Cutting ribbons, cutting cake (oh, and also 213 miles of new bike infrastructure proposed)

Several of us rode over to NoMa this morning to take part in the ribbon cutting on the new First St NE, which includes what is almost certainly the best designed cycle track in DC. Check out our photos from the event here. Mayor Gray used the opportunity to announce the release of the draft MoveDC plan. (This afternoon the moveDC website was running pretty slowly. You can view the Bicycle section on scribd here.) There’s a lot to like and some room for improvement in this plan. Keep an eye out for a full analysis from our team soon. In the meantime, take a moment to celebrate this:

moveDC recommends 213 additional miles of bicycle infrastructure. The objective of the ultimate system is to provide a significant network so that bicycling is not a secondary mode, but a principal and preferred mode for travel.

This a big deal. It represents a major commitment from DDOT to make the district a better, safer place to bike. Thanks to all of you who participated in the MoveDC process by taking the surveys and showing up at meetings. The public comment period on this draft is open through July 6. Read the full report here. Here’s Shane, talking about the cycle track And here’s our photo op with Mayor Gray   More photos on flickr.