D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

The next scheduled meeting for the DCBAC Safety, Education, and Enforcement committee is Tuesday, October 4, 2011 . We will meet at 6:30 at Teaism , 400 8th Street NW. Jameel Alsalam is the committee chair, his email is ward4@dcbac.org . The agenda will include: 1. Follow-up on bicyclist enforcement problems/priorities after CM Mendelson letter transmitted a letter to Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Lanier as a result of the enforcement hearing held earlier this year.  Discussion about the coming November meeting before the Committee on the Judiciary.  2. Funding of bike safety and education programs in the District, possibly in the context of changes to the federal transportation bill. 3. What connections are needed with MPD to address enforcement issues as they arise? 4. Any DCBAC role related to regular safety / education events such as Bike to Work Day,  Street Smart Campaign, etc? 5. Your ideas! Meetings are open to the public but space is limited.

Below are items that were not large enough to be a their own separate entry but important to report: Metropolitan Branch Trail Walk Monday, October 3, 2011, the students, faculty, and parents at Archbishop Carroll High School will begin their Homecoming week by walking nearly 2 miles on the Metropolitan Branch Trail in an effort to keep Carroll the most affordable Catholic high school in the Washington, D.C. area. Each student has begun to sell raffle tickets and last year, students helped to raise nearly $60,000.  The Archbishop Carroll High School Walk for Education began 20 years ago as a healthy fund-raising activity. If you have any questions or need any additional information about the Walk, please contact Crystal Rucker , Director of Advancement, at (202) 529-0900 x160 or crucker@archbishopcarroll.org . "Assault of Bicyclists Prevention Act" Moves from the Committee on the Environment, Public Works, and Transportation Jonathon Kass , Director for Special Initi

Photo by thedceye The Committee on the Judiciary will hold a public oversight hearing on the Enforcement of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety , Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 11:00a in Room 412 of the John A.Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.  Council member Phil Mendelson is the Chairperson of this Committee with  Marion Barry , Muriel Bowser , Mary Cheh , and Jack Evans as Committee members. The purpose of the hearing is to discuss issues associated with the enforcement of laws and other rules that are intended to protect bicyclists and pedestrians.  The hearing will focus on how the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and other enforcement agencies have applied certain traffic laws or safety regulations. According to the Committee, there have been specific complaints and anecdotal evidence showing that the enforcement of laws has been inconsistently applied against bicyclists and pedestrians.  In addition, MPD will likely attend to discuss concerns that the Dist

On Thursday, September 22, NBC4 posted a report by Jackie Benson regarding an increase in thefts involving culprits on bicycles.  According to the report, an email issued by the 3rd District Commander, Jacob Kishter , stated police would increase enforcement in robbery areas, including in introduction of stopping bicyclist to see if they are stolen or were used in the commission of a crime. However, the story focused on the following: "If the rider cannot prove ownership, take the bike for safekeeping until they can prove ownership." View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com . That statement, of course, set the blogesphere and Twitterverse ablaze. Shani Hilton of the Washington City Paper who was concerned that this policy would not only be impractical but probably racist.  Even DCBAC picket up on the story while it was still influx and tweeted: "Okay, so #MPD are stopping bicyclists and confiscating bikes but aren't profiling! Not Good. washingtonci

The next scheduled meeting for the DCBAC Legislative Committee is October 5, 2011 at 6:30pm at The Union Pub , 201 Massachusetts Ave NE , Washington , DC 20002 .  Please check back, the date and location of the meeting are subject to change. The following topics will be discussed: 1. Complete Streets policy and whether a law would be better. 2. The Legislative Committee chair is in the process of putting together a Freedom of Information Act request for a bicycle parking report as required under the Bicycle Parking Expansion Act of 2007 . Also, the Committee will discuss drafting a letter to the Department of Public Works and District Department of Transportation requesting their status in implementing the Bicycle Safety Enhancement Amendment Act of 2008 's requirements. 3. Continue discussion regarding the District's proposed pedicab regulations from the previous meeting, which will include discussion of the following comments received by the committee chair: Rul

At the last DC Bicycle Advisory Council meeting held Wednesday, September 7, WABA discussed its efforts to introduce legislation before the Council of the District of Columbia to create better protections for bicyclists who are harassed or threaten by motorists. According to WABA, the proposed law creates a civil right of action for an assaulted cyclist and   provides for attorneys fees if the cyclist-plaintiff prevails--thereby providing an incentive for attorneys to represent the victim. Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells will co-introduce an anti-harassment bill with Ward 2's Jack Evans and Ward 1's Jim Graham . Below is a resolution supporting the anti-harassment bill and the rights of  bicyclists who use of District streets. Resolution - Support of Bicyclists Rights

As a public service, below are bicycle-related comments/questions issued to Robert Thomson on his Monday midday Dr. Gridlock chat on the Washington Post website, unedited. This week, two comments about bicycling - "Why share Beach Drive when trail is right there" and "Bicyclists don't follow the rules"... Feel free to post your thoughts.

Below are pictures from the Saturday, September 10, 2011 Day of Service on the Metropolitan Branch Trail.  Volunteers from the community and trail users cleared and cleaned the trail from Franklin Street NE to R Street NE spending a part of this weekend giving back, helping to maintain a public asset. The event was sponsored by the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy and its Director of Trail Development, Kelly Pack , the NOMA BID , the DDOT Bicycle program's Heather Deutsch . If you are interested in being a part of future activities on the trail join the Metropolitan Branch Trail Facebook group or the Yahoo group Listserv .

Tonight, Wednesday September 7th, DCBAC will have its general meeting. The meeting will be in Room 1114 at 441 4th Street NW (One Judiciary Square) and begin at 6pm. We will start the meeting with a presentation by the DC Office of Planning on Mayor Gray's new sustainability initiative. Please feel free to invite other interested cyclists to join us for the presentation. Folks are welcome to stay for the rest of the DCBAC meeting as well. Below is a draft agenda: 1. Introductions (10 minutes) 2. DC Office of Planning Sustainability Presentation with Q&A (30 minutes) 3. Approval of Minutes (5 minutes) 4. Legislative Committee Report and Discussion (20 minutes) 5. Safety Committee Discussion (10 minutes) 6. Facilities Committee Report and Discussion (20 minutes) 7. Planning Committee Discussion (5 minutes) 8. Other Business (20 minutes)