[Lincolnparkdc] DC Coalition rally on DDOT Bike Plans (DCDPB)

[George]

Paul, it is great to see someone interested in reasonable discussion of the
issues, thank you.  As a practical matter, the installation of bike lanes
on any given street does not directly remove any parking.  The issue that
you point to, the conflation of bike lanes with parking, has more to do
with the fact that many, many of the city's streets were last laid out
quite a few years ago, and that safety requirements have evolved in recent
decades regarding setbacks from intersections and buffers around crosswalks
to make sure the drivers have clear sight lines to see pedestrians.  A lot
of Capitol Hill & Northeast's streets conform to outdated standards and
need to be updated.  As a consequence of updating a street's layout,
inevitably, it is updated to the latest safety standards, which some view
as a loss of parking because of the bike lane.  In reality, correlation is
not causation, and were DDOT to simply repaint the street without adding
bike lanes, the same thing would happen.

With regards to the block that the instigator of this email chain referred
to, the 1300 block of North Carolina, residents petitioned DDOT for a
safety review of the street, as it is a dangerous one for both pedestrians
and bicyclists, and drivers speed, often in excess of 30-40 mph.  As part
of the process, DDOT indicated that the street is not wide enough from
curb-to-curb to add bike lanes and keep the street with the same
configuration, so they proposed *either* making the street one-way, *or*,
if the neighbors indicated maintaining two way traffic was critical, one
side of parking could be removed.  Unfortunately, those opposed to this
move continued to conflate the issues, saying that bike lanes would
inevitably remove parking and reduce vehicle access, and therefore be a
detriment to the neighborhood.

In reality, the bike lanes themselves are not the cause of the change in
parking, except for if the neighbors told DDOT that they insisted the
street had to be two way (Presentation from DDOT can be seen here for a
meeting earlier this week: https://anc6a.org/wp-content/uploads/TPSA0921.pdf,
which includes traffic studies showing the lopsided volume of traffic on
the street in one direction).  In the end, the residents very clearly
indicated parking was more of a priority, so DDOT will focus on the options
that make the street one-way going forward.  The further conflation is that
bike lanes are inherently bad for older residents or residents with
accessibility needs, as a result of the perceived caused loss of parking.
In fact, bike lanes are wholly compatible with maintaining
accessible parking.  And even moreso, this block has a problem with
cyclists riding on the sidewalk since the road is not terribly comfortable
for any but the most experienced riders, so adding a bike lane would
actually be a step towards reducing that, and making the sidewalks safer
for all residents, including the elderly and those with accessibility needs.

It is a shame to see the hyperbolic and vitriolic name calling from those
unhappy with this situation overflow to yet another email list in the
neighborhood.  I will freely admit that there are entitled cyclists that
don't safely use the road, and they make me just as angry as the people
fighting against bike lanes, because they give those of us that do try
really hard to be good users of the roads a bad reputation.  And WABA
exists not only to advocate for the safety of cyclists, but also to educate
those same cyclists on how to be respectful and safe on the roads.
Further, the consequences of the many, many entitled drivers who run stop
signs and red lights and don't respect pedestrians can be far more deadly.
To take the argument to its absurd limits, should joggers also require
licenses to go jogging?  I've certainly been run off the sidewalk by
runners who see pedestrians walking leisurely as in their way.  Or perhaps
pedestrians must have a license to use a crosswalk?  Because many people
jay walk in very dangerous situations.  The solution is not to simply lobby
for roads to continue to prioritize cars, but to combine efforts to give
*all* users of public space safe places to be with ongoing education to
urge drivers to share the road and bicyclists to understand proper
etiquette and rules of the road.  This is how we ensure that pedestrians of
all ages and needs have the safest ways to get around their neighborhood.

Hope this helps, and if I mispoke on any factual point, please let me know!
George

On Thu, Sep 23, 2021 at 6:36 PM Paul Krupa <paul.krupa at gmail.com> wrote:

> Marche,
> I am a car owner as well as a bicyclist and I have read your comments with
> interest. I have had discussions about the bike lanes with neighbors over
> the past year or so and found myself holding erroneous positions a few
> times. I was supportive of the bike lanes but sympathetic too to the
> concerns of my neighbors that losing parking was a bad thing. The
> association of the loss with the bike lanes, however, was one of those
> ill-informed discussion points.
> How does a bicycle lane, in the active part of the thoroughfare, take away
> parking space? I see the cross walks and associated space removed for
> better vision around the corners but the bike lanes are part of the drive
> space in the traffic lane. Can you explain?
> I recall others on this list serve have made this point before but your
> repeating this as if it were fact indicates you are not aware of this.
> Paul
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 12:57 PM Marche Maine <markrichardgrace at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Sorry Steve, I don't have the answers to your questions. Perhaps others
>> in the community do. Ive included them in this email.
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 22, 2021, 12:51 PM Steve Marcus <sdmarcus at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Mark -- I know you're not the author of the list-serv email that you
>>> posted, but I had a question about it and since you seem plugged into
>>> transportation conversations (although you may not be a municipal budgeting
>>> expert!) I wanted to ask you. As a non-car owner in DC, do my regular taxes
>>> pay for for road improvements? The message made it seem as if only "gas
>>> taxes, automobile taxes, user fees" and other expenses only shouldered by
>>> car owners go to pay for road improvements... my impression was the regular
>>> income tax in DC goes to pay for road improvements. Do you have a sense of
>>> whether the DDOT road improvement budget comes only from gas tax, auto tax,
>>> etc., or whether the budget is pooled from all tax revenue?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> steve
>>>
>>> On Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 11:10 AM Marche Maine <
>>> markrichardgrace at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Margaret (and others who have written to me ) thank you!  This abuse by
>>>> DDOT and its minions (e.g. WABA zealots) has real effects and is
>>>> unnecessarily aggravating people.
>>>> *Fully blame Charles Allen*. If you cannot attend the rally -
>>>> understanding very real concerns over COVID and groups of people - show
>>>> your support by letting Councilman Allen know how much you do not
>>>> appreciate his chilling disregard for the elderly, those who don't want to
>>>> bike, depend on their vehicles etc..etc...
>>>> Write to him and the others, they are cc'd on this email. BE VOCAL!
>>>>  Note that many of us ride bikes and use them actively, we are not
>>>> anti-bike.  My particular beef is with the speeders and scofflaws of
>>>> traffic safety, those drivers who rip through the neighborhood causing
>>>> mayhem. MPD has not been stopping them, DDOT and elected officials do not
>>>> use measures we currently have to slow them down or hit them in the pocket
>>>> book. They build obscenities like the "Dave Thomas Traffic Circle
>>>> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/09/21/dc-dave-thomas-circle-wendys/>"
>>>> , vanity projects such as the two-tracks of the H.Street trolley, or ignore
>>>> real biker death spots like Mass. Ave. at Columbus Circle/Union Station.
>>>> *I am sharing another neighbor's eloquent piece::*
>>>> *Cc: Neighbors Email List <neighbors-ch at googlegroups.com
>>>> <neighbors-ch at googlegroups.com>>*
>>>>
>>>> *The District of Columbia spent over 350 million dollars creating bike
>>>> lanes for cyclists, in many cases by depriving residents of parking (e.g.,
>>>> recently proposed elimination of all parking on one side of North Carolina
>>>> Ave between 13th St NE & beyond).  Most of these residential bike lanes are
>>>> rarely used (e.g. Tennessee Ave NE between Constitution and E. Cap and 13th
>>>> Street SE to Pa. Ave which created a dangerous dog-leg for motorists at
>>>> Independence Ave).*
>>>>
>>>> *The funding for these bike lanes is paid for, not by cyclists, but by
>>>> residents, including and unfairly by those who are deprived of a place to
>>>> park in order to create bike lanes.  Unlike motorists, cyclists do not pay
>>>> for lanes, road improvements nor are they subject to gas taxes, automobile
>>>> taxes, user fees nor any other fees that are necessary to pay for road
>>>> improvements.  Nor are they subject to insurance requirements (health and
>>>> liability) or fines for failing to adhere to common road regulations.  They
>>>> are, in fact, “free riders” and, in effect, the recipients of
>>>> transportation welfare.*
>>>>
>>>> *Cyclists are not licensed, do not have to pass a test indicating they
>>>> know the rules of the road, and indeed, are more guilty than any other
>>>> class of driver of blowing through stop signs and signals, otherwise
>>>> unlawful turns, and traffic weaving at peril to themselves, drivers, and
>>>> pedestrians, including those who have installed trailers and seats to
>>>> transport young children.  Adult cyclists have been seen leading very young
>>>> child cyclists through stop signs without even slowing down. *
>>>>
>>>> *The Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA) has become one of the
>>>> most influential lobbyists in the District and has influenced DC Council
>>>> members to approve parking restrictions, cyclist-welfare, and has
>>>> consistently resisted any user fees, the licensing of cyclists and their
>>>> bicycles as well as testing, notwithstanding the fact that they demand the
>>>> same use of roadways as motorists who pay for those roadways and who,
>>>> unlike cyclists adhere to rules of the road.*
>>>>
>>>> *As the number of cyclists grows and creates greater dangers to others,
>>>> it’s time for our DC Council Member(s) to step up and require licensing,
>>>> testing for knowledge of the rules of the road, insurance, and paying for
>>>> the lanes that are now paid for by motorists.  There is not nor has there
>>>> been a single argument of any value presented against these simple
>>>> requirements other than a major lobbying effort by WABA.  *
>>>>
>>>> *A great Senator once noted that, if you want to understand any issue
>>>> of consequence, "follow the dollar.”  Qui bono.*
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 10:12 AM Margaret Rafferty <
>>>> mhrafferty at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Mark,
>>>>>
>>>>> I live at. 103 Kentucky Ave where advisory bike lanes have been
>>>>> installed. Our neighborhood experienced tremendous DDOT overreach. It was
>>>>> an unpleasant (understatement) experience.I sent numerous letters to
>>>>> varying officials. Most were not acknowledged.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am so grateful for this rally and your efforts. You are an awesome
>>>>> writer! I will attend the rally and, if COVID safe, will stay. If not, know
>>>>> I am 100% in. Many on the 100 block of Kentucky are seniors (including
>>>>> myself) so if we don’t show up, know it’s because of Covid and we will
>>>>> follow you on the list serve & do what we can.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you so much,
>>>>>
>>>>> Margaret Rafferty
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sep 21, 2021, at 3:51 PM, Marche Maine <markrichardgrace at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> 
>>>>> There are growing pockets of resistance to DDOT’S overreach and poor
>>>>> communication with residents on bike lanes. The Lincoln Park neighborhood
>>>>> has been in DDOT’s cross sights as many of us are aware. The social
>>>>> inequities inherent in the placement of these bike lanes has created an
>>>>> organized resistance.  This Friday there will be a rally near Galluduet.
>>>>> Show your support, attend!
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.theluvlounge.com/DCDBP.html
>>>>>
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>
>
> --
> Paul
> 202 255 9008
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