The 15th Street bike lane is on the west side between the curb-sidewalk and parked cars. (Borderstan)
The DC Department of Transportation (DDoT) has just put out an online survey on the 15th Street bike lane and traffic configuration. There are 48 questions and it will probably take about 10 minutes to complete the survey; there are also numerous places for written comments. The questions cover the bike lane as well as current traffic conditions and general safety on 15th Street, especially for pedestrians.
Paper copies are also being distributed to residents on live on or near 15th Street between Massachusetts Avenue and U Street NW.
The contraflow bike lane was installed last November after extensive studies about what to do with the 15th Street traffic pattern–one of the options was to make 15th Street two-way, adding southbound traffic.
The 15th Street NW bike lane has been operational for a couple of weeks. What’s your opinion of it and its effect on this stretch of 15th Street? The bike lane is a pilot program, and the city says it will review the street’s new configuration after one year to see how it is working out.
Note: Read WashCycle’s take on the lane and other future options.
BELOW: VOTE!
At P Street NW: Looking south on 15th Street NW. (Photo: Luis Gomez Photos)
The rain is gone (for now) and DDoT was finally able to get started on the southbound bike lane on the west side of 15th Street NW. Yes, bikers will ride southbound on a one-way northbound street, between the curbed and parked cars–from Massachusetts Avenue to Florida Avenue NW.
More Information
- 15th Street Southbound Bike Lane Installation Starts MONDAY (with links to additional postings plus a plan map)
Starting Monday, Oct. 26, DDOT will install the south-bound bicycle lane on the west side of 15th Street NW between U Street and Massachusetts Avenue. It will be between the sidewalk-curb and parked cars. (Image: DDOT courtesy of TheWashCycle.com Web site.)
We were just talking about this… we had been wondering if/when the city was going to install the south-bound bicycle lane on the west side of 15th Street NW (which is one-way north-bound). This morning there was a message in the Logan Circle News group on Yahoo! Groups (below).
DC Department of Transportation (DDoT) will begin work on the bike lane–which will run from U Street to Massachusetts Avenue NW–this MONDAY, October 26, and be completed the following Monday. DDoT is distributing a flyer to 15th Street residents today.
About the Bike Lanes
- The south-bound bike lane on the west side of 15th will be next to the curb-sidewalk.
- Parking will still be allowed on the west side of 15th, but you will park between the south-bound bike lane and the north-bound traffic lanes.
- A north-bound bike lane will also be installed on the east side of 15th Street–but the lane will be between parked cars and north-bound traffic, the more traditional type of bike lane.
- There will still be three north-bound traffic lanes when all work is completed.
For those of you not in-the-know, there was discussion (a lot of it) on whether to turn 15th Street north of Massachusetts Avenue into a two-way street (I personally would have preferred it, many neighbors did not and opinions varied). DDoT kicked around several different configurations for 15th Street and finally decided to implement Alternative 5.
Previous Postings
From DDoT: (more…)
ANC 2B/Dupont Circle is one of the largest in the city, with nine single-member districts. (Map: ANC 2B Web site.)
Well, if you plan to attend an ANC 2B/Dupont Circle meeting this year, I would pick the one next Wednesday. On the March 11 agenda are two notable items:
- “Report by the ad hoc Committee on the Dupont East Liquor Moratorium; consideration of proposed resolution on same.” This is the big kahuna and you canfind the committee’s recommendations here.The report presents the committee’s position on the 17th Street liquor license moratorium, which goes to the full ANC. This is a long and old story and I won’t go into the details here, but you can see Borderstan postings here and here. Long-time residents of the neighborhood will understand what the words “17th Street, liquor license moratorium, JRs Bar and Grille, DCCA and ANC 2B” all have in common. Note: ANC Commissioner Jack Jacobson (2B-04) has a posting on his Web site about the committee’s recommendation.
- “Presentation by DDOT on 18th Street Reconstruction project and announcement on 15th Street decision.” Probably nothing too exciting here, but it will be interesting to see if Borderstanians have anything to say about DDOT’s plan to put bicycle lanes on 15th Street NW while leaving traffic one-way north. See the Borderstan posting here.
The full agenda is below. Remember that West Borderstan is part of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle, while East Borderstan is in ANC 2F/Logan Circle. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center at 16th and Q NW.
Borderstanians: I learned today that the city has decided on a traffic reconfiguration plan for 15th Street NW. It will have two-way bicycle lanes, but keep three northbound lanes of traffic (see “Reconfiguration of 15th St. NW: What We’re Getting.”)
On Jan. 31, I posted a poll here at Borderstan.com, asking readers, “Should 15th St. NW be a 2-way traffic street?” Below are the results (as of Feb. 19) of this extremely unscientific and unreliable public opinion poll. Remember that anyone can/did offer their opinion, regardless of where they live.
“Should 15th St. NW be a 2-way traffic street?”
- 52% (49 votes): “No, keep it 1-way north of Mass. Ave.”
- 39% (37 votes): “Yes, 2-way vehicle traffic north of Mass. Ave.”
- 5% (5 votes): “Don’t care if it’s 1-way or 2-way traffic.”
- 4% (4 votes): “Not sure.”
