D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

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.

Prior to July 1, there were no provisions for bicycle parking near for the July 4 Independence Day celebration on the National Mall. BAC drew attention to this issue and appears that bike parking is now available. The July 4th festivities on the National Mall allow visitors and those who live in the greater Washington area, the opportunity to celebrate the nation's independence. However, given the enhanced security checkpoints surrounding the area, getting to the Mall is nothing to celebrate. With Metrorail setting  ridership records and well has suffering break downs routinely, visitors and residents turned to bicycles. In prior years, the National Park Service (NPS) contracted with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association to manage bike valets at large Mall events like the Presidential Inauguration, the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Independence Day celebrations. As of July 1, GoDCGo , which is a transportation initiative sponsored by the District Department of Trans...

Anacostia Metro Charrette (the DCeye) On the afternoon of Wednesday, February 15, representatives from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the District Department of the Environment, and the Office of Planning, continued a design charrette or a community work session , which began Monday, February 13. The Wednesday meeting offered the public the opportunity to comment on the initial sketches from suggestions made during Monday's meeting and ask questions about pedestrian and bicycling amenities. According to the DDOT website, the project hopes to create a public space  that connects the Metrorail station to neighborhood assets, makes the area safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, better manages local storm water runoff and complements upcoming economic development projects in the community. Greater Greater Washington contributor, John Muller , offers a more pedestrian-focused view of the project; specifically, how the cerrent conditions are among worst in Dis...

Stephen Miller , bicycle advocate and coordinator for Urban Pathways for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy , will be hosting a Trail Safety Open House to discuss ways to protect users of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from crime, Wednesday, June 22, from 4:00p to 7:00p in the pocket park near S and 4th Streets NE. The Metropolitan Branch Trail is a shared use trail that runs roughly parallel to the former B&O (currently CSX ) right-of-way, mostly in the Northeast quadrant of the District.  The trail will eventually cover approximately 8 miles from Union Station in the District to Silver Spring Metro Station in Maryland. Last May, an important segment opened that linked New York Avenue to Franklin Street NE and allowing a contiguous 1.5 mile car free route.

The DCBAC issued comment s regarding the South Capitol Street Final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS) submitted by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).  As mentioned previously , the FEIS is a massive transportation infrastructure project that will replace the Fredrick Douglass Memorial Bridge and many of the the roads and sidewalks that approach it on both sides of the river the bridge crosses, the Anacostia.  While DCBAC supports many improvements associated with the project, the FEIS neglected to implement certain bicycle enhancements contained in build alternatives not selected and well as improvements stipulated in the District of Columbia Bicycle Master Plan . DCBAC recommended several enhancements including the following: better access to the Anacostia River and its trail, better separation of bicyclist from motorist and pedestrians, and better access to the Anacostia Metrorail station.  If you can comments or suggestions, please post them b...

(photo courtesy of thedceye) This summer, the Washington Area Metropolitan Transportation Authority (WMATA) will begin assessing bicycle and pedestrian access at stations across the Metrorail system.  BAC would like to hear your thoughts on the problems with bike accessibility to Metro stations located in the District.  We hope to provide a list of stations that need improvement and suggestions on how to expand bike mode share to metro stations. The WMATA Capital Improvement Program (CIP) will provide approximately $9 million over a six-year period to expand mode share at Metro stations and make reaching stations easier.  The WMATA Bicycle and  Pedestrian Facilities Capacity Improvements project hopes to increase bicycle parking capacity at Metrorail stations to meet current and future demands and improve connections to stations from local communities where existing pathways are poor. According to the WMATA Access Planning and Policy Analysis program manag...

Metro bike patrol , a photo by uno000 on Flickr. A rare sight, metro police has a bike patrol. Hopefully we'll see more of them on the trains and around Metro stations. Via Flickr:

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...