The poster child for obscene housing policy in DC isn’t a $3,000 a month rental apartment with new appliances. It’s a $1.5 million+ single family home within walking distance of downtown, a metro station, or a high frequency bus route.
“No U.S. diplomats have been killed this year, anywhere in the world,” he said. “But three U.S. State Department officials have died in the Washington area — all hit by vehicles. Two have been hit on bikes. One was right here.”
In DC this year, drivers have killed two five year olds, a lifelong advocate for the homeless, an advocate for safe streets, a 24 year old aspiring opera singer, and many others. What was obvious in April remains true today: vision zero has been a failure.
If I were a business located in Downtown DC or upper NW, my biggest worry would be competition from neighborhoods like the SW waterfront, NoMA, & the Wharf, that have built exceptional pedestrian and bike friendly spaces that are popular precisely because they are people-centered
In one week, DC counts among the casualties of car crashes a four year old pedestrian, a 30-year old father & husband, and the president of the Washington Teacher’s Union. The human cost of vehicular violence is staggering.
It is long past time to start the conversation about a road diet on the lower segment of Rock Creek Parkway. We should have one lane in each direction; eliminate the crazy, outdated 4-lane one-way rush hour conversion; widen the bike/ped trail substantially; and make exits safer.
If I owned a business on Connecticut Avenue, my biggest concern about the corridor would be the fact that customers have been killed and injured by cars *while dining* at local establishments.
The worst cherry blossom traffic I have ever seen!!!
They made Ohio Drive one way eastbound this year and I’m thinking they need to rethink that. Also they had plans to close East Basin Drive near the Jefferson Memorial but it is open.
The experience of walking and biking along Florida Avenue under the MBT, red line, and Amtrak overpasses is about to improve significantly. DDOT is taking a lane to expand the sidewalk and install curbside bike lanes on both sides of the street.
I’m tired of folks betting against the District. Let’s all commit to lifting up more of the good news. This week, I’m grateful that our leaders are investing in transit and Metro’s recovery is going strong.
Good news to end the week: On Tuesday
@wmata
new post pandemic peak 🚇 8am-9am hour high of 53K entries & highest daily federal employee fare taps (75k). Reliable, safe & frequent service continues our rideship recovery. Have a good weekend!
#wmata
I’m thrilled to be joining the office of Councilmember-elect
@ZacharyforWard5
. We’re putting together a fantastic team that I’m honored to be a part of. I can’t wait to help build healthier communities, more social housing, safer streets, & so much more.
Something like 90% of DC’s streets are within half a mile of a school, “so safe routes to school” is basically a plea for safe routes everywhere. Engineers should design every DC street like it’s right outside their family’s front door.
Some facts: on-street parking has not been impacted by the installation of these bike lanes. The bus lanes are used for parking outside of rush hour—including in front of businesses. Buses are critical for transportation equity. There are four driving lanes untouched.
Repost from
@MotenSpeaks
discussing the detrimental effects bike lanes are having on culture and business in some parts of the city. I agree 100% with his commentary.
#dontmutedc
It’s impressive that the Washington Post editorial board has functionally become DC’s conservative party. But when you realize it’s all just one person who lives in Maryland, it makes more sense. As usual, I’ll be turning to
@ggwash
to stay informed about the upcoming election!
The regular refrain that "DC does not have enough police" obscures the harder question that residents should be asking: "how much is MPD doing with the resources it has?" The answer since Spring 2020 is about 44% less.
@dccrimefacts
Revitalizing downtown is 🔑 to
#DCsComeback
.
The K Street Transitway will make downtown safer, less congested, more reliable, and more beautiful.
Stand with us in support of these crucial investments:
🗓 Monday, May 1
⏰ 12PM
📍 1332 I St NW (Franklin Park)
The cyclist was also killed on the block of NJ Avenue NW where DDOT has made extremely unnecessary compromises to cyclist safety to keep 4 vehicle lanes and angled parking for an extremely small number of users. Choices have consequences.
Or….hear me out….people are much more excited to go to the wharf or navy yard than the Georgetown waterfront for reasons that are pretty easy to imagine.
“We really rely on the location to carry us,” the owner of a high-profile Georgetown waterfront venue tells us. “When it comes to Washington, D.C., I’m really stumped as to what to do.”
DC’s business community is extremely misguided. What is going to save downtown is people. Not just drivers. Look at any other great city in the world and you’ll see thriving economies that aren’t designed around maximizing driver access to businesses.
I dug into the battle brewing over bike lanes in DC
Business and real estate leaders are fighting back against projects on K Street and Connecticut Ave., worried they could worsen traffic and hurt the downtown economy.
DC officials have begun to respond:
The loss of high quality local reporters contributes to things like recall elections for councilmembers over dissatisfaction with crime rates. A well informed electorate would understand that the Mayor, the US Attorney, and the OAG run the District’s public safety apparatus.
Has anyone thought to report on the fact that with DC’s incredible growth and expansion of nightlife options (e.g. the Wharf, SW Waterfront, Union Market, 8th street SE, etc), other neighborhoods face stiff competition for customers?
36% of DC households don't have a car—the highest rate of any major county outside NYC
Those car-free households are concentrated near metro stops, especially between Dupont, Foggy Bottom, & McPherson. Green line stops like Columbia Heights, Navy Yard, & Anacostia also stand out
This tweet reminds me: someone with better corporate lobbying skills than me should try to get
@Google
to add estimated parking time added to its driving directions ETA. Huge part of how the algorithm is biased against transit, walking and cycling
NEW: Metro’s GM says for the first time that a regional tax should be discussed to permanently fund the transit agency. The comments come as Metro faces a massive $750 million budget shortfall. His full interview from
@nbcwashington
here:
#wmata
@wmataGM
Hey
@MayorBowser
— I am begging you to instruct
@DCPoliceDept
and
@DDOTDC
to dramatically ramp up enforcement aimed at changing driver behavior on our streets. Things have felt noticeably less safe on our streets over the last few weeks—and they weren’t great beforehand.
Since I was born in DC:
- every grocery store east of 17th St. NW
- WMATA's Green line
- every bike lane (protected or not) other than East Capitol, 4th, and 6th)
- Capitol One Arena, Audi Field, Nats Park
- the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, the MBT, Marvin Gaye Trail
Once there is a will, it’s remarkable how easy the “way” becomes. This project will add 2.5 miles of protected bike lanes and will take a single week to construct. The hard part of building safer streets is not the engineering.
If they were actually trying to change behavior instead of merely attracting media coverage, they would have one cop with a breathalyzer at the exit of every garage after a major sports event and near nightlife spots downtown—not 20 cops at a location identified in advance.
Following yesterday’s accident in which someone went over a bridge in Rock Creek where a rail has been missing for month, authorities from
@RockCreekNPS
have responded by adding many, many layers of police tape to replace the broken railing.
Not every day you take an intercity train with a friggen playground on it—and get this, the playground is directly above bike storage so that families traveling by bike to from the station can do so with the utmost convenience.
It used to be absolutely harrowing to walk under here. The protected bike lanes are great and needed (there aren’t many east-west options) but the extra buffer for widened sidewalks is *critical* for what is now one of the fastest growing zip codes in the country.
We delayed the installation of the NJ road diet by several months to placate demands for more meetings, more process, more questions. We don’t know for certain whether those delays cost us this life. But there is always a cost—not always realized so tragically—to more process.
I am devastated to learn that Samuel Kesselman, who was struck by a hit-and-run driver a New Jersey Ave & P St NW last October, died today from those injuries today. 23 years is too young. Holding thoughts for his family and all who love him.
May his memory be a blessing.
At 10pm on a Monday, this is what failure looks like. Please tell the board and put more trains on
@wmataGM
@wmata
. Screaming and pushing according to
@captallison1
Metro statement on delay of clear lanes program “Many people returning to offices this fall may not have learned yet about the program”
#wmata
@nbcwashington
Phil Mendelson claiming the mantle of progressive leadership has to be one of the biggest misrepresentations in DC politics today. He’s easily the most significant barrier to a more progressive DC council.
.
@dccouncilbudget
put together an analysis of Monumental's proposed deal in Alexandria and it's pretty critical:
They estimate the total price tag for the project is more like $5 bil (not the promised $2 bil) and that revenue estimates are way too rosy.
No one should be satisfied, because we can absolutely do better; however, violent crime is down *33%* in DC year to date compared to the same period in 2023.
Days like today are a great reminder that we could have designated bus lanes on each of these routes. There is no obstacle to our installing them besides the political will to prioritize bus riders, the environment, and safety above car owners’ convenience.
It’s crazy to me that DC regularly underestimates revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars. $576 million surplus in FY 2021? That’s real money that should be spent on housing, violence interruption, bus lanes, and more.
Yes. DC will be fine. It might even get better. Our city could be safer, more equitable, and prosperous if our downtown was centered more around residents and less around federal offices that cater to folks who mostly drive in and out of the city.
Exceedingly proud of Ms. Fix Circle for conceiving of, researching, and authoring this report. It names a key obstacle to improving most neighborhood park spaces in the District: NPS control. Please give it a read—the issue deserves your attention.
NEW: from the transportation sources I’ve been talking to about about any major transportation plans for this new Wizards/Capitals arena - it seems like very minimal planning to this point other than the new Potomac Yard Metro station.
#wmata
@nbcwashington
SOME’s all affordable building on North Cap has topped out. And excavation is moving along at the site next door. Together, the two buildings will be home to approximately 600 residents on land where a gas station and 3 row houses once stood.
So much potential to unLOCK down here. I presume there is some historic nonsense getting in the way, but it’s surprising how dead this space is—especially given how horrible M street is for pedestrians. We could call it little Amsterdam or something.
Hey
@DDOTDC
— please stop closing sidewalks on high-injury arterials without safe accommodations consistent with your guidelines. It’s reckless and we’ve already lost one resident this year to this!
Many folks have been calling for the District’s plans for Downtown to embrace a future that is dramatically less car centric. Simply put, 5-8 lane streets that are optimized for rush hour traffic flow aren’t going to encourage people to live and longer downtown.
In other words, your electric vehicle is going to produce a lot of pollution even if you manage to power it from 100% green energy. Driving a Tesla is never going to be better for the environment than riding transit or a bike.
Drivers actually left open a lane for about 3/4 of the loop but patience wore thin by the end. Pedestrians and cyclists had no choice but to use the grass. A pretty great example of how car-first planning is deeply inaccessible. We can do much better,
@DebHaalandNM
.
When I tell people that North Capitol Street is inaccessible, this is what I mean. We took so much space to build the underpasses that you can’t actually travel up and down the street with a wheelchair or stroller.
#SidewalkPalooza
Every time a DC driver opposing safety improvements says that we need "balance" or that we also need to talk about how dangerous the cyclists are, please show them this tweet.
@FixCircle
Using OCTO supplied mapping tools based of MPD crash data from 2018 onwards. 5,256 vs 9. (All the usual cavets of the MPD data apply here, of course, but it's our only source).
People sometimes accuse safe streets advocates of exaggerating their fears. I have personally been accused of manufacturing concerns about the safety of kids on neighborhood streets. Unfortunately, the reality is that this is the most dangerous time to walk in the US in 40 years.
Your daily reminder that parking is an extremely low value use of space for local businesses. And I don’t want to hear about streeteries being “too cold” in DC when they are this successful in TORONTO.
"As reported by The Globe and Mail, residents spent a total of $181 million at curbside patios within 13 weeks of summer in 2021. If those spaces had remained dedicated to parking, only $3.7 million would have been reaped during the same time period."
#BlackFridayParking
Driver with three outstanding tickets hits cyclist in protected bike lane doing something obviously illegal and unsafe. A rational outcome would be for them to lose driving privileges for 3 months and to be required to take 20 hours of safe driving instruction.
Because housing costs are still so high and some of our regional partners are frankly not building enough, DC doesn’t get enough credit for expanding housing supply over the last couple of decades.
Monday morning: car traffic moving just fine along a right-sized M Street SE. Claims that making streets better for bus riders and cyclists “makes traffic worse and less safe for everyone” are so unserious.
Your daily reminder that despite all of the doom and gloom, that there is no data supporting the claim that retail is collapsing in DC. Quite the opposite.
This isn't true. DDOT has said on the record at public meetings that road diets, bus lanes, and the like IMPROVE the ability of emergency vehicles to respond. What blocks emergency vehicles is congestion--just like we witnessed at East Potomac Park this weekend.
Foxx asks what impact bike lanes and other traffic-calming measures have had on public safety issues.
"It makes it much more difficult for emergency vehicles to get through those areas," says Pemberton.
It’s not a “feeling”—it’s observable reality. The plates are not merely fictitious—they are illegal. No one in the Bowser administration seems to give a hoot that people are being killed because the bottom has completely fallen out of traffic enforcement.
DMV and/or MPD addresses the validity of international and military tags. If you feel that a vehicle observed is displaying a fictitious international tag and registration please contact
@dcdmv
and/or
@DCPoliceDept
. DPW does not have the authority to enforce fictitious tags.
🏳️🌈❤️🏳️🌈❤️🏳️🌈❤️🏳️🌈
My son had so much fun “marching” in
@CapitalPrideDC
with
@CMZParker5
on Saturday. It was one of those moments as a parent that you know you’ll never forget. Thanks to everyone who organized and participated—it was perfect!
Still does not connect to Brookland. Or to Columbia Heights. That was the goal of the study that birthed this project. We also have not implemented the crosstown bus lanes that were proposed there. Many of DDOT’s best ideas are just sitting on a shelf, waiting for a leader.
Folks—the Mayor runs the executive branch in DC. That includes MPD as well as civil enforcement agencies like DLCP. If the council decriminalizes something, it shifts responsibility from one agency to another (i.e. MPD to DLCP), but the buck still stops with the Mayor.
Prediction -
The majority of new fast food chains will eliminate in-store dining and will be entirely drive thru/take-out in 10 yrs
The incremental benefit isn't there anymore... Here are a few chains that've talked about phasing out in-store dining:
McDonalds
Taco Bell
Who knew?!
Florida is tied with Illinois for the 4th *LOWEST* car ownership rate per household in America.
Lowest, in order:
1. NY .63
2T. Mass .83
2T. NJ .83
4T. Florida .87
4T. Illinois .87
6. Cali .88
7. Rhode Is. .89
8. PA .9
9T. Maryland .91
9T. Nevada .91
Carbon free DC is going to require significant mode shift from single passenger vehicles to transit, walking, and biking on a scale that DDOT has no current plan to implement.
Giving away all of your tax revenue isn’t economic development. It’s a corporate windfall. I for one do not want the District to entertain a deal anywhere close to this to satisfy the demands of a billionaire sports team owner with no actual allegiance to DC.
Virginia's Potomac Yard proposal diverts nearly all taxes currently collected on the development campus to fund to the arena project. Please, don't tell me this is all new revenue, again.
Update crash on Rock Creek Parkway south of P St NW. Rescue Squad has stabilized the vehicle and removed the patient who is being assessed by EMS.
#DCsBravest
.
Credit where credit is due:
@DDOTDC
’s recently released bus priority plan is the most exciting transportation news out of DC in a long time. Improving bus service is one of the best ways to advance equity and sustainability in transportation.
Not sure if it’s
@DDOTDC
approved, but on Florida Ave, we’ve decided to close one of two small sidewalks between Eckington and Union Market while preserving SIX lanes for cars.
@311DCgov
public space inspection requested.
Hey
#bikedc
friends — our beloved family bike was stolen from our back yard last night. If you see a fist gen tern with two black yepp seats and a front rack, please DM me. Bike also had side bags and seat covers on it.
Your monthly reminder that people do in fact use the bike lanes. Throughout DC, there have been 5,964,129 scooter and bikeshare trips thus far in 2024--a statistic that does not capture trips on privately owned scooter and bikes.
For months, we’ve been sharing news of
@bikeshare
’s dramatic growth in DC – but it’s not just CaBi, y’all. Private micromobility operators are also reporting record-breaking surges in scooter and e-bike ridership. Dig into the data with
@swlittauer
:
New post: The US Attorney's Office is now declining to prosecute 67% of MPD's arrests:
- 48% of felony and 72% of misdemeanor arrests are being "declined"
- This is part of a trend that has occurred under Trump & Biden appointees (1/6)
Just witnessed a scary vehicle-bicycle injury crash at R and North Capitol Street. Driver sped around cyclist to make a right hand turn and clipped cyclist. Cyclist fortunately escaped with bruises and scrapes. What level of suffering will compel
@DDOTDC
to act?
Transportation Planning Board, made up of local elected officials from across the region, are debating sending a letter to Gov. Hogan, Northam, and Mayor Bowser strongly encouraging them to have reciprocity on speed/red light camera tickets.
Pedestrian refuge islands like this are a slam-dunk for safety. They are capable of reducing pedestrian crashes by 33%--an improvement that, honestly, makes me relatively uninterested in the fact that a few people might not like them.
I don’t understand why we can’t have a lot more of this energy in DC. Instead, we’re on track for the most traffic deaths in 15+ years with little to no acknowledgment of the need to move faster.
We're accelerating plans for a two-way separated bike lane on Lakeshore Avenue, advancing construction by two years in collaboration with the East Bay Municipal Utility District (
@EBMUD
). This move underscores our unwavering commitment to taking immediate, proactive measures for
Yes! Let’s ban license renewals for those with more than 4 safety-related offenses in a 12 month period. It’ll be much more equitable and our streets will be much safer.
DC law currently bans residents from receiving or renewing driver’s licenses if they have $100+ in outstanding debt to the District.
I support
@CouncilofDC
proposals to end this practice, which would ease burdens on our low-income neighbors and help to build a more equitable DC.