D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

BAC committees are meeting as follows: Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee Meeting Tues., Dec. 3 6 p.m. West End Library Conference room 2301 L St NW Facilities Committee Meeting Mon., Dec. 9 6 p.m. West End Library Conference room 2301 L St NW Legislative Committee Meeting Wed., Dec. 11 6 p.m. Northeast Library Lower level conference room 330 7th St NE BAC committee meetings are open to the public. Save the date for the next full BAC meeting on Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. at 441 4th St NW.

Highlights of BAC accomplishments in August: Committees held their bimonthly meetings to prepare for projects from September through year’s end. The Safety Committee meeting included family members of cyclist Malik Habib, killed while bicycling in July The Legislative Committee met to discuss its agenda for the remainder of 2018 Both committees prepared for a Vision Zero public roundtable the D.C. Council is holding in late September. Taking place on Sept. 27, the roundtable is a joint initiative of the Committee on Transportation and the Environment and the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. It will be held at the John A. Wilson Building at 1:30 p.m. The BAC will circulate the public notice and additional details as they are released. Member Jeff Johnson was reappointed to the BAC on Aug. 30. Council chair Phil Mendelson administered the oath of office. At left is Michele Blackwell, chief of staff to Councilmember Elissa Silverman. Johnson’s appoint...

Highlights of the BAC's mid-month activity. Contributory negligence reform passes At today's Legislative meeting, the Council passed the contributory negligence bill, officially termed the Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016. It awaits mayoral signature and the standard 30-day congressional review before it becomes law. Bicycle Awareness Motor Vehicle License Plate Amendment Act of 2016 Speaking individually, BAC member Bob Summersgill delivered the following testimony at yesterday's Transportation and the Environment Committee hearing: Testimony on Bill 21-0759 Bicycle Awareness Motor Vehicle License Plate Amendment Act of 2016 By Bob Summersgill for the Bicycle Advisory Council Chairman Cheh: Thank you for holding this hearing. I am Bob Summersgill, a member of the Bicycle Advisory Council (BAC), appointed by Councilmember David Grosso. All the members of the BAC support this legislation. The bill will allow car owners to buy specialty lic...

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

Bicycle Advisory Council chair David Cranor today issued the following statement in response to the D.C. Council vote in support of contributory negligence reform. The legislation, the Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016, will be enacted pending a second affirmative Council vote, anticipated in the fall. The act would permit bicyclists and pedestrians to receive compensation from a driver's insurance as long as the non-motorized party is less than 50 percent at fault. Under current law, a bicyclist or pedestrian deemed 1 percent at fault is ineligible for any compensation. This contributory negligence policy would be replaced by a form of comparative negligence. Said BAC chair Cranor: "The Bicycle Advisory Council supports this measure. The consequences of a crash between a cyclist and driver are often unevenly distributed, with the cyclist generally bearing the greater burden. Under current law, cyclists also generally bear the greater financial burden even w...

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.

Last month, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) made changes to the proposed M Street NW cycle track. The changes removed the cycle track portion between 15th and 16th Streets NW and replaced it with a bicycle lane. Below is a letter sent to the Director of DDOT, Terry Bellamy, certain Council members and other DDOT staff: BAC Response to MStreetCycleTrack Changes by D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

The Idaho Stop is an Idaho traffic law that effectively allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and not come to a complete stop at most signed intersections. This effectively allows for a rolling stop at signs. BAC wants to know what you think of the Idaho Stop law and if it, or something like it, should be enacted in the District. Create in 1982, the Idaho Stop does not give bicyclists carte blanche , they must yield to the right of way if there are other vehicles or pedestrians at intersections. UrbanVelo has a nice video ( at the end of this page ) explaining the Idaho Stop and its potential implementation in Oregon. BikePortland also provides a FAQ page explaining how it works. Currently according to WABA's Pocket Guide , DC regulations state that bicyclists "have all the general rights and duties of drivers of vehicles " but bicyclists but must also follow "the instructions of official traffic control signals, signs, and other con...

The Grist posted a nifty video (see below) that provides tips to new bicyclists on how to push that first pedal. While the video is fun to watch, it also suggest two different left turning techniques that could appear on our streets -- the "Standard Left" and the "Copenhagen Left". The standard left makes the turn just like a vehicle - the bicyclist signals, moves into the left lane, and then turns left. The Copenhagen left is like how a pedestrian crosses a street - a bicyclist stays right and crosses the street that they would like to turn left on, turns their bike so that they are going the correct direction, then waits for the signal (Sounds complicated but it's not). While the Copenhagen left seem to take longer than the standard left, many feel that it is generally a safer way to turn because it reduces the chance of an auto crash. While not popular in the US, it's gaining popularity as communities create bike-specific signalization and r...

The bimonthly BAC meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday March 6, has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 27 , beginning at 6pm. BAC will discuss reports from committees as well as certain organizational elements. Below it the draft agenda: 1. Approval of minutes 2. Jason Broehm, the new chair of the Pedestrian Advisory Council, will discuss the work they have planned. 3. Committee Reports Safety - Discussion of expanded education program mention at the BAC hearing Facilities - Planned rides and new DDOT bike facilities Legislative - Omnibus Bicycle bill that was introduced by CM Cheh & Wells 4. BAC Housekeeping Bylaw revisions Proposed change in BAC Chairperson designation Developments in BAC access to funding 5. Other Business The meeting will take place at 441 4th Street, NW at One Judiciary Square,  on the 11th floor. Please remember to bring government identification to enter the building. To get to the meeting room, please use the ...

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...

Below are meeting notes from the bi-monthly Legislative Committee meeting held at Busboys and Poets @ 5th and K streets NW June 20, 2012.   ---   Second-hand bike sale: We discussed current regulations relating to 2nd hand bike sales. Currently 2nd-hand bike sales occur online at sites like Craigslist. It's agreed that this is a deterrent to people buying bikes - since many people don't feel they have the knowledge to buy in a "buyer beware" situation like that; while not serving to deter bike theft. (In addition the second-hand market is not taxed).  Shane Farthing of WABA had a specific purpose in seeking to change the regulations, because doing so might help certain non-profits that would like to buy and sell bikes as part of their model. It was also agreed that the lack of a legitimate 2nd-hand market, as exists in other cities, might be indicative of onerous regulations. Erik Kugler of Bicycle Space was in attendence, and while he said...

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.

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, comments regarding who has the right of way on a right turn a bike or a car so the bicyclists doesn't get the "right hook"? The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition offers a good explanation and advice on how bicycles and motor vehicles should interact.  Also, Bikesafe shows several types of collisions, including the right hook, and suggestions on how to avoid them.  Feel free to comment. Bicycles Question - Hello Dr. Gridlock, I live in Dupont Circle, and as you know there are many bike lanes in that part of town. Often I see a bicycle and a car traveling parallel to each other arrive at an intersection at the same time - with the bike in a bike land to the right of the car. If the car is turning right and the bike is going straight, who has the right of way? Answer - Robert Thomso...

George Branyan, the Pedestrian Program Coordinator within the District Department of Transportation DDOT, posted on the BAC Google group that the Ward 7 East Capital Pedestrian Safety Project public meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 3, 2012, from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM at the Benning-Stoddert Recreation Center, 100 Stoddert Place.  While the the focus of the meeting will be pedestrian accessibility, DDOT also seeks input from bicyclists to help create a safer and multi-modal East Capitol Street. At this meeting, the study team will solicit feedback from the community on the proposed improvements that have been identified to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit users within the East Capitol Street corridor between Stoddert Place, SE and Southern Avenue, NE. This meeting is based on the findings of the  Far Northeast Livability Study and hopes to address one of largest safety challenges associated with this corridor, specifically, th...