Although illegal U-turners have been the biggest threat to cyclists who frequent the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes, lately, there’s been a far larger, colder obstacle causing problems: A large, dirty snow bank.
Superman’s Fortress of Solitude by Pigpen from the Peanuts pic.twitter.com/e22Frwzx3q
— sharrowsDC (@sharrowsDC) February 19, 2014
Since the big snowfall last week, the city has slowly been digging itself out—thanks in part to the rising temps that are quickly evaporating the snow—while the city’s snowplows have cleared the roads to make driving less of a hassle. As a result, a lot of the city’s bike lanes have been getting clogged with large snow banks.
But now, Pennsylvania Avenue cyclists, your snow bank nightmare is over. After some griping on Twitter caught the attention of Ward 6 Councilmember and mayoral candidate Tommy Wells, as well as WUSA9 reporter Russ Ptacek, they reached out to the Department of Public Works to see when the issue would be resolved.
RT @TommyWells: I’ve spoken w/head of DDOT-I expect it will be addressed“@darsal #BikeDC @DDOTDC @DCDPW @RussPtacek pic.twitter.com/aCH7aEBWBB”
— TommyWells for Mayor (@TommyWells2014) February 19, 2014
@darsal @DDOTDC @DCDPW @RussPtacek I spoke w/DPW snow plow driver and backhoe is on way to clear the Pa bike lanes
— Tommy Wells (@TommyWells) February 19, 2014
And lo and behold, the plows have cleared the snow bank!
Bike path progress 10:41 am 14th and Penn. snow plow @DCDPW @darsal @mayorvincegray @marycheh @TommyWells @DDOTDC pic.twitter.com/tccVCC2nRU
— Russ Ptacek, WUSA9 (@RussPtacek) February 19, 2014
As for the rest of the snow bank-stricken bike lanes around the city, a spokesperson from the Department of Public Works told DCist yesterday that they are beginning to treat them.
We reached out to get a status update on the rest of the snow-clogged bike lanes around the city and will update when we hear back.
