D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

There is a general BAC meeting this Wednesday. We will discuss the upcoming DDOT/BAC oversight hearing, drafting a letter to the Mayor, updates from the subcommittees, BAC members term limits and the election of a new BAC chair.  Where: One Judiciary Square              441 4th St NW, Rm 1117 When:  March 4, 2015              6 - 8pm As we meet in a government building, be prepared to show your ID and go through security. There is a CaBi station and Judiciary Square Metro located at the entrance of the building, as well as plenty of bike parking. As always, BAC meetings are open to the public and we encourage the sharing of your thoughts and questions.  If you cannot attend the meeting, please leave use our comments section below or  @DCBAC  on Twitter. 

The Fiscal Year 2014-2015 Performance Oversight Hearings schedule has been released and the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, chaired by Council member Mary M. Cheh (Ward 3), has placed the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council on the docket. This hearing gives residents an opportunity testify about bicycling in the District. The hearing is tentatively scheduled to begin 11:00am on Friday, March 6, 2014 in Room 412 in the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Also scheduled are the Pedestrian Advisory Council and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). The purpose of the Performance Oversight Hearings are to allow the Council to ask questions regarding the current operations of District agencies, committees, and other government organizations. The Council looks at current fiscal year operations, which began October 1, 2014, as well as operations during the previous year.

Join us this Thursday, February 26th for a meeting with MPD. The prime focus of the conversation will be a briefing by Sgt. Terry Thorne on February 26th on officer training and public education efforts by MPD.  Where: 501 New York Ave NW  When: February 26th at 6pm As always, BAC meetings are open to the public and we encourage the sharing of your thoughts and questions. There is a CaBi station one block south at 5th and K NW and the Mt Vernon Metro is a few blocks west. If you cannot attend the meeting, please leave use our comments section below or  @DCBAC  on Twitter.

DC has set ambitious goals for expanding  bike  infrastructure. The Sustainable DC plan includes meeting the goal of 25%  biking and walking  by 2032. The MoveDC plan has set out a plan for a connected network of  bicycle  infrastructure for the whole city - including cycletracks and  bike   lanes .  In the short term, the 2-year MoveDC implementation plan has set out a goal of installing 15 miles total of  bike   lanes  in 2015 and 2016. Last year, just over 9 miles of bike lanes were installed.  This document represents a kind of work plan of  bike   lanes  that DDOT staff are currently planning to work on towards fulfilling the 2-year implementation plan.  Lanes  are included here based on a combination of priority and feasibility. 2015 Bikeways Work Plan Possible 2015 Installations Street Name From To Street Miles Facility Type 1st St NE G St Columbus ...

Come join the Facilities Committee for the last sitdown meeting of the season at Brookland Pint February 9th from 6 - 8pm. We will discuss the bike lanes planned by DDOT for installation this year, a proposed signed bike route, the updated summary of BAC FAC rides and follow up on our conversation last meeting about general facilities maintenance trends and options for improvement. As always, members of the public are encouraged to come, look for the group with a pile of helmets and outer layers! Brookland Pint is at 716 Monroe St NW, right next to the Brookland Metro stop, on the Metropolitan Branch Trail and there is Capital Bikeshare station nearby at 10th and Monroe St NE.  If you cannot attend the meeting, please leave use our comments section below or  @DCBAC  on Twitter.

Photo Credit: Dario Martinez UPDATE: The Legislative meeting has been postponed a week and now will be convening on February 11 at 6:30pm at Teaism. Come talk bikes with us! The Legislative Committee is holding its bimonthly meeting next week at Teaism. The agenda will include discussion of the Enhanced Penalties for Distracted Driving Amendment Act of 2015 recently introduced by CM Mendelson, and a broader conversation of distracted driving and riding on the sidewalk. When: 6:30 pm on February 4 11th, 2015 Where: Teaism Restuarant (400 8th St NW) As always, BAC meetings are open to the public and we encourage the sharing of your thoughts and questions. You can find us at Teaism by heading to the basement and looking for the pile of helmets and sweaters.  If you cannot attend the meeting, please leave use our comments section below or  @DCBAC  on Twitter.

We may live in a city but we can't escape the impact of natural systems - weather particularly. And January has proved, in case any of us had forgotten, that snow has a huge impact on our ability to operate and get around as a city. The bike lanes post-snowstorm can be a mess as snow and ice melted. We wanted to share what we learned about the current policies from DDOT at the latest BAC meeting. Snow removal is the responsibility of a the Snow Removal Team, comprised jointly of the Department of Transportation (DDOT) and Department of Public Works (DPW). They are responsible for road and bridge snow removal, including Key, Memorial and Teddy Roosevelt bridges. During moderate storms like on January 6th, the bike lanes are plowed when the snow removal crews are doing their second round plowing and going curb to curb. The first round plowing tends to shove snow in the bike lanes, hence their clearing on the second pass. In larger snow events, light plows are deployed during the ...