Hello West Dupont and 2B02 neighbors,
Thank you for reading my newsletter about happenings in West Dupont and 2B02.
Protected Bike Lanes coming to 20th Street in West Dupont – ANC Listening Session June 30th
 After multiple years of study, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has issued a Notice of Intent to construct a protected bike lane connecting West Dupont with the National Mall. A “Notice of Intent” is issued by DDOT immedietly before they plan to modify traffic or parking requirements. In this instance, DDOT is proposing to install a protected bike lane along 20th Street NW from Massachusetts Avenue to G Street, a protected bike lane on G Street between 20th and 21st Streets, and then a protected bike lane from G Street to Constitution Avenue.
The ANC is hosting a special meeting “listening session” on June 30th at 6:30PM on this and a Notice of Intent for a protected bike lane on 17th Street NW on June 30th before our July 8th ANC meeting. I look forward to hearing from you and DDOT at that meeting.
The planning processes for the West Dupont to National Mall corridor goes back to the MoveDC long-range plan which recommended 21st Street for a protected bike lane from Florida Avenue to Constitution, although planning began in earnest starting in Spring 2018. Over the course of previous community engagement, and significant involvement from West Dupont neighbors and businesses, ANC 2B supported, and DDOT adopted, a recommended alternative (PDF and pictured below) that would go the length of 20th Street in West Dupont and go to R Street NW on the half block between Hilyer Place and the painted bike lane on R Street. This bike lane could go connect to the planned bike lanes on Connecticut Avenue NW as part of the streetscape and deckover plan so the bike lanes would extend all the way through Dupont.
While many still preferred a 21st Street alignment because 21st is a narrower street than 20th and it’s easier to keep going straight on a bike than having to crossover from 20th to 21st Street on G Street, I was very happy with the recommended alternative because it hit all the boxes on safety, network connectivity, and the desires of the dozens of constituents who reached out to me in opposition to a 21st Street alignment. The full recommended alternative hinged on an agreement between FRESHFARM, DDOT, and the Dupont Circle BID on a way to make the protected bike lane on 20th between Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenue work with market needs on Sunday.
I am proud to represent a community where everyone came to the table to figure out a way to make it work. To make it work, the assumption was that the protected bike lane infrastructure would be moveable on Sundays to accomodate current market operations. While not ideal from an operational standpoint, there was willingness from the BID and FRESHFARM to make it work. Unfortunately, there is also a peak-only bus stop for the L1 and H1 on that segment of 20th Street. Despite the fact that L1 and H1 are not currently running due to Covid and those peak-only routes are not high in ridership, designing a safe protected bike lane and ADA complaint bus stop would require a “floating” bus stop. I understand from DDOT that the logistics of a safe floating bus stop which is disassembled and then reassembled on a weekly basis is impractical. Thus, the proposed protected bike lanes only go up 20th Street to Massachusetts Avenue.
I am personally very frustrated and disappointed in this approach because bike lanes are like sidewalks – having one is good but not very useful unless it connects with the rest of the network. Bicycling is dangerous, especially outside of a protected bike lane and ending this bike lane at Massachusetts Avenue is like stranding cyclists at a moat without a bridge—notwithstanding the legacy MoveDC “plans” for a protected bike lane on Massachusetts Avenue from Dupont Circle to Cathedral Heights which were not seriously considered in the recent Massachusetts Avenue rehabilitation project. This has led one of my ANC colleagues to suggest an openness to a recommendation to DDOT that uses 21st Street in West Dupont rather than 20th Street.
I do not agree with this approach. Although I recognize the inadequacies of the bike lanes proposed in the Notice of Intent, I strongly believe in the Mayor’s commitment to installing an additional 20 miles of protected bike lanes by 2022. The proposed 20th Street bike lanes are ready to be built now while any other alignment would require at least several months of design before the issuance of another Notice of Intent. Furthermore, a majority of neighbors, including several of my constituents, on 21st Street in Dupont Circle have made clear that they vehemently oppose a protected bike lane on that street.
Ultimately, I believe that if someone’s primary goal is bike lane connectivity, this Notice of Intent as proposed is better than the alternative which is no protected bike lane along the corridor anytime soon.
Regarding more technical specifics I think there are some potential changes DDOT might want to consider such as adding pick up/drop off/delivery zones on certain cross streets to accommodate for the protected bike lane blocking those activities on the block that it’s on. Or perhaps painted bike lanes might be possible north of Massachusetts Avenue to the Q and R Street bike lanes.
I am, as always, eager to listen to your thoughts. Please let me know your thoughts on this project—especially if you disagree with me! I want to make sure this is done right. My hope is that the ANC can vote on this project on July 8th after the listening session on June 30th so that DDOT can start working on design changes in response to the ANC’s request, but statutorily we have until early September.
Emissary Expanding Sidewalk Cafe
With Covid moving many things outside, Emissary has applied to expand their sidewalk café to wrap around their storefront onto 21st Street and the ANC will be reviewing the plans at our July 8th meeting. The sidewalk café meets ANC 2B’s guidelines of providing at least 10 feet of unobstructed sidewalk space, except in the portion of the sidewalk café where the planter boxes and existing sidewalk café already dictate a sidewalk width of seven feet. I believe we need to do everything we can to keep local businesses sustainable through Covid. I look forward to your thoughts on these plans.
2152 Florida Ave Special Exception Request
The ANC already supported the project at 2152 Florida Avenue for historic preservation purposes, but now they are requesting a special exception from court requirements from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). In simple terms, even though the footprint of the building is staying the same because the property owner is adding a spiral staircase and changing use from a single-family dwelling to a four-unit building, the court does not meet minimum size requirements. This seems like a reasonable request to me though I welcome your thoughts if you have questions or concerns. The hearing before the BZA is not yet set, but the ANC will be reviewing it before the BZA does and potentially at our next ANC meeting.
In Closing
For official meeting notices and a full list of what we’re reviewing each month, please sign up for the ANC’s newsletter. Hope to see you at a meeting soon. I hope to virtually see you at the listening session on June 30th and then again on July 8th for the full ANC meeting.
Best,
Daniel
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