WASHINGTON — As D.C. works to make Connecticut Avenue safer, debate over whether bike lanes should be included continues.
The DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) is holding a virtual meeting Monday night from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. to update the public on the current proposal.
It has proposed multiple options since starting the study in 2019 — all focused on multimodal safety improvements — but bike lanes have garnered much of the attention.
It is unclear whether the current proposal includes bike lanes, but DDOT does say it is designed to reduce crashes and improve safety.
Senior Organizing Manager with the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, Kalli Krumpos, said this conversation is about more than just Connecticut Avenue.
"This is about how do we move toward truly a system of low stress, active, affordable transportation for people across the region. So looking at the process, this is not a way that we get to a complete low stress network, [but we] have to move forward on these projects where [it] really truly is about safety," Krumpos said. "So I think, yes, we are thinking about Connecticut Ave, but we're really thinking about how do we achieve that low stress network for people to be able to get around with the option of lots of different modes of transportation.”
The scope of DDOT's study area is from Calvert Street NW up 3.26 miles north to Oliver Street.
DDOT has been considering options that include more crosswalks, dedicated turn lanes, alternating lanes, and protected bike lanes.
The group Save Connecticut Ave said they are happy with any proposal, as long as it does not include the bike lanes.
"If there were bike lanes on Connecticut Ave, it would reduce the avenue to one lane in each direction, because service vehicles, buses would be parking in the lanes that are left," President of the group, Lee Mayer, said. "The other huge issue is the traffic congestion. It would cause over 7,000 vehicles per day to divert off of Connecticut Ave. and onto neighborhood streets, which would make those streets more dangerous."
Mayer also said there is not enough consideration in the plans for seniors or those with mobility issues.
He does not believe adding the bike lanes would make the street safer -- saying it would present more opportunities for cyclists to crash as people exited driveways along the road.
Mayer said he prefers to cycle on the side streets, which would become more dangerous with traffic diversion.
Krumpos said she appreciates the multimodal approach and hopes leaders continue to look at the bigger picture as they make decisions.
"This is a corridor study where we're looking at multimodal safety improvements. At WABA, we are thinking about how do people get around? And we know that not everyone's going to be on a bike," she said. "But we want everyone to have the option to choose to bike, walk, take transit and not feel like you have to take a car because the road feels too unsafe."
The DC Council has taken up the debate during budget talks over the last couple months.
Some want to withhold funding from the project unless bike lanes are included as originally intended. Others don't want to give it that caveat.
WABA has been running a petition to keep the bike lanes in the project.
The Council is in the final round of budget markups, so it's unclear which side will win.