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Update, May 29:
D.C. transportation planners are painting the town red, literally. The District Department of Transportation is using red paint to mark off dedicated bus lanes downtown for rush hour during the summer. The lanes are on H and I streets NW, roughly from Pennsylvania Avenue to 13th Street NW. They constitute a pilot program that will last through September 27, 2019.
“In addition to buses, right-turning vehicles, bicycles, charter buses, school buses, and marked taxis would be allowed to use the bus lanes,” the department notes in a release. “Parking is currently restricted on both H and I Streets NW, so no parking will need to be removed as part of this pilot. All alley and driveway access will be maintained.” The routes that will benefit from the dedicated lanes serve about 20 percent of D.C. Metrobus riders, and officials say they will collect data throughout the pilot to inform future transit planning.
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Check out our new summer look, coming to H & I Sts NW! Starting Monday (6//3) these red lanes on H & I Sts NW will be bus priority lanes during rush hour. #BuildForTomorrow
— DDOT DC (@DDOTDC) May 29, 2019
See all the deets: https://t.co/BF46rFqEoe pic.twitter.com/OEsvBYY2m8
H Street Bus Lane pic.twitter.com/RAKF460otA
— Nicole McEntee (@nikkimcentee17) May 27, 2019
The new H Street bus lane is going in! #redcarpet pic.twitter.com/4pL01e66eB
— BeyondDC (@beyonddc) May 25, 2019
Residents are expressing a mix of hope and skepticism about what the lanes will accomplish.
Good start, now make them permanent and 24/7 https://t.co/ZBZNIgipSM
— Not in a Car? Muriel Bowser Can't See You (@LowHeadways) May 29, 2019
It would probably be easier to have bus lanes 24-7. Less confusion, better compliance. https://t.co/OWF0rGLGYh
— pedestrian safety priority continuer (@eliglazier) May 29, 2019
Bikes allowed too! https://t.co/PkzI09ogIV
— Wash Cycle (@Wash_cycle) May 29, 2019
Road space reallocation isn't frequent enough, and these lanes should apply all day. But hey, at least it's easier to get to the office by bus from the west. https://t.co/BOG0TWC3cr
— Nick Zaiac (@NickZaiac) May 29, 2019
endorse endorse endorse https://t.co/MMrIm7clQa
— Morgan Finkelstein (@momofink) May 29, 2019
We'll be monitoring the performance of the Metrobus routes utilizing these bus lanes this summer. Hoping to see some great results! #wmata https://t.co/IyaDS2KiUV
— MetroHero (@dcmetrohero) May 29, 2019
Hey @MD_Driver_in_DC, your move! https://t.co/rEmCt3KEcQ
— Johnny Abedrabbo (@abedrabbo) May 29, 2019
ppl still gonna drive in that lane lol https://t.co/Z11R5yLmUM
— Evan Almighty (@PastorBackwoods) May 25, 2019
Ah, I see DDOT still thinks paint is capable of magically warding away car commuters and Uber drivers. https://t.co/HhVPHEYl9e
— China Hotline (@ChinaHotline) May 26, 2019
Glorious! #DMV #DC https://t.co/UJnabHQnG9
— Andy P ✈️ (@transportgooru) May 25, 2019
This is so fantastic! Beautiful! https://t.co/l4IUQ6We0e
— Michael Whelan (@MikeInPetworth) May 25, 2019
enforcement enforcement enforcement enforcement enforcement enforcement enforcement enforcement enforcement enforcement enforcement en https://t.co/j01iNJrqEb
— Jason Shevrin (@jasonshevrin) May 29, 2019
Original post, May 3:
Washington plans to run up to 70 buses an hour through new dedicated bus lanes along H and I streets as part of a pilot program starting June 3. The program ends September 30.
There are two reasons for the approximately 1.5 miles of lanes, which will service more than a dozen routes through Washington’s downtown. One is that officials want to speed service. So the dedicated bus lanes will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day—in other words, during rush hour.
The second reason is that D.C. officials are trying to get more people to take the bus in the first place. Faster service is seen as an obvious way to do that.
“We see this as the beginning of really speeding up the implementation of bus lanes and delivering high-quality transit,” Cheryl Cort, policy director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, told the Post’s Luz Lazo. “We will bring back the riders that we have been losing and we will attract new riders because it is going to become a fast, efficient and inexpensive way to get where you need to go.”
Important note re: the pilot: Other vehicles will be allowed to use the dedicated bus lanes for right turns.
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