D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

When:  December 15, 2014              6 - 8pm Where: Brookland Pint              716 Monroe St NE With the year coming to a close, the facilities committee is staying inside for this month! Come join the committee to talk about the goals and plans for the next year at 6pm on December 15, 2014.  More specifically, the meeting will cover input into the Southwest neighborhood plan, thinking about how to focus more attention of maintenance of  facilities, scheduling rides for 2015 based on DDOT's plans, and tallying results from this year's rides. As always, everyone is invited and additional suggestions for agenda items are welcomed. Just look for the folks with bike helmets! The safety committee and legislative committee will not be meeting this month. 

October has come and gone somehow. Bad news for pumpkin sellers but good news for bikers - the bimonthly DCBAC general meeting is this week! Agenda will be posted later today but will likely  include:         Update on plans for Oxon Run Trail         Georgetown to Union Streetcar EA         New DC council members 441 4th St NW, Rm 1114 at 6pm. All are welcome. There is plenty of bike parking outside, as well as a Capital Bikeshare station and the Judiciary Square metro entrance. UPDATED AGENDA (11/4/14) 1.           Introductions 2.           DDOT report out on FY14 accomplishments and FY15 priorities 3.           Committee Reports       -           Legislative       -           Safety, Education, & Enforcement       -           Facilities       -           Planning               4.           Other business

The next Legislative Committee meeting will be Wednesday, October 8th at 6:30 pm at the Teaism in Penn Quarter . Agenda items:     Update on the hearing of the “ Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Amendment Act of 2014 .” Next steps for the DCBAC regarding the streetcar regulations .  Drafting an “omnibus” letter for the new council and mayor, covering areas of DC law that could be improved. Potential topics include a safe stop act, BUI, distracted driving law reform, and the transit benefit act. If there are other suggestions for topics, please send them to be added to the agenda. Please feel free to contact the committee chair, David Cranor for meeting details or topics of discussion. We look forward to seeing you and having your input.

Monday, September 29, 2014, Councilmember Tommy Wells, Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, will hold a hearing on the "Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Amendment Act of 2014" ( View Legislation ).  The hearing will be held at 12:30 pm, the John A. Wilson Building, Room 500, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004 This proposed legislation, co-sponsored by Council members Cheh, Grosso, and Wells, would adopt a comparative negligence standard for damages recovery in bicycle and motor vehicles collisions. Comparative negligence is a rule of law applied in accident cases to determine responsibility and damages based on the negligence of every party directly involved in a crash. Section 2 of the "Access to Justice for Bicyclists Act of 2012" would be amended to include the following: "Any individual who, while riding a bicycle, is involved in a collision with a motor vehicle, shall have the total damages re

The next bimonthly BAC meeting is Wednesday, September 3, 2014 beginning at 6pm. We will be at the One Judiciary Square building, 441 4th Street NW, room 1114. As always, DCBAC meetings are open to the public and we invite you to participate in our discussion about the District's bicycling issues. Per our bylaws, we will hold an election for FY15 officers – chair, treasurer, secretary. Megan Kanagy has indicated her interest in the chairperson’s office. Jameel Alsalam is willing to stand for re-election as treasurer. The agenda is as follows: Introductions, including the new BAC support services contractor Approval of Minutes  Committee Reports  Treasurer’s Report  DDOT Updates  Other Business When entering the building, please make sure to bring government-issued identification and use the south elevators to get to the 11th floor conference room. Bicycle parking is available in front of the building and please remember to also bring your bike lock. The closest Capit

Image by @ranpuba BAC member Allyson Criner Brown (At Large - Orange) will be on " The Daily Drum " with Harold Fisher tonight (WHUR 96.3 FM). She will be with several members of Black Women Bike DC talking about biking in the District and Courtland Milloy's article . While she will be speaking on behalf of Black Women Bike DC, this is an opportunity to hear what this group thinks about bicycling. The show starts at 7:00pm on WHUR and will run on air until 7:30pm. The full show goes until 8:00pm. The show also airs on the Sirius XM channel 141 and on the web . Also, the show will accept calls for this topic.

In lieu of an August meeting, the legislative committee will meet next week, Thursday, July 10th at 7:00pm at Blue Jacket at Yard's Park . We will be discussing the proposed District Transit Authority , which proposes, among other things, the reorganization of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Specifically, this meeting will discuss  the proposal to move Capital BikeShare into the transit section and how a reorganization could better enhance bicycle facility development and maintenance as well as the safety and education efforts that DDOT undertakes. Depending on conditions, we may be inside or outside. Please feel free to contact the committee chair, David Cranor for meeting details or topics of discussion. We look forward to seeing you.  

The next bimonthly BAC meeting is Wednesday, July 2, 2014 beginning at 6pm. We will be at the One Judiciary Square building, 441 4th Street NW, room 1114.  As always, DCBAC meetings are open to the public and we invite you to participate in our discussion about the District's bicycling issues. This meeting will feature a discussion regarding the MoveDC plan as well as the following agenda items: Introductions Approval of Minutes  Committee Reports  Treasurer’s Report  DDOT Updates  Other Business When entering the building, please make sure to bring government-issued identification and use the south elevators to get to the 11th floor conference room. Bicycle parking is available in front of the building and please remember to also bring your bike lock. The closest Capital Bikeshare station is at the entrance of the building. As always, BAC meetings are open to the public and we encourage the sharing of your thoughts and your questions. If you cannot attend th

This is just to remind folks we'll be doing our DC Bicycle Advisory  Council Facilities Committee (BAC FAC) ride tonight, Monday, June 23, 2014. We'll be exploring North / South  options in conjunction with DDOT's plans for improving transit along  the corridor.  We'll meet at 6PM at the bike racks at the Home Plate Entrance to Nationals Park (northeast corner of Potomac Ave and South Capitol Street). The Nats are away, so there shouldn't be much activity there tonight. Please contact Jeanie Osburn for more information about the ride or bicycle facilities concerns in your area. Please feel free to pass this information on to anyone you think is interested in sharing their ideas about bicycling in the District. Feel free to provide your comments below.

The next Legislative Committee will be meet at 6:30pm, June 4th at Yards Parks. [Rain contingency: Teaism in Penn Quarter ]. We will meet at the " Overlook " between the Lumber Shed, the river, and the Bridge. We may eat near by after the meeting. At this point there's only one item two items on the agenda: The result of the February meeting, and that is discussion of a proposal to ask the Council to adopt a Stop-As-Yield law for DC. http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/01/news/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske-stop-as-yield_86786  The Council member Mary Cheh's District Department of Transportation reorganization bill. If there are other suggestions for topics, please send them to be added to the agenda. Please feel free to contact the committee chair, David Cranor for meeting details or topics of discussion. We look forward to seeing you and having your input.    

The next bimonthly BAC meeting is Wednesday, May 7, 2014 beginning at 6pm. We will return to the One Judiciary Square building, 441 4th Street NW.  As always, DCBAC meetings are open to the public and we invite you to participate in our discussion about the District's bicycling issues. This meeting will feature a discussion with a senior National Park Service (NPS) planner for  National Capital region. We will discuss the current status of certain NPS projects as well as plans for the future. This person has no authority or responsibility over any given park within the region, except as matters relate to planning. The representative will share NPS' plans to update the 1990 Paved Trails of the National Capital Region: Recommendations for Improvements and Coordination to Form a Metropolitan Multi-Use Trail System , which can be found here . Again, the meeting will revolve only around NPS planning and not focus on park maintenance, policy, or enforcement. We als

Below is a document transmitted by members of BAC regarding our review of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Florida Avenue Multimodal Safety and Planning Study . This document represents the views of five BAC members and the chair of BAC's Facilities Committee. This does not necessarily represent an official BAC response, as that requires approval by a quorum of BAC members. Regarding the Study, BAC has learned that funding has yet to be designated for the construction. A DDOT representative stated that the agency is waiting for the completion of the Study, likely this June. Once an alternative is selected, DDOT will produce cost estimates, add the project to DDOT's Transportation Improvement Program , and then begin design and eventually construction. If you have observations or suggestions, please add them to the comments section below or on twitter using the # FloridaAveStudy hashtag. DCBAC-FloridaAveStudy by D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Mayor’s Proposed budget was released April 3, 2014. It sets the Mayor’s priorities for the coming year and is the first step in the budget process. The next step in the process is the review of the budget by the Council of the District of Columbia. Council has begun its process by asking District agencies to provide details on their budgets and may recommend changes.  As port of its information gathering efforts, the Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment will hold its hearing on the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Tuesday, April 29, 2014 beginning at 11am in the Council Chamber of the John A. Wilson Building (Room 500), 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. The Committee encorages the public and organizations to provide testimony on the proposed DDOT budget and its plans for the upcoming year. BAC encourages the public to voice praise, concerns or suggestions with regard to the proposed spending for complete streets that inc

The bimonthly Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee (SEE) will reconvene at Merzi in Penn Quarter, 415 7th Street, NW (Downhill in same block as Carmine's, across from Hill Country, just north of D Street). The meeting will be Wednesday April 23, beginning at 6 pm. The agenda includes discussion regarding educational issues per BAC testimony at the District Department of Transportation / BAC / PAC oversight hearing last month. SEE will also discuss creating an immediate and practical educational intervention pertaining to the G and I Street NE contraflow lanes. Capital Bikeshare stations are nearby at 8th & D Streets NW and 6th Street and Indiana Ave NW.  A bike parking corral is located at 8th and D Streets.  If you have questions, please contact Andrea Adleman ,Chair of the SEE Committee.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration are preparing an Environmental Assessment for the proposed Benning Road and Bridge Multimodal Transportation Improvements. Benning Road Study Area - Image courtesy of Google Maps The meeting will be held Tuesday April 22, 2014 at the Department of Employment Services Building, 4058 Minnesota Avenue, NE from 6:30 pm. to 8 pm. The study area is along the Benning Road NE corridor, from Oklahoma Avenue to the Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road Metrorail Stations. This public meeting will serve to inform attendees about the project’s scope and discuss transportation issues. The approximately 1.7 mile corridor  is the planned route for the H Street / Benning Road streetcar extension into Ward 7, which currently ends near Spingran High School. The BAC Facilities (BAC - FAC) committee has specifically called for action on this section Benning Road as the bridge over route 295, the Anacostia fre

The next bimonthly BAC Legislative Committee Meeting will be held April 2 at 6:30pm. The meeting will be held at the Two Rivers PCS Middle School, 1234 4th Street, NE. The meeting will be short, 30 minutes, so that we can participate in the District Department of Transportation meeting regarding the rebuilding Florida Avenue, possibly with bike lanes or cycletracks. Updated : The Committee will discuss the following: The Transit Benefits Establishment Act of 2013 was withdrawn and reintroduced as part of B20-573, the “ Sustainable DC Omnibus Act of 2013 .”  BAC sent a letter of support for the withdrawn act and should probably send (the same?) one for the reintroduced bill. The bike parking regulations , originally required as part of the 2007 Bicycle Commuter and Parking Act, have been completed by DDOT and are now available for comment. We will review these and recommend comments. The comment period ends before the next BAC meeting. Please feel free to contact the commi

The first Bicycle Advisory Council Facilities Committee (BAC-FAC) "rolling" meeting of the season will explore the Florida Avenue/Benning Road corridor April 19, 2014 .  The ride will begin at 1pm at the NoMa-Gallaudet Station (2nd and Florida entrance). Bikeshare stations are near the M Street NE entrance of the NoMa - Gallaudet station and along the route. Courtesy of Google The BAC-FAC rolling meeting coincides with the District Department of Transportation's (DDOT)  Florida Avenue Multimodal Transportation study, which assesses the potential reconfiguration of the Florida Avenue corridor from North Capitol Street to Benning Road NE. In  an earlier post , BAC discussed some of the challenges along Florida Avenue for bicyclists and pedestrians, which include narrow sidewalks and fast moving vehicles. BAC-FAC will explore the options DDOT has proposed for the corridor and provide DDOT and members of Council with our feedback. The BAC-FAC committee chair, 

The Committee on Transportation and the Environment held its 2013 oversight hearing for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), the Bicycle Advisory Council and the Pedestrian Advisory Council. The hearing was held on March 21, rescheduled from the original March 3 and subsequent March 17 dates. As stated in a prior post , the hearing allowed the public to voice its concerns about the state of the District's transportation infrastructure to include the allocation of Metrobus and Metrorail services, automobiles, the DC Circulator, Bike/Ped concerns, as well as other District transportation issues. The hearing also allows DDOT to answer questions directly and provide information to the public regarding how it plans to maintain and expand transportation alternatives for District residents and visitors. Below is a video of the hearing courtesy of the Office of Cable Television. The testimony of Ellen Jones, the BAC Chair, begins about an hour into the hearing. The vide

Below are the minutes from the February BAC Legislative Committee meeting. This meeting covered the status of bicycle legislation proposed in 2013 and the potential for new legislation in 2014.  BAC encourages your comments and suggestions for new legislation. Feel free to contact us or use the comments section and convey your ideas. Legislative Meeting (2-5-14) by D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

The final public meeting on the Florida Avenue NE study is set for Wednesday, April 2 beginning at 7pm at the Two Rivers Charter School , 1234 4th Street NE, (Middle School Building). Bicyclists and pedestrians should attend to help determine the best way Florida Avenue can accommodate a variety of road uses. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is hosting the third and final public meeting to guide the Florida Avenue Multimodal Transportation study, which assesses the potential reconfiguration of the Florida Avenue corridor from North Capitol Street to Benning Road NE. Florida Avenue NE at M Street, courtesy of Google Maps Current conditions are not favorable for pedestrians or bicyclists. The sidewalk sections from 6th Street to West Virginia Avenue particularly narrow with street lights, signage, and steps restricting sidewalk egress. The current 6-lane configuration in this section also makes using the street difficult for bicyclists as cars typically travel

BAC currently has an opening as a Ward 1 representative. This unpaid, volunteer position is open to residents of the District currently living in Ward 1 who are enthusiastic about bicycling, talk with the public and policy makers about bicycling and are able to attend six general and six committee meetings each year. Those interested in becoming BAC members should first contact the office of the Ward 1 Council Member , Jim Graham or the DDOT Bicycle Program Specialist,  Mike Goodno . Applicants are encouraged to attend a BAC Committee meeting in April or a meeting of the entire BAC in May. Dates for those will be posted as they become available on this site. In the meantime, feel free to contact the BAC Chairperson, Ellen Jones, by email ellenbethjones@gmail.com. As required for all those who sit on boards or commissions, you must complete  an Application for Legislative Appointment . The application should include a current resume or biographical sketch.  In addition,

The Bicycle Facilities Committee (BAC-FAC) met Monday, February 10, 2014 from 6pm to 8pm at  The Bier Baron , 1523 22nd Street, NW.  The agenda included: Ongoing maintenance of bicycling infrastructure, particularly regarding the removal of snow, sand/grit and salt removal;  Review of the 2013 scorecard (bike lanes, connections, new projects, progress on existing projects, problem areas from the MoveDC plan;  The District Department of Transportation's bicycle infrastructure plans for 2014; and Potential BAC-FAC investigative rides for 2014. Below are the meeting minutes. Please let us know if you have questions or comments. BAC FAC Minutes 021014 by D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

Dupont Circle via DCBAC The next bimonthly BAC meeting is Wednesday, March 5, 2014 beginning at 6pm. The meeting will be at a new location , the West End Library , 1101 24th Street NW. We will meet in the library's Small Conference Room. We plan to discuss bike-related topics including the status of bicycle facilities completed or planned by District Department of Transportation, BAC committee reports as well as BAC plans for 2014. Bicycle parking is but limited, please remember to bring your bike lock. The nearest Capital Bikeshare station is at 25th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW and the closest Metrorail station is Foggy Bottom-GWU . As always, BAC meetings are open to the public and we encourage the sharing of your thoughts and questions. If you cannot attend the meeting, please leave use our comments section below or @DCBAC on twitter.

The Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee (SEE) will reconvene at the Penn Quarter Teaism . SEE will meet at 6:00 PM, Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 400 8th Street NW, Penn Quarter (Downstairs). The agenda will include discussion on the next steps following Metropolitan Police Department's (MPD) presentation at January 2014 BAC general meeting. SEE plans on inviting MPD to its April 2014 to address education and enforcement concerns from bicyclists. The meeting will also discuss a report on the District Department of Transportation regarding the "safe accommodation" provision of the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2013. Lastly, SEE will discuss the new DDOT speed camera report issued 1/14. Please support SEE and Andrea Adleman Chair, Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee and bring your ideas to the downstairs section of Teaism.

The DC Bicycle Advisory Council's Facilities Committee (BAC-FAC) will hold its February 'stationary' meeting.  The meeting will be held Monday, February 10, 2014 from 6pm to 8pm at The Bier Baron , 1523 22nd Street, NW (in the back room). The agenda includes: Ongoing maintenance of bicycling infrastructure, particularly regarding the removal of snow, sand/grit and salt removal;  Review of the 2013 scorecard (bike lanes, connections, new projects, progress on existing projects, problem areas from the MoveDC plan;  The District Department of Transportation's bicycle infrastructure plans for 2014; and Potential BAC-FAC investigative rides for 2014. The committee will also discuss issues brought to it by the public. This meeting will also give the public an opportunity to discuss issues that should be addressed during the BAC/DDOT oversight hearing occurring in March. Please contact Jeanie Osburn (BAC-FAC@dcbac.org), chair of this committee for more informat

The next bimonthly BAC Legislative Committee Meeting will be held February 5th at 6:30pm at the Penn Quarter Teaism , 400 8th Street NW. The meetings are typically held in the basement eating area. Items on the agenda include:  Pursuing the bicycle commuter benefit for DC employees 2013 Legislation status (Transit Benefit Establishment Act of 2013, Used Bike sales, Bicycle Safety Act)  New items and 2014 priorities.  Please feel free to contact the committee chair, David Cranor  for meeting details or topics of discussion. We look forward to seeing you there.

Due to the closing of the District Government because of snowfall March 3, this meeting has been rescheduled for March 17, 2014. The time, date and room location are subject to change. The Fiscal Year 2013-2014 Agency Performance Oversight Hearings schedule has been released and the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, chaired by Council member Mary M. Cheh (Ward 3), has placed the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council on the docket. This hearing gives residents an opportunity testify about bicycling in the District. The hearing is tentatively scheduled for 11:00a 2:30p on Monday, March 3, 2014 March 17, 2014 in the Council Chamber (Room 500) in the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Also scheduled are the Pedestrian Advisory Council and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). The purpose of the Performance Oversight Hearings are to allow the Council to ask questions regarding the current operations of District agencies, committees, and o

Photo by @ranpuba The BAC Facilities (BAC-FAC) committee held its bimonthly meeting Monday, December 2, 2013, to discuss several current and proposed projects in an around the District. The discussion centered around nine projects that are currently stalled. Additionally, we discussed how BAC should approach the District Department of Transportation and the National Park Service regarding completion of certain bicycling facilities.  Below are notes from the BAC-FAC December meeting. Feel free to post comments below or contact @DCBAC on Twitter. BAC FAC Minutes 12-02-13 by D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host a public meeting regarding the rehabilitation of the Klingle Valley Trail and its design elements Thursday, January 16, 2014.The meeting will be held at the Cleveland Park Public Library (First Floor Auditorium), 3310 Connecticut Avenue NW, 6:00p to 8:00p. with a presentation beginning at 6:30p. BAC encourages you to attend this meeting to learn more about how bicyclists and pedestrians will access a rarely visited park.

Via DCBAC The next bimonthly BAC meeting is Wednesday, January 8, 2014 beginning at 6pm. The meeting will take place at 441 4th Street, NW, One Judiciary Square, Room 1114, 11th floor. Please remember to bring government identification to enter the building. To get to the meeting room, please use the South lobby elevators. BAC will discuss reports from our subcommittees and other bike-related topics including the status of bicycle facilities by the District Department of Transportation. We will also discuss BAC plans for 2014 as well as discuss Council of the District of Columbia oversight hearings, which should begin in a few weeks.  Bicycle parking is available in front of the building please remember to also bring your bike lock. As always, BAC meetings are open to the public and we encourage the sharing of your thoughts and your questions. If you cannot attend the meeting, please leave use our comments section below or @DCBAC on twitter.