BikeDC

“Biking in Bloomingdale under threat”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Gary House

Toni shares an email sent to WABA:

“I am reaching out to seek your assistance in addressing a critical issue affecting bicyclists in our neighborhood of Bloomingdale. Currently, First Street NW serves as the primary north-south biking thoroughfare sharing the lane with motor vehicles. It is a precarious situation, but First Street NW offers the only safe route for cyclists in a neighborhood that has many cyclists but lacks biking infrastructure. Additionally, First Street NW is the only viable biking access point to the brand new Reservoir Park and Community Center and the development that is underway at the former McMillan site. There are no alternative north-south streets in Bloomingdale: North Capitol is a highway hostile to bikes and 2nd Street cuts off at Bryant Street in the north and Florida Avenue in the south. However, there is a proposed bus route in the “2025 Better Bus Network” from WMATA that threatens to compromise the safety and accessibility of this route for bicyclists. (more…)

“MPD Searching for Suspects in Northwest Bicycle Theft”

By Prince Of Petworth


via MPD

Ed. Note: I don’t recall ever getting an alert like this for a bicycle theft.

From MPD:

“The Metropolitan Police Department is asking for the community’s assistance in identifying the suspects in the theft of a bicycle in Northwest.

On Sunday, June 2, 2024, at approximately 7:51 p.m., the victim discovered two of their bicycles were stolen from the 3700 block of 14th Street, Northwest. (more…)

“We urge the Mayor and the Council to act expeditiously to restore the protected bike lanes to the redesign of Connecticut Avenue.”

By Prince Of Petworth

From SaferConnAveDC:

“Two and a half years ago (12/15/2021), Mayor Bowser announced that she was moving forward with Concept C, a plan to reshape the footprint of Connecticut Avenue in Ward 3 by removing the reversible lane, lowering speed limits, and adding bike and bus and pedestrian friendly design changes to the streetscape: “After considering several options, it was clear that this design best meets the needs of our city and moves us closer to a greener DC, a safer DC, and a DC that is less reliant on cars.”

The redesign received near-unanimous support from all the ANCs, across three different terms. And yet, last week, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced that they were removing bike lanes from the plan without seeking community input, running counter to the notion of community engagement that DDOT prides itself on.

This is a key opportunity to transform a corridor and help the city reach its climate goals by reducing the number of trips made by car. Additionally, numerous studies have shown that bike lanes do not negatively affect businesses, as people who use bicycles are more likely to frequent local stores. Adding bicycle lanes to Connecticut Avenue would also help improve safety along the corridor.

We urge the Mayor and the Council to act expeditiously to restore the protected bike lanes to the redesign of Connecticut Avenue.  If you agree and would like to see the city move forward with the bike lane plan, please join us in signing this petition hosted by WABA here.

Some additional background on the genesis of this project and the consequences of the recent decision: (more…)

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