DC should advance the project to install two-way protected bicycle lanes on Western Avenue along the 1-mile corridor between Jenifer Street NW and Westmoreland Circle to improve safety and connectivity through upper northwest.

Sharon Kershbaum, Director, District Department of Transportation

Matt Frumin, Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 3

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3E

I am pleased that the District Department of Transportation’s project to install two-way protected bicycle lanes on Western Avenue NW between Jenifer Street NW and Westmoreland Circle has advanced to 30% design. As stated on the project page, this project was identified as a bicycle priority corridor in the 2021 moveDC Bicycle Priority Network and will improve safety and connectivity for bicyclists through upper northwest.

I am writing to communicate my support for the project and ask you to do all in your power to support design completion and project construction, including by advocating full project funding. ANC 3E materials report that completion of final design and engineering had been expected in winter-spring 2021 with construction in the summer-fall of 2022. The important thing is to complete the project as planned.

Safety is a top priority. Please consult materials such as the Federal Highway Administration report, Separated Bike Lanes—Making Roads Safer for Bicyclists, and also a NACTO article that reports, “A decade-long look at protected bike lanes in a dozen U.S. cities found that all street users–people in cars, people walking, people biking–experience safety benefits from protected bike lanes. Protected bike lanes can decrease risk by 90% when compared to a major street with no cycling infrastructure.”

Please advance DDOT’s  project to install two-way protected bicycle lanes on Western Avenue NW between Jenifer Street NW and Westmoreland Circle. The project has already been delayed by over three years despite its identification as a DDOT priority and strong community support. It should not be further delayed. 

Thank you for your consideration and your service.