Thread by @TheDailyRiderDC

The Transportation and Public Space Committee meeting of ANC 6A is taking place now. We'll be covering some of this meeting tonight so mute now or forever hold your tweets.

From @DDOTDC , @WHands80 will be presenting on the 1300 block of North Carolina Ave. NE.

A reminder from the chair, that @DDOTDC is looking for recommendations on the proposed plans that are under consideration. Also, they're all volunteers (ed. note: please be nice)

Chair mentions that there are many community members that wish to comment after the presentation and sets a 2 minute limit.

Chair underlining that the discussion should be civil and mindful of our fellow neighbors.

On to the presentation from @WHands80 who notes that he is also a neighbor.

Currently, the status of this project is the conceptual engineering stage. After this we'll get to the 30/60/90% plans. The C Street streetscape redesign project is why we're taking this up now.

Why is DC planning for bikes so much? Well, in terms of an environmental impact, this is one thing among others the city has within its goals of accomplishing towards climate change.

Now talking about the overall goals of the MoveDC plan, and developing a bike network.

This block is one of the places where a gap in that network exists.

C Street's design is a protected and separated lane, adding raised crosswalks as a safety feature for pedestrians.

Seeing the increase of vehicles that are using these lanes (electric skateboards, scooters, OneWheels) it would be more appropriate to call them micro-mobility lanes.

What is driving this project is to connect previously unconnected nodes in this neighborhood.

Based upon design requirements and past experience, the design proposed (sharrows, advisory bike lanes) is inappropriate for this project. The characteristic of this roadway makes it not an option.

Bike lane design guidance disallows sharrows for this sort of roadway, (number of vehicles per day, speed limit) Buffered lane would be preferred for this sort of project.

If this roadway was wider, the project might be different. But in this case, the toolbox is limited to a few different designs such as the ones proposed by DDOT.

Alternative B is a buffered bike lane on both sides with street parking on both sides. Alternative C is to keep the parking curbside, and to add buffered bike lanes on both sides and a single lane in the center.

This (C) has been called out for potential for double parking by delivery vehicles and such...

Alternative D has a protected lane in eastbound direction and a buffered one westbound. Option E is a reverse of D, with a contraflow lane.

Not having time to look at these while taking down this information makes it hard to really tell which ones do what.

A reminder from @WHands80 that in a representative democracy, our elected officials are given the "great weight" in decision making as opposed to random community groups that may not fully reflect the voting public.

Showing examples of where these options can be seen in real life, such as Kentucky Ave and others.

Notes that with the removal of a turning bay, street parking for events at the church could be worked into the plans.

In the big picture, the different options may need to be changed to account for parking, micro traffic patterns, and certain other issues.

Moving on to community comment now and a reminder that the conversation should be civil, and that it is limited to 2 minutes.

Technical difficulties, but first commenter Keith (long time resident) supports option E for protected lane with one lane of travel. Asks if anyone has ever biked on the existing bike lane of C Street on C Street NE, with cars creeping in and trucks parked in the way.

A person who identifies a "Stop DDOT Overreach" asking about traffic counts. Westbound 2400, and 600 east. Questioner asks if the count one way justifies sharrows. Sharrows are for a lower number of vehicles and much lower speed of traffic. So this would not be an option.

Speaker Billy places support for a one-way option with protected facilities as it is much more comfortable to travel on those lanes. To maintain a connected city, we need to think about what makes sense for all, not just what is convenient for some.

Robert is a resident of this block and daily bike commuter who and supports a one-way option, protected lane. It makes a huge difference to have protected lanes.

Joshua now speaking and supports Alternative B, as a public transit user, cyclist and frequent pedestrian who sees dangerous actions by drivers that put cyclists and pedestrians at risk. Comments about process being used to delay the project.

Delancey is not in favor of anything DDOT proposes, but thinks Option C would be the best one that they have designed. Primary concern of delivery trucks in the street that might cause people to use their horns.

Additionally, the protected lanes would not be plowed if protected and would like to know if this is something that would be taken care of.

The light-plow is staffed by the bike team and can fit in the protected lanes, and @WHands80 himself has been certified to operate them. So the protected lanes would be cleared. Delivery trucks do currently block up public space and planning for specific PUDO zones could assist.

Adding these zones (1 per block) could reduce double parking and open up space for delivery and carsharing vehicles.

Back to commenters. Andrew up next.

Andrew bikes in the area with his kids and has experienced being sideswiped and supports a protected lane. Mentions that a one-way street is a joy as it means less traffic and more safety.

Michael asking about advisory bike lanes as an option. Will from DDOT that this street isn't a candidate for speed and volume reasons.

Some debate about speed limits. It was our understanding that the prima facia speed limit was changed to 20mph, but no memo was forwarded to the drivers of H Street.

Will discussing the development of an all-ages bike infrastructure.

Let's be clear: No sharrows or advisory bike lanes will be designed into this project.

Colleen from A Street made a decision to purchase a home where she could be safe. Wants to preserve the parking she has now. Equates parking with the "American Dream" and has a fear of being carjacked.

Eric from the church at the corner does not support any plan that reduces parking and likes the option of special parking for events that Will mentioned.

Roberta making an argument for protected bike lanes by mentioning that biking in the area is difficult and dangerous. Can DDOT do a bike or walking tour? But then mentions preserving parking.

Elizabeth from NC Ave believes that the project should be delayed. Asks whether the bike lanes could be moved to some other, wider, more open street. Suggests pushback could happen if bike lanes are put in. But believes that they don't fit with the block.

Christine believes that the proposed alternatives consider the cyclist community and not others in the neighborhood, including the disabled and parents. Safety of people in the block concerned about safety.

In the third public meeting where this is being addressed and she is speaking, she states the process is not transparent.

Thread might have broken here, but this point was countered by Will mentioning micro-plows that can clear these lanes, which if they're accepting volunteer drivers, we want to sign up.

Stefan offers support for the one-way option and asks about planning for the 300+ vehicles going to Maury ES each day. Asking for stop signs along 14th. Asking for more pedestrian protection and for Ames to flip polarity of the one way.

Maura states that Amber has sent a letter to DDOT to ask for stop signs.

In the weeds currently about streets and driving them in specific patterns that we're not familiar with and is not really related to this topic...

Anders from C Street notes that this project is a great opportunity to connect to The Fields and supports Option B as studies of protected lanes show their proven safety.

Dominique asking for a construction plan and expressing confusion and frustration with the plans as presented. Asking ANC leaders to listen to all voices.

Will from DDOT apologizes for the unclear plans for their limited readability and states there will be a construction plan presented once an option is advanced to planning stages.

Smiths at 13th and Const. states that 100s of cars will divert from NC Ave. to 13th. She is opposed to the plan because of traffic moving to other streets. Her children bike commute on Constitution.

Arabella opposed to all DDOT plans asks how a one-way calms traffic.

Will responds that a raised crosswalk at the triangle park, a narrowed travel lane, and lower volume all limit speed.

Will states data from other projects bears out that speeds reduce when the infrastructure being discussed is included in a street.

Also states that in case traffic calming does not succeed, like in the case of 17th Street, they are re-addressing the project to make improvements.

Hearing that public comment is closing, we're going to take that opportunity to step away while soup is still warm.

Thanks for following along, and please take an moment to share your opinions with DDOT and your ANC Commissioner.