Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B held its met on October 10. Commissioners Sabel Harris (1B08, Chair), Larry Handerhan (1B01, Vice Chair), Frank Chauvin (1B02), Jamie Sycamore (1B03), Santiago Lakatos (1B04, Treasurer), Alan Kensek (1B05), Miguel Trindade Deramo (1B06), Ashleigh Fields (1B07) and Tucker Jones (1B09) were in attendance.
The discussion of the District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) plans for a Protected Bike Lane (PBL) along 11th Street, as well as one along Vermont Avenue started with a presentation from Christopher Berg from DDOT’s Planning and Sustainability Division. He stressed how important protected bike lanes were to encouraging alternative forms of transportation.
People would like to use their bikes for transportation, but are currently afraid for their safety on District streets. Berg also said studies show that protected bike lanes tend to make travel safer not only for bikers, but also for pedestrians and auto traffic.
The 11th Street PBL project would provide protected bike lanes for a two-mile stretch of the street from L Street to Monroe Street, providing a seamless corridor from Columbia Heights to Downtown. However, there is a particular problem with the narrowness of the street from Vermont Avenue to Florida Avenue. DDOT currently has started to develop three alternatives to deal with this.
The first alternative is to construct a protected bike lane, maintaining the street’s current two-way auto traffic, which would require removing all parking between Vermont and Florida. The second is to install the protective bike lane, turn 11th into a one-way street and allow parking on one side of the street. The third alternative is to install a protected bike lane for northbound traffic, create a sharrow (a shared traffic lane for bikes and vehicles) going south, and allow parking on one side of the street.
There are also plans for protected bike lanes on Vermont Avenue. The effort is easier there because of the width of the street. There will be two protected bike lanes, along with two vehicle traffic lanes, as well as parking on both sides of the street. The project is currently in the 30 percent design phase, with construction in the summer of 2025.
Commissioner Sycamore complained about the maintenance of current protected bike lanes and wondered why DDOT was anxious to install new ones now. A resident asked if the project would be an opportunity to take out the rail tracks on 11th Street and the answer was no. Another resident asked what impact the project would have on spaces for the proposed U Street Parking Zone. The reply was that the exact loss of parking spaces would be determined by the final design of the project.
Commissioner Lakatos presented a resolution to support the 11th Street bike lane project, with Alternative 2 being the preferred form that it should take. Lakatos said that the Transportation Committee would work on a resolution for the protected bike lanes on Vermont Avenue for the November commission meeting. Sycamore asked to delay a vote on the 11th Street project for a month. Commissioner Harris said that she would not support a delay, since it is an important safety issue. The resolution to support the 11th Street protected bike lane project passed unanimously.
Other Matters
A settlement agreement with Crank Corner (1915 Seventh Street NW), a medical marijuana retailer license applicant, required the commission’s approval. The ANC had previously voted to protest the license, but with a settlement agreement, the protest would end. After a brief review of its provisions, the settlement agreement with Crank Corner was unanimously approved.
A representative of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development gave an update on the status of the redevelopment of the Reeves Center. Plans are to have the Council vote on disposing the property by the end of 2024, requiring tenants to vacate in 2025, with the redevelopment starting in 2026.
The Economic Committee proposed that the commission support the placement of one of the new public toilets from Throne Labs that the District is trying out. They suggested either the vacant lot at 625 T Street or somewhere on U or V Streets. Some commissioners objected to the idea, believing that some residents would not want a public toilet near them. There was also the concern that businesses might not want them. Commissioner Jones admitted that he had not talked to a lot of businesspeople about the idea yet. A motion from Commissioner Trindade Deramo to table the matter and refer it back to the Economic Committee for further development passed.
ANC 1B will hold its next meeting on Thursday, December 5, at 6:30 p.m. Visit www.anc1b.org for more information.
