D.C. councilmember questions the need for bike lanes in his ward

Some Southeast residents are reportedly frustrated about the installation of new bike lanes on Alabama Avenue SE—a major west-east thoroughfare stretching from Congress Heights to Fort Davis Park—because the lanes have replaced on-street parking spaces they used. The D.C. councilmember who represents the area is throwing his support behind those residents, expressing doubt about whether bike lanes boost public safety or reduce speeding by drivers.

In a post on Facebook this week, Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White asked how bike lanes make streets safer and criticized the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) for “not being sensitive to the residents,” especially seniors. Ward 8 is D.C.’s southernmost ward and has registered the most traffic deaths of the city’s eight wards so far in 2019: Six people died from crashes there, out of the dozen total traffic fatalities citywide. The fatal Ward 8 crashes killed three drivers, two pedestrians, and one motorcyclist; they took place in April and May.

The Alabama Avenue bike lanes are unprotected. Some studies have found that dedicated bike lanes, whether involving paint or physical barriers, decrease the risk of cyclist injuries. Others have found that protected bike lanes not only do this much better than painted ones, they also help safeguard drivers. (These effects have been observed in cities across the U.S.)

But in a text to Curbed, White suggested that the bike lanes have made the downhill side of the avenue more dangerous by shifting traffic patterns. He added that Alabama Avenue is a “very dangerous street” and Ward 8 residents would prefer to see other road changes. “The issue is public safety and residents want to know where are the new lights, where are the speed bumps, or bumpers,” wrote White. “Bike lanes on this street don’t address that. It don’t matter what a study says somewhere else.” DDOT Director Jeff Marootian said more design changes to the avenue are pending and that many residents support the bike lanes.

“The work we’re doing on Alabama Avenue is designed to create a safer traveling experience for everybody,” Marootian told Curbed. “The bike facility does improve that, coupled with all the other improvements.” A spokesman for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association noted that the project is a step in the right direction for the corridor, but DDOT should continue to invest in its community engagement work so residents are prepared for streetscape changes.

Since 2013, six people have died because of traffic crashes on Alabama Avenue, according to DDOT. A 2017 report by the agency found that from 2013 to 2015, D.C. police reported 875 crashes on the avenue between Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Ridge Road SE. Four of the crashes were fatal and over 50 involved pedestrians and cyclists. Speeding has long been an issue along Alabama Avenue, with DDOT’s report concluding that “more than half of the vehicles traveling either northbound or southbound were exceeding the [legal] speed limit.”

“High speeds are related to the geometric design of Alabama Avenue, as most of the roadway is a four-lane cross-section with 12-foot wide lanes,” the report states. “Major intersections along the corridor are relatively wide and characteristic of suburban, low-density land uses with multiple turning lanes and long waits and crossings for pedestrians.” A spokeswoman for DDOT says that among the department’s plans for additional safety features on Alabama Avenue are high-visibility crosswalk markings, pedestrian refuge islands, and better signage.

Ronald Thompson Jr., a Ward 8 resident and activist, said there is a general distrust among the community about whom bike lanes benefit. “That distrust is backed up when DDOT puts in bike lanes and doesn’t protect them,” Thompson said. “That distrust is compounded when [the Department of Public Works] swoops into a neighborhood that it rarely does traffic or parking enforcement in [in] order to start ticketing people. I believe had DDOT at the very least went in and did protected bike lanes they would’ve mitigated [some] of that mistrust.”

The full Alabama Avenue project spans four miles and goes into Ward 7, D.C.’s easternmost ward. It is considered part of the city’s Vision Zero push to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024.

District Department of Transportation

District Department of Transportation