Taxis and passenger cars!

Ever since the L Street bike lane opened last year, cyclists have complained that drivers still use it to park their cars and trucks. It happens often enough, in fact, that a new blog dedicated to shaming those drivers hasn’t been hard-pressed for photographic evidence.

And while D.C. officials have tried educational campaigns and occasional enforcement to keep cars out of the dedicated bike lane that runs from New Hampshire Avenue to 11th Street NW, they might start adding more bollards and even a curb to make the message absolutely clear, writes the Examiner today:

The D.C. Department of Transportation is planning to add more white posts along the lane once snow season is over to discourage cars from entering, said bike lanes coordinator Mike Goodno. The posts are 20 feet apart, creating plenty of room for cars to wedge between them.

“We have been sending our traffic control officers out there on occasion to do some enforcement. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been as consistent as we would like since they have other duties,” he said. “We continue to see the problem.”

By early summer the District may add a curb to the bike lane, Goodno said. And a bike lane planned for M Street may also have a curb and will be narrower to keep cars out, he said.

Last week D.C. police were sent out to deal with another persistent bike lane-related issue: cars making U-turns through the bike lanes that run the length of Pennsylvania Avenue. As with L Street, design also played a part in the problems seen on Pennsylvania Avenue; while D.C. officials originally wanted bollards to line the entirety of the bike lane, they were rebuffed by federal officials.