clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

A pop-up protected bike lane will appear in Park View next week

It’s part of a broader project to improve traffic flow and safety

By Andrew Giambrone
A protected part of a bike lane in D.C.
Tupungato/Shutterstock

In 2016, the District launched an inquiry into ways to improve transit connections between Northwest and Northeast, from Columbia Heights in Ward 1 to Brookland in Ward 5. Called the “Crosstown Multimodal Transportation Study,” the inquiry identified more than a dozen potential projects that could help ease the flow of traffic and boost safety from west to east.

Next week, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) says it will implement a piece of one of those projects—a protected bike lane on Kenyon Street NW—on a “pop-up” basis, from Sept. 19 to 21. The lane will be in Park View, just west of MedStar Washington Hospital Center. The area is a hub for heavy car traffic on Irving Street NW and Michigan Avenue NW.

On Sept. 21, DDOT staff will be on the 400 block of Kenyon Street with a “full-scale model” of the protected lane from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. “The goal of the temporary installation is to demonstrate how the proposed bike lanes will function and to provide the public with an opportunity to speak with the project team,” the agency notes.

The crosstown study recommended protected two-way cycle tracks on Kenyon and Irving streets NW that were projected to cost more than $1 million each and could be installed in combination or alone. The study also recommended potential curb extensions, intersection improvements, street grid reconfigurations, sidewalk expansions, and dedicated bus lanes.

It found a few major transportation challenges in the area of inquiry: choke points for traffic flow that stemmed from “unconventional intersections”; a high number of transit boardings; and significant congestion due to slowed buses and cars. A map of the study area is below.

Crosstown Multimodal Transportation Study area
District Department of Transportation

DDOT is also reviewing whether to install protected bike lanes that would run north-south through Shaw and downtown, and through Dupont Circle, West End, and Foggy Bottom.