DC Bicycle Advisory Council Facilities Committee (BAC FAC) Minutes

Monday, Dec. 14, 2015

Union Social, 100 Florida Ave. NE
Attendees: Emily Oaksford (Ward 1 rep), James Salt (Ward 4 rep), Jeff Johnson (at
large Silverman), Andrea Adleman (Safety and Education Committee Co-Chair),
Jeanie Osburn (Facilities Committee Chair), Mike Goodno (DDOT), Darren Buck
(DDOT), Galin Brooks (NoMa BID), Jeff Wetzel, Sterling Stone, Andrea Powell
Agenda
1) Discussion of initial installation of temporary vs permanent bicycle facilities per
the November BAC minutes.
2) DDOT plans for 2016 lane striping/other bike facilities
3) Discussion of plans for Union Station
4) Suggestions for rides for 2016
5) Other topics.
Discussion of initial installation of temporary vs permanent bicycle
facilities per the November BAC minutes
Jeff Johnson started the discussion with background on the genesis of the topic,
which was the temporary facilities installed by DDOT on Maryland Avenue NE after a
librarian was badly injured crossing the street in front of the library. The opposition
to installing temporary vs permanent facilities is the concern that the temporary
fixes would never evolve into a permanent solution. Mike and Darren indicated that
DDOT already does some temporary improvements prior to permanent
installation just to see what works best. These types of temporary improvements
include paint, plastic bollards, timing of lights, etc- things that can easily be
installed and, if they dont work well, removed. DDOT does not do major project
installations temporarily. For instance, for the 15 th St. cycletrack, DDOT
determined by usual means that they would be able to take a lane for the
cycletrack. Taking the lane was a permanent determination. But the cycle track
started out as one-way, didnt have green paint, etc. After much discussion, the
group felt that use of temporary installations is a good idea if there is subsequent
evaluation of the efficacy of the temporary installation and could be helpful in
speeding the time-to-solution for complicated areas such as the intersection of 14 th
and U Streets NW.
DDOT plans for 2016 lane striping/other bike facilities
Mike Goodno reported that DDOT has installed 4 miles of bike facilities in 2015 and
could possibly be able to install another mile before the end of December if the
weather holds. The one mile would not be contiguous segments, but would improve
connectivity with things like Vermont Ave/14th/15th Streets NW. For 2016 there are
some projects in the works including Louisiana between Union Station and
Pennsylvania Ave. NE, 5th/6th Street NW corridor, Lincoln Park, and improvement of
the 15th Street NW cycletrack including the intersection at W, the northern extension
up to Euclid, and permanent curbs and bicycle signal lights. Some of the discussion
led into topic 4. Mike will send the plans for 2016 to Jeanie as well as the
accomplishments for 2015.

Discussion of plans for Union Station

Andrea Adleman had attended the Dec. 7 open house regarding plans for expansion
of Union Station and she brought a handout of what the project is about. The project
is led by Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and documentation can be found at
http://wusstationexpansion.com/. The gist is that the station is already very crowded
and is not capable of handling future demand for multiple modes of transportation
(Train, metrorail, metrobus, bicycle, pedestrian). This is just the beginning of the
project, and the FRA is requesting public comment on any particular concerns with
respect to project impacts. Jeanie considered it a good opportunity to speak up to
assure the existing bicycle facilities (MBT, bike station, 1 st St cycletrack) are
enhanced and at the very least, not adversely impacted. She will draft comment for
the committee by Dec. 16 in order to provide input to FRA by the January 4
deadline. Andrea also suggested inviting Michelle Fishburne, project lead, to attend
the next BAC meeting.
Suggestions for rides for 2016
Building on some of the discussion from the 2016 DDOT plans the following rides
were suggested for 2016:
Cross-town study (DDOT lead is Kellie Peterson)- This is also referred to as get rid
of the cloverleaf (at Irving St) and would go from South Dakota near the
Costco/Lowes to Michigan Ave, and on to Mt. Pleasant. The BAC FAC has done a
park-to-park ride (from the park at Soldiers home to Rock Creek Park), and DDOT
will soon be signing that route. This would add further east/west connectivity.
West of the White House- In particular between 17 th and 22nd Streets NW. DDOT
would like to check out some of their ideas with a ride. The BAC FAC has done a ride
in that area.
New York Ave corridor- Douglas Jemal commissioned Rails-to-Trails to do a study of
the corridor for improving bicycle connectivity, and the BAC FAC had planned to do
a ride in August or October 2015, however, the plans had not been sufficiently
vetted, and were not available. If they are, this would be a ride candidate.
K Street- Several people commented on the problems with K Street NE/NW, and how
difficult it is to ride through. There is much room for improvement.
Petworth- DDOT has a project in the works for improvements in the Petworth area,
and Mike suggested a ride in April would be timely.
Meeting adjourned at 8PM