District of Columbia News Briefs

Switzerland Gives District 10 Whimsical Bike Racks

The city now has some Swiss whimsy for use by the bicycling public.

Swiss Ambassador Urs Ziswiler and former Zurich mayor Elmar Ledergerber presented the District with 10 artistic bike racks Friday as a gift from the Swiss people. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) accepted the racks as part of Bike to Work Day.

The inverted U-racks are painted in Swiss-themed patterns (cow, Swiss cheese, alps, edelweiss and Swiss flags) by Swiss American artist Annina Luck.

"They are meant to symbolize the cooperation between our communities in finding solutions to the environmental challenges that face us," Ziswiler said in a statement.

The embassy worked with the D.C. Department of Transportation and the office of D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) to place the bicycle racks in locations throughout the city, including the John A. Wilson Building, the National Building Museum, near Dupont Circle, and at the Eastern Market and Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro stations.

Ledergerber was known as Zurich's "bicycling mayor." His term as head of Switzerland's largest city ended last month.

Last year, the D.C. Department of Transportation launched SmartbikeDC, an automated bike-sharing program that was the first of its kind in North America, and a bicycle transit center is under construction at Union Station. Information on bike initiatives in the District is available at http://www.ddot.dc.gov.

City Pools Open Saturday With Safe Drains in Place

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and acting Department of Parks and Recreation Director Ximena Hartsock will kick off the outdoor swimming season with an event at 10:30 this morning at the Anacostia Pool, 1800 Anacostia Dr. SE.

Eleven of the city's 18 outdoor swimming pools will officially open for the season on Saturday. The others will open on May 30 or June 6. For a complete list of DPR aquatic facilities and hours, go to http://dpr.dc.gov.

This year marks full compliance by all D.C. pools with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, a federal law requiring public pools to be fitted with anti-entrapment drain covers. The law was named for Graeme Baker, granddaughter of former secretary of state James A. Baker III, who died in 2002 at age 7 after the suction of a drain entrapped her underwater.

Representatives from Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, American Pool Enterprises and the Pool Safety Council will participate in today's event to announce donations in support of the city's aquatics programs and facilities.

Work on 14th Street Bridge Set to Start Tuesday

Work originally scheduled to begin this week on the northbound 14th Street bridge will start instead on or about Tuesday night.