WASHINGTON — During the DC Council's Transportation Committee budget hearing Thursday, a major update was mentioned off-handily regarding the Connecticut Ave safety project, which will no longer include a bike lane.
The project's inclusion of bike lanes was hotly debated in 2023 with bicycle safety advocates celebrating the additions and neighbors voicing opposition. In May 2023, WUSA9 spoke with a group called "Save Connecticut Avenue" as they fought the proposal. The group argued that bike lanes would increase congestion and take away valuable parking along the busy corridor.
In October 2023, cyclists held a rally to advocate for the bike lanes.
During the Transportation Committee budget hearing Thursday, Councilmember Matt Frumin asked DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum, about the status of the Connecticut Avenue project.
"Safety improvements on Connecticut Avenue have been under discussion for a long time," said Frumin in the hearing. "I have urged in a number of communications, letters to the mayor, other communications to the administration, that part of the safety improvements include a bike lane on Connecticut Avenue, which is a very important safety priority. Where are we on that?"
During Kershbaum's reply, she alluded to disappointing bike lane advocates.
"The inception of the project was a safety project, it has always been a safety project on our high entry network and somehow over the years, it kind of morphed into a bike project," Kershbaum said. "So, I know there's disappointment from people who were really advocating strongly for a bike lane."
This response caught Frumin's attention, cutting her off to ask for clarity.
"The plan will not include a bike lane," Kershbaum said.
Additionally, Kershbaum explained that poor decisions were made in the past in an effort to build up the District's bike network. The department is now working on a five-year "bike network plan," looking across the District for key segments and gaps and concentrating on building a network with that data.
"Now we are going to be far more intentional about where we put a bike lane and not just do it every time we do a road diet," she said.
Frumin called the decision "a big disappointment".
Advocacy Director Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Jeremiah Lowery said. "It's sad because for a lot of people these may be numbers on a paper but if you look at implementation and actual practice these measures save lives."
But the group of Save Connecticut Avenue supporters applauded the choice.
"...[we] thank DDOT and Mayor Bowser for recognizing the danger these bike lanes would have posed to residents, zoo visitors, service providers, the mobility challenged, the disabled, businesses and emergency responders," the group said in a statement shared with WUSA9.
The Washington Area Bicyclists Association said they plan to continue to speak out about this decision and even attend future meetings to make sure their voices are heard.
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