A bill that was intended to move construction of a controversial bike lane in Northwest Washington forward failed to secure support from a majority of the D.C. Council last week and instead renewed debate about race and gentrification in the nation’s capital.
Nadeau, who represents the area, withdrew the legislation after it was clear she lacked the necessary support from the majority of the council. She said her proposal would have set protections to address the concerns of the churches while moving forward a project that she said would increase safety for all road users in the area.
“This infrastructure is urgent,” Nadeau said Tuesday as she urged fellow council members to support her bill. “The people I’ve heard most loudly asking for safety on Ninth Street are not single, white gentrifiers. They’re families who are afraid every day when they take their children to school.”
Still, the bike lane has become the root of division in a gentrified community of the District, other lawmakers said, noting that several predominantly black churches have been forced to leave the city for the suburbs in recent decades as the city has changed. They voiced concerns of members of the churches along Ninth Street NW who fear the addition of the bike lane will push them out as well.
“This issue goes beyond a cycle track along Ninth Street,” said council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), who said he didn’t support Nadeau’s bill. “For many people, this is also an issue about race.
“We do ourselves a disservice when we pretend that is not part of this discussion. We need to confront that issue and talk about it,” McDuffie said.
Efforts to create a lane known as the Eastern Downtown Protected Bike Lane have stalled for years, upsetting bike commuters and advocates who say the route would make bike travel safer for cyclists traveling between downtown and neighborhoods such as the U Street Corridor and Shaw that have seen an increase in bike commuting in recent years.
The bike lane would connect to popular protected bike lanes that go east and west, such as M and L streets NW, and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
City transportation officials say DDOT is still reviewing the options for the corridor. But the bidirectional protected bike lane between Florida and Pennsylvania avenues is not included in a list of 20 miles of protected bike lanes the city plans to build by the end of 2022.
Nadeau filed the emergency legislation to force DDOT to revive the project, saying that the administration of D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has “quietly canceled” it. The bill would have directed DDOT to complete design and advance construction.
But about half of the council members said they didn’t support pushing the project into the community without more discussion. Some lamented that the bike lane project has pitted churches against bicyclists and that church members feel their concerns have been ignored while the city moves aggressively to build a network of bike lanes.
The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) said that more than 60 people have been struck by cars while walking or biking in the corridor since 2017. The group said that a protected bike lane, which would stretch about 1.5 miles from Chinatown to Shaw, would improve safety for all road users.
A letter from WABA urging the council to vote in favor of the legislation was signed by 21 businesses in the Ninth Street NW corridor and neighborhood commissioners from across the city.
“There is broad support for safer streets,” WABA’s executive director, Greg Billing, tweeted Monday.
In other bike lane news, the D.C. Department of Public Works this month began issuing $150 tickets to drivers who park, stop or stand in bike lanes. The stepped up enforcement of regulations prohibiting vehicles from obstructing bike lanes had been announced last year. The department’s officers can also mail tickets to violators who leave the area before the ticket is issued.
“The issuance of tickets will incentivize motorists to help keep lanes clear of obstructions so that bikers can safely share the road with vehicles,” said Chris Geldart, the department’s director.