Unlike the L Street bike lane, the M Street track will be buffered by parked cars. (Photo by Rich Renomeron)
Beginning in August, city officials project, cyclists going from east to west through downtown D.C. will finally have a dedicated lane. Construction on the long-awaited M Street NW cycle track will begin this summer, bringing to the city’s core a crosstown traverse that bike aficionados say is long overdue.
The lane, which will run from just west of Thomas Circle at 14th Street NW to 28th Street NW in Georgetown, is roughly analogous to the L Street NW bike lane created last year. However, as a representative from the District Department of Transportation explained last night during a walking tour of the planned M Street track, the new lane will be different from its L Street counterpart in ways other than simply running in the opposite direction.
Most visibly, parking spots along the north side of M Street along the affected route will be moved into the street; the track will be buffered between parked cars and the curb. The L Street track is protected by a line of bollards. Mike Goodno, a bicycle program specialist at DDOT, explained to a group of avid cyclists that the M Street track will contain several features added in based on experiences with the L Street lane, such as additional signage to alert pedestrians that in addition to crossing vehicular traffic lanes, they are also crossing a high-speed bicycle path.
The M Street track will also be a bit more narrow than the one on L Street, which takes up nearly a full traveling lane. As the lane approaches intersections, it will move over from the curb through mixing zones to accomodate cars making right turns.
Additionally, there will be at least one segment where the M Street lane enters a “contraflow” zone, meaning that cyclists will be routed against the direction of vehicle traffic. M Street hits a complicated intersection at 18th Street NW, where it also merges with Rhode Island Avenue and crosses Connecticut Avenue. Shortly before the complex interchange, bikers along the M Street track will be diverted into a turning lane that veers into the eastbound side of Rhode Island Avenue. There, a protected bike lane will be installed next to oncoming traffic. Cyclists continuing past Connecticut Avenue will proceed on the same green light as M Street, though from that position, left turns onto southbound Connecticut Avenue will be practically impossible, Goodno said.
The preview of the forthcoming lane seemed appetizing to a group of cyclists brought out by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. Jay Corbalis, who last year created a Tumblr blog called “Who’s Blocking the L Street Bike Lane Today,” joked that he might reserve one for the M Street lane.
As for the schedule, though, some on the tour said the wait for a westbound bike route from downtown D.C. to the edge of Georgetown has gone on long enough. “This is a crucial artery,” said Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6). “One of the great weaknesses is the east-west traverse.”
But Goodno said that once construction begins, it should take DDOT only a few weeks to move the affected parking zones away from the curb, lay down paint and bollards, and open the 1.4-mile bike lane. However, cyclists eager to zip from Thomas Circle to Georgetown should expect a bumpy ride. Unlike L Street, which DDOT repaved last year while installing the cycle track between New Hampshire Avenue and 12th Street, the agency will not be patching up M Street for a while. Credit that delay to D.C. Water, which is scheduled to begin a year-long maintenance job underneath M Street in 2014. After that, and the completion of the reconstruction of the intersection of M Street, 21st Street, and New Hampshire Avenue, and the new cycle track will be smoothed over.
