In this 2005 rendering of the K Street transitway, dedicated bus lanes replace the current configuration with mainline lanes and service lanes. A new design should have protected bike lanes, but DDOT does not have updated renderings.

/ DDOT

K Street is one of the most congested and confusing thoroughfares in D.C.’s core. But a major redesign aims to reduce that congestion by prioritizing buses.

Officials with the District Department of Transportation say a one-mile stretch of dedicated bus lanes from 12th to 21st Street NW could move buses up to 30 percent faster by 2025.

Mayor Muriel Bowser shared the plans at Farragut Square Wednesday afternoon. Her proposed budget puts $122 million toward the project, but it still needs council approval. DDOT officials say about 40,000 riders, nearly 40 percent of all east-west bus commuters, would benefit.

Bowser says the project is designed to make transit better for anyone using the downtown corridor.

“By building a new K Street transitway, we can encourage more people to use public transportation by making our buses faster, more reliable, and more efficient,” Bowser said in a newsletter. “In doing so, we can get more cars off the road and reduce traffic congestion.”

The current street layout has a number of safety and inefficiency issues, says DDOT Director Jeff Marootian.

K Street has a parking lane and a service lane used to access local businesses and make turns. It’s divided by a median, and there are two through lanes in each direction.

“The service lanes are inefficient and not safe for pedestrians,” Marootian says. “Drivers don’t know what to do, which lane to get in… and it’s clearly not their fault.

“It’s a very confusing layout.”

The K Street project has been on the shelf since 2005, but Bowser wanted one big transit and safety project to highlight in her budget. K Street—with its dedicated bus lanes, better bike accessibility and safer pedestrian conditions checked that box.

What will the project do?

The main changes to K Street will feature dedicated bus lanes running in both directions in the center of the street, and the removal of the service lanes that line the street. This would create three traffic lanes on either side of the road.

DDOT’s plans show new medians that will protect the bus lanes and include bus stops.

Why now?

The city has been considering a remodeling of K Street since 2005, and it returned to the idea again in 2009, but a lack of funding stalled the project.

K Street’s service lanes routinely generate confusion about which lanes are the appropriate turning lanes. Additionally, many cars or service vehicles jockey for space when parking or loading, which slows traffic and adds to the congestion. Pedestrians and cyclists find themselves in the middle of it all while trying to use the street.

What about bikes and the proposed streetcar?

The 2009 plan does not include any designated bike lanes or room for the streetcar. But Marootian says this new plan does include protected bike lanes and other cycling infrastructure.

DDOT also is working to make the plans work for a future expansion of the DC Streetcar from H Street to Georgetown.

“The transitway wouldn’t preclude a future decision on the streetcar,” Marootian said. “But as we are currently working towards dedicated bus lanes.”

Next steps

Because the Mayor’s budget has not yet passed, the project is still a proposal. The D.C. Council has until the end of May to approve the budget.

If it is passed, construction on the transitway would happen in phases starting in 2023 and finishing in 2025.

This story originally appeared on WAMU.

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