New Campaign to Stop U-Turns on Penn Tomorrow

The following press release comes from the District Department of Transportation. Representatives from DDOT, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the D.C. Taxicab Commission will be present to inform and cite motorists who illegally turn across the lanes. D.C. bike ambassadors will also make an appearance.

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MPD, DDOT and DCTC to Conduct Pennsylvania Avenue U-Turn Enforcement and Education Campaign Coordinated Effort Aims to Promote Bicycle Safety WHAT/WHO: Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), traffic control officers from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and taxicab inspectors from the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission will team up in a joint campaign to educate drivers about the dangers of making U-turns across the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes. Officers will hand out informational flyers and write citations to motorists who make the illegal turns. Officials from MPD, DDOT and DCTC will also be on hand for interviews. WHEN: Wed., Jan. 30, 2013, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. WHERE: Pennsylvania Avenue and 13½  Street, NW BACKGROUND: The bike lanes run down the center of Pennsylvania Avenue from 3rd to 15th streets NW. In 2010 and 2011, 11 out of 14 bicycle crashes on Pennsylvania Avenue NW involved U-turns. The incidents continued in 2012, prompting Mayor Gray to order emergency rulemaking to clarify that the prohibition on U-turns across bicycle lanes can be enforced even when cyclists are not present. The violation–for an improper turn–carries a $100 fine.