D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

Highlights of BAC accomplishments in January: The BAC held its bimonthly meeting on Jan. 9. The meeting focused on discussion with MPD Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll, pictured at left. The BAC also elected new officers. Ward 6 member David Cranor chose not to run for another term as chair. The new leadership includes Chair Rachel Maisler, Chair Pro-tem Tom Bridge, and Secretary-Treasurer Jeff Johnson. Emily Curley was appointed to the Ward 3 seat. Our new Ward 3 member Emily took the oath of office from @ChmnMendelson tonight. @marycheh is well represented on our #bikedc council. pic.twitter.com/VWPwpmisiC — DCBAC (@DCBAC) January 16, 2019 In the field, members attended community meetings about infrastructure projects. At least two members are visible in the picture below, taken at a December public meeting about the 20th/21st/22nd Streets NW protected bike lanes project. Members Jeff Johnson (left) and David Alexander (third from left) reviewed the options for...

Highlights of BAC accomplishments in December: BAC committees held their bimonthly meetings in December. MPD Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll attended the Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee meeting to discuss law enforcement matters with committee members. News of interest The following news stories and press releases appeared in December. DDOT Launches New Safety Measures in Support of Mayor Bowser’s Vision Zero Initiative  – left turns are being reconfigured to slow drivers and increase pedestrian safety; right turns on red will be prohibited at 100 intersections.  For more information, see this news story and this map of the intersections. A bus driver struck and killed two pedestrians in late December at 7th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The driver was arrested and reportedly distracted by his phone. The Washington Post editorial board had this to say: Too many people died in D.C. traffic crashes in 2018. We can do better in 2019. Dock...

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.

Highlights of BAC accomplishments in December: BAC members attended a Dec. 13 Major Crash Review Task Force meeting with the Metropolitan Police Department, DDOT and other stakeholders. The district’s Vision Zero program and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Amendment Act of 2016 call for the creation of this task force. Its purpose is to study major crashes and identify preventative measures and infrastructure changes that could be implemented. Committees held virtual or in-person meetings to formulate their 2018 agendas. New members have joined the committees, bringing new perspectives and ideas to the table. This month: January activities The BAC holds its bimonthly meeting on Jan. 10 at 6 p.m. at 441 4th St NW. The agenda will be posted under separate cover.

Highlights of BAC accomplishments in March: The BAC held its bimonthly meeting on March 1. In addition to routine business, members heard an  Office of Planning presentation about the current Comprehensive Plan amendment process. BAC chair David Cranor testified at the annual performance oversight hearing on March 13. Cranor's testimony discussed BAC achievements and challenges in fiscal year 2016. The BAC also testified at the Metropolitan Police Department oversight hearing. BAC members Bob Summersgill and Jeff Johnson at the Vision Zero Summit BAC members attended the Vision Zero Summit on March 31. Concurrently, DDOT released its one-year report on the District's Vision Zero plan. The Washington Post  and WAMU covered these overlapping events. The WAMU story focuses on the Vision Zero progress report. This month: April activities Florida Avenue NE Virtual Circle Multimodal Transportation Project Public Meeting Tues., April 4 6:30 p.m. 1200 First St NE...

Please save the dates for these BAC committee meetings and check back for meeting agendas. Facilities Committee rolling meeting Sat., Aug. 13, 2016 1:30-3:30 p.m. RSVP A fact-finding bicycle tour of K Street crosstown from east to west, beginning at 12th and K Streets NE. The ride will go through downtown to the Capital Crescent trailhead in Georgetown. Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee meeting Mon., Aug. 15, 2016 6-7:30 p.m. Busboys & Poets 1025 5th St NW RSVP The main agenda item is suggestions to reduce the risk of bike theft with guest speaker Phil Koopman of BicycleSPACE. Legislative Committee meeting Wed., Aug. 17, 2016 6-7 p.m. Teaism Penn Quarter 400 8th St NW RSVP

The Metropolitan Police Department will hold a Community Bike Ride this Sunday, April 10, 2016. The ride will begin at 10 a.m at the Takoma Metro Station, 327 Cedar Street, NW. Supported by the Department’s First, Fourth, and Fifth Districts, the ride will cover Wards 2, 4, 5, and 6. There will be a bicycle rodeo for children at 1st and L Streets, NE, where there will be bike games, a skills course and an obstacle course.

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 yearly Performance Oversight hearings held by the Council of the District of Columbia allow Council members and the public to discuss how are well or poorly agencies are delivering their services. Wednesday, February 27, the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council participated in the Metropolitan Police Department's (MPD) hearing. Specifically, BAC discussed the impact of the Office of Police Complaints 2011 report, Improving the Safety of Bicyclists and Enhancing their Interactions with Metropolitan Police Department Officers , which recommended that the MPD work more closely with the District's bicycling community.  Since the issuance of this report, MPD participated with BAC and other organizations to ensure that MPD officers are properly enforcing the District's laws as they pertain to bicycles. Below is the testimony of the BAC. You may view the broadcast of the hearing by clicking here (the video is in Windows Media Player format).

At last Satuday's WeMoveDC Idea Exchange at the Martin Luther King Library, the District Department of Transportation planning team created an ideas wall . The purpose of wall was to identify transportation infrastructure ideas based on certain transportation-related topics. The wall also allowed people to provide thoughts on how the District could better serve it's residents through short-term and long-term improvements. Below are some bicycle-related posts but we'd like to hear your comments about the event. You're thoughts will likely be incorporated in the DCBAC Fiscal Year oversight hearing scheduled for next month and likely help us determine what bike-related issues are most important for the current and upcoming year. Please feel free add comments below or post your pictures and comments about the event to the DCBAC Flickr Pool .

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...

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.

According to Captain  Jeff Brown of the Metropolitan Police Department's 5th District, a man was accosted and robbed the night of January 25, 2012 around 6pm while walking on the Metropolitan Branch Trail.  Today, the following was posted on the MPD-5D group page and transmitted to the Metropolitan Branch Trail listserv page: On Wednesday, January 25, 2012, at approximately 6:15 pm, an area resident was walking on the Metropolitan Branch Bike Trail in the area of 3rd & R Street, Northeast , when he was accosted by three individuals. One subject produced a weapon and demanded the victim’s possessions. After complying and without provocation, the victim was punched in the face. The victim then attempted to flee from the scene and sustained a graze gunshot wound to the hip area after the suspect fired his weapon. All three suspects then fled on foot. The victim received treatment for his injuries and an area hospital. The Metropolitan Police Department continues its ...

Below is a letter sent by the BAC Safety, Education, and Enforcement Committee.  The letter addresses some of the areas of concern discussed in the Office of Police Complaints (OPC) report released September 29, 2011, " Improving the Safety of Bicyclists and Enhancing Their Interaction with Metropolitan Police Department Officers ".

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...

The next scheduled meeting for the DCBAC Safety, Education, and Enforcement committee is Tuesday, October 4, 2011 . We will meet at 6:30 at Teaism , 400 8th Street NW. Jameel Alsalam is the committee chair, his email is ward4@dcbac.org . The agenda will include: 1. Follow-up on bicyclist enforcement problems/priorities after CM Mendelson letter transmitted a letter to Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Lanier as a result of the enforcement hearing held earlier this year.  Discussion about the coming November meeting before the Committee on the Judiciary.  2. Funding of bike safety and education programs in the District, possibly in the context of changes to the federal transportation bill. 3. What connections are needed with MPD to address enforcement issues as they arise? 4. Any DCBAC role related to regular safety / education events such as Bike to Work Day,  Street Smart Campaign, etc? 5. Your ideas! Meetings are open to the public but space...