Via DDOT. Open in new tab to make larger.

Via DDOT. Open in new tab to make larger.

On April 2, the District Department of Transportation will hold the final public meeting on the nearly year-long Florida Avenue multimodal transportation study.

The study focuses on the area between North Capitol Street and Maryland Avenue NE up to Gallaudet University and Union Market and down to the H Street corridor. As anyone who’s moved through that area can tell you, it’s not friendly to pedestrians and cyclists. (At least three people have been hit in that area this year, while a woman was killed last year in a crosswalk.)

The last meeting on the study, held in October, presented the following cycling issues:

  • Unsafe/limited bicycle infrastructure
  • Bicycles on sidewalk
  • Bike lanes abruptly end
  • Bad interactions between bikes and motor vehicles
  • High traffic speeds

    • And here are some of the comments left on an interactive map since July of last year:

  • “A dedicated bike lane would be great and get a lot of use.”
  • “Also, this road desperately needs a bike lane. It is flat out frightening to bike. Please consider removing a traffic lane or two and adding street parking.”
  • “Please add a two-way bike-lane on the Capital Hill side of Florida Ave. (like the one on 15th St. NW) ASAP – It is so dangerous to bike on Florida Ave. today.”
  • “The two main destinations are Downtown (via H ST, Union Station), and U St (via NOMA). Neither destination has infrastructure to support biking and both are fairly dangerous. A cycletrack should be added and on street parking removed. Main arteries should solely be used for multimodal transportation, not parking (which should be on smaller side streets).”
  • “This may be the most dangerous and frustrating intersection in town for a cyclist. This is a perfect place for a large roundabout with a park in the middle. And NY Ave. through traffic should travel under the roundabout through a tunnel.”

    So could a cycletrack be on the way? We’ve yet to hear back from the DDOT project manager, so we may have to wait until the April 2 meeting, where people will “receive an update on study progress to date and next steps,” “provide input on several alternative concepts for improving the corridor” and “learn about the findings of the transportation analysis being conducted.” The meeting will take place at Two Rivers Public Charter School from 7 to 9 p.m.

    Update: DDOT Project Manager Gabe Onyeador says the three alternatives that will be presented will include bike lanes, a cycletrack and wider sidewalks.

    • Filed Under: bike lanes, bikedc, cycletrack, ddot, florida avenue ne,