WASHINGTON — The District Department of Transportation and Ward 5 council member, Zachary Parker will be hearing from community members regarding the South Dakota Avenue Corridor Safety Project.
The project would potentially add a bike lane between Riggs Road and Bladensburg Road Northeast, which spans about 3 miles.
Those who drive South Dakota Avenue daily tell WUSA9 it’s congested enough.
“No way. I don’t want to see a bike lane,” one driver said.
“That would just cause more backlog on traffic,” another driver said.
Currently, there are two lanes in each direction. Adding a bike lane would mean losing a car lane.
Juanita Erving believes it would make her daughter’s commute safer. But she’s not sure there are enough bikers to warrant a bike lane.
“My daughter is a biker. I will admit she stays more on the sidewalk because we are concerned about traffic hitting her. I don’t even see enough bikers here to be honest with you,” Erving said.
Advisory neighborhood commissioner VJ Kapur believes it would make roads safer. In a statement, he said:
"I believe a reconfiguration of South Dakota Ave. is absolutely essential to improving the safety of this dangerous roadway, and that is this project’s primary goal. Our Ward 5 communities must be built for the safety and livability of those who reside here, and not for the expediency of those driving through, and a “road diet” is a well-studied and effective strategy for improving the safety of all road users; drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and transit riders among them.
"Should DDOT move forward with the lane reduction as I believe they must, it remains an open question what the repurposing of the residual cross width might be. I do believe protected bike lanes would provide the most consistent lane reduction and community-serving purpose, and could provide an important new active transportation route for reluctant bike, scooter, and wheelchair users who don’t consider SDA an option today."
If you’d like to learn more about the safety project, you can join the virtual meeting on Thursday from 6-8 p.m. There will be another in-person meeting this Saturday from 10-12 p.m.
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