St NW (entrance on 20th Street) Study Room 2 Agenda TBD. Save the date for the next full BAC meeting on Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. at 441 4th St NW.

Photo:  @Ranpuba The DC Bicycle Advisory Council Safety Committee will meet with Sgt. Terry Thorn of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) on Wednesday, February 3rd, 6pm at the Traffic Safety and Special Enforcement Branch, 501 New York Ave., NW, located at the intersection of New York Avenue and 5th Street NW. We'll discuss MPD's training efforts on bicycle rules of the road and MPD's public education and safety programs conducted in 2015 and its plans for 2016. Please join us. We will make time to discuss additional safety issues that you want to share. Please feel free to leave questions/suggestions in the comments.

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.

The Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee (SEE) will reconvene at the Penn Quarter Teaism . SEE will meet at 6:00 PM, Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 400 8th Street NW, Penn Quarter (Downstairs). The agenda will include discussion on the next steps following Metropolitan Police Department's (MPD) presentation at January 2014 BAC general meeting. SEE plans on inviting MPD to its April 2014 to address education and enforcement concerns from bicyclists. The meeting will also discuss a report on the District Department of Transportation regarding the "safe accommodation" provision of the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2013. Lastly, SEE will discuss the new DDOT speed camera report issued 1/14. Please support SEE and Andrea Adleman Chair, Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee and bring your ideas to the downstairs section of Teaism.

The next meeting of the Safety, Education and Enforcement committee (BAC SEE) will be the second Tuesday of even-months as usual, which falls on Tuesday, February 12, 2013. The SEE meeting will begin at 6:30pm at Teaism - 400 8th Street NW (we will have a table downstairs). Topics for discussion : Report-back on Penn Ave U-turns outreach day (which involved the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the DC Taxicab Commission, and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association). We will ask how it went, what did it take to make this happen, and should this sort of event happen more? Follow-up on MPD training update - what traffic enforcement priorities is MPD communicating to officers? Please let me know if there are other items you have to discuss. As always, BAC meetings are open the the public.  For more information, please contact the BAC SEE committee Chair, Jameel Alsalam .

This morning I will be testifying on behalf of the DC Bicycle Advisory Council on the topic of legislation introduced by Councilmembers Cheh, Wells, and Barry which would set fines for speed camera fines based on traffic safety research. I had the opportunity to participate in a series of task force meeting which led to the development of this legislation. First, I want to say that the Councilmembers should be commended for taking an inclusive, public approach to developing the legislation. Second, I will suggest changes to make sure the legislation enhances traffic safety in Washington, D.C. The automated enforcement task force focused on how to change behavior to make people act more safely on the road – is the answer high fines, or is the answer more certain enforcement? In the case of speeding, the task force did not find evidence that higher fines enhance safety. By contrast, there is ample evidence that the presence of automated enforcement cameras does reduce infractions and e...

How should DC’s automated traffic enforcement program be designed to maximize roadway safety while minimizing public perception that the program is unfair, punitive, or designed to maximize revenue? CMs Tommy Wells and Mary Cheh are co-chairing a task force to recommend legislative changes to the automated (camera) traffic enforcement program to better meet this goal. At the recent meeting of the BAC Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee, a number of possibilities were discussed.  Opinions on various proposals varied widely, however, the committee had broad agreement on two ideas which we decided to prioritize: 1) improving the justification of locations based on safety issues and 2) graduated fines for initial offenses (e.g., first one or first one at a particular location). Note that the table includes several ideas with comments which were not discussed at the meeting (because they have been raised since the meeting). Priority Proposals Comments Justification of...

The next meeting of the Safety, Education, and Enforcement committee will be the second Tuesday as usual at: Teaism, 400 8th Street NW, Tuesday, June 12, 6:30pm. A couple of weeks ago was the latest in the series of hearings being held by CM Mendelson on pedestrian and bicycle safety and enforcement. The hearing has created ample agenda items: 1. Development of traffic safety benchmarks (collaboration of BAC, PAC, WABA, MPD) 2. Ongoing changes being made to crash report form system 3. Bike theft data and prevention 4. Breath alcohol program roll-out As always, the public is welcomed to attend.

Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee will be held   Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 6:30pm at  Teaism , 400 8th Street NW  in the basement eating area. The meeting will be held by  Jameel Alsalam , committee chair and Ward 4 representative. Agenda: Update on recent Street Smart Campaign enforcement  MPD crash report form discussion (does it have the necessary fields to record cyclist crashes?)  Crash response oversight processes at MPD As always, the public is welcomed to attend.

Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee meetings are normally scheduled for second Tuesday of even-numbered months; however,  that would place the February meeting on Valentine's day. As opposed to meeting on his own, or angering our significant others, Jameel Alsalam , committee chair and Ward 4 representative is rescheduling. The meeting will be held Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 6:30pm at Teaism , 400 8th Street NW. Our agenda: Reviewing outreach and training materials provided by MPD Discussing options to improve road safety through traffic enforcement in 2012 Re-creation of traffic enforcement division More frequent cross-district traffic enforcement efforts Enforcement action targeting three-foot passing law Other ideas? Lt. Breul of the Metropolitan Police Department has provided a copy of the electronic training related to bicycling taken by all MPD officers, along with a couple of outreach brochures.We invite you to provide comments on these documents....

The next Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee meeting will be Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 6:30pm. The location will be Teasim at 400 8th St  NW.  The committee will meet in the basement. The agenda for the meeting will be: - Report on MPD outreach and education campaign (Lt. Breul) - Follow-up on Police Complaints Board report and Council hearing to-do items (Jameel) - Safety at the tweed ride (Randall) - City budget development around safety programs For more information about the meeting, please contact Jameel Alsalam , committee chair and Ward 4 representative.

Below is video of last week's hearing on the Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety; and Bill 19-475, Assault of Bicyclists Prevention Act of 2011 , Public Oversight Hearing held November 2nd at 11:00am in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building. To see what people thought about the hearing, please see the twitter responses .

As a public service, below are bicycle-related comments/questions issued to Robert Thomson on his Monday midday Dr. Gridlock chat on the Washington Post website, unedited. This week, just one comment about bicycling this week -  " who is responsible for enforcement against parked cars in the bike lane ..."  Feel free to post your thoughts. Parking in Bike Lanes Question. Is there any effort to increase enforcement against cars double parking in bike lanes. I was riding up 14th street Saturday night and a couple of restaurants have decided that the bike lane is actually a valet parking waiting area. They had the lane occupied for a whole block with empty cars waiting to be parked. Something tells me that should be illegal. Answer. Robert Thomson . Yep. That would be illegal. Have you called the D.C. police about it? With regard to this question, Randall Myers, DCBAC representative will send the following message to Dr. Gridlock: Regarding the question about the Metr...

Thursday, September 29, 2011, the District's Office of Police Complaints (OPC) and the Police Complaints Board issued a report entitled " Improving the Safety of Bicyclists and Enhancing Their Interaction with Metropolitan Police Department Officers ".  The report offers several recommendations on how to improve the relationship between the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and bicyclists as well as recommending a stronger and more communicative DC Bicycle Advisory Council. A copy of the OPC report appears at the end of this post (courtesy of the  Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA)). The 11-page report is the product of a February hearing before the Council of the District of Columbia's Committee on the Judiciary.  It discusses complaints from that hearing including 1) how MPD officers interpret the laws related to bicycling in the city, 2) how MPD officers ineffectively investigate crashes between motor vehicles and bicyclists, and; 3) the impression...

On Thursday, September 22, NBC4 posted a report by Jackie Benson regarding an increase in thefts involving culprits on bicycles.  According to the report, an email issued by the 3rd District Commander, Jacob Kishter , stated police would increase enforcement in robbery areas, including in introduction of stopping bicyclist to see if they are stolen or were used in the commission of a crime. However, the story focused on the following: "If the rider cannot prove ownership, take the bike for safekeeping until they can prove ownership." View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com . That statement, of course, set the blogesphere and Twitterverse ablaze. Shani Hilton of the Washington City Paper who was concerned that this policy would not only be impractical but probably racist.  Even DCBAC picket up on the story while it was still influx and tweeted: "Okay, so #MPD are stopping bicyclists and confiscating bikes but aren't profiling! Not Good. washingtonci...

At the last DC Bicycle Advisory Council meeting held Wednesday, September 7, WABA discussed its efforts to introduce legislation before the Council of the District of Columbia to create better protections for bicyclists who are harassed or threaten by motorists. According to WABA, the proposed law creates a civil right of action for an assaulted cyclist and   provides for attorneys fees if the cyclist-plaintiff prevails--thereby providing an incentive for attorneys to represent the victim. Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells will co-introduce an anti-harassment bill with Ward 2's Jack Evans and Ward 1's Jim Graham . Below is a resolution supporting the anti-harassment bill and the rights of  bicyclists who use of District streets. Resolution - Support of Bicyclists Rights

The Committee on Public Works and Transportation will hold a public hearing, Wednesday June 8, at 2:00p in Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. "The Pedestrian Safety Reinforcement Amendment Act of 2011”, Bill 19-0291, will be discussed. along with other items on the agenda.  The purpose is to amend the Pedestrian Protection Amendment Act of 1987 to rectify the amendment which went into effect on November 25, 2008, and to clarify that the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), pursuant to the District of Columbia Traffic Adjudication Act of 1978, has the legal authority to issue rules and fines. BAC found documents on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation that showed that DMV has enforced the act by ticketing bicyclists and pedestrians, which appears to run counter to the law's intent.  Tens of thousands of dollars have been collected over the last several years as a direct result of DMV's enforcement focus. The hearing...

The Former District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director, Gabe Klein , doesn't seem to know when to give up.  First, he contemplates running for the at-large bid in the DC Council and now he's working for the Department of Public Works (DPW) as a Parking Enforcement Officer - well not exactly. VIOLATION - (Gabe Klein via TBD on Foot) TBD writes how Klein learned via tweets last week that cars were parked illegally in the 15th Street NW cycletrack around L Street for most of the day.  He apparently biked over to the location, took pictures of the violators and tweeted them to DDOT and DPW.  Shortly there after, 15 tickets were issued to cars park on that strip. Now that's what you call dedication. According to TBD, Klein says he wants to get in touch with Terry Bellamy, DDOT interim Director, to discuss installing bollards at the beginnings and ends of certain blocks to discourage illegal parking.  That said,  I can sort of see how someone coul...