6 DC Council Bills to Support Now
In 2020, the DC Council passed the transformative Vision Zero Omnibus Amendment Act which set in motion dozens of changes to how DC prioritizes safe street designs, responds to severe crashes, enforces safe driving behavior with cameras and so much more. While many aspects of this bill are not yet implemented, it laid the groundwork for more ambitious laws and programs. This Spring, the DC Council is considering six bills to further push DC, agencies, and initiatives to proactively make streets safe.
Here’s a rundown of the bills and what you can do to support them.
Safe Routes to School Expansion Regulation Amendment Act of 2021
This bill from Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George aims to make walking and biking to and around schools vastly safer. The bill would require new street and intersection safety improvements like raised crosswalks, speed humps, traffic signals and all-hours speed restrictions adjacent to schools, require an automated traffic enforcement camera in every school zone, direct camera revenue to safety improvements, and set an aggressive 2-year deadline for required improvements. The bill was introduced with the support of all 13 members of the Council. Read the full bill here.
Next Step: The Council’s T&E Committee held a hearing on March 14 for input on this bill. See the hearing announcement to submit testimony.
Walk Without Worry Amendment Act of 2021
This bill from Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeu would change DC’s default intersection designs to prioritize pedestrian safety and safe vehicle speeds. The bill requires DDOT to adopt raised crosswalks, raised intersections, and continuous sidewalks into the DDOT’s Design and Engineering Manual and specifies where these treatments should be used. Learn more about raised crosswalks here and raised intersections here.
Like raised crosswalks, a continuous sidewalk gives pedestrians a continuous level path across an intersection, but uses materials and design that communicates a continuous pedestrian realm where cars allowed, but not the priority. They are ideal for intersections where a minor road meets a main road. Read the full bill here.
Next Step: The Council’s T&E Committee held a hearing on March 14 for input on this bill. See the hearing announcement to submit testimony.
Safer Intersections Amendment Act of 2022
This bill from Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh would make two policy changes centered on intersections to prohibit right turn on red by default for drivers and to allow the “Safety Stop” for people riding bikes and scooters.
Right Turn On Red was legalized in 1979 as an energy conservation measure, but it has become a serious challenge for safe walking and biking in urban areas in the four decades since. Many drivers fail to stop before turning, block crosswalks, or use their permissive right to turn as justification to bully bicyclists waiting at a red signal to get out of the way. In DC, right turn on red is permitted except where signed, which favors moving cars quickly instead of pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The bill would make no turn on red the default rule, while allowing for exceptions at specific locations.
The Safety Stop allows people on bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, or other personal mobility devices to treat red lights as stop signs and treat stop signs as yield signs. This change recognizes that it does not always make sense to require people on bikes to follow the same rules as drivers. On many streets, it may be safer for a person riding a bike to cross an intersection before car traffic catches up and bicyclists often have far better visibility and situational awareness compared to people in cars.
Critically, this new policy only applies when intersections are empty. At a stop sign, people on bikes must still yield the right of way to pedestrians and cars in or about to enter the intersection. And at a red light, bicyclists may only proceed when the intersection is clear and it is safe to do so. Since 2017, 9 states have embraced the safety stop, and research shows a reduction in bicycle injuries. Read this blog post, for a more thorough discussion of why WABA supports the Bicycle Safety Stop.
Read the full bill here.
Next Step: The Council’s T&E Committee is holding a hearing on May 5 for input on this bill. See the hearing announcement to sign up to testify or submit testimony.
Upgrading Tactical Safety Projects Amendment Act of 2022
This bill from Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh would create a new yearly program to upgrade successful quick-build safety improvements into more permanent installations. Over the past seven years, DC has increasingly embraced “tactical” or “quick-build” efforts to quickly alter the design or geometry of streets and intersections using relatively inexpensive paint, flex-posts, and planter boxes. Many of these interventions are effective in changing driver behavior, improving visibility, and reducing crashes, but most do not stand up to abuse and weather. This program would upgrade successful tactical projects with more durable, permanent materials which often require significant planning, design, and construction effort. Read the full bill here.
Next Step: The Council’s T&E Committee is holding a hearing on May 5 for input on this bill. See the hearing announcement to sign up to testify or submit testimony.
Speed Management on Arterials (SMART) Signage Amendment Act of 2022
This bill from Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeu aims to slow speeds and improve traffic safety on DC’s busiest roads. It would set a new 25 mile per hour speed on all major roads, require more frequent speed limit signage on busy corridors and at gateways to the District, and require more signage around automated enforcement cameras. Read the full bill here.
Next Step: The bill has been referred to the Committee on Transportation on the environment, but a hearing is not yet scheduled.
Prioritizing People in Planning Amendment Act of 2022
This bill from Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeu aims to change the priorities of street, intersection, and bridge redesign projects to put safety, and climate-friendly transportation like walking, biking, and transit at the top. Currently, the District Department of Transportation uses many qualitative measures in the planning transportation projects, but traffic engineers still prioritize moving cars and reducing vehicle delay by relying on an outdated measure called vehicle Level of Service (LOS).
First developed as a way to evaluate interstate highways, Level of Service only measures speed and delay for individual cars and trucks, not pedestrians or walkability, not packed buses or transit experience, and certainly not people on bikes. This bill would require DDOT to transition to some of the many existing alternate qualitative measures that better reflect DC’s values, mode-shift goals and sustainability commitments. Read the full bill here.
Next Step: The bill has been referred to the Committee on Transportation on the environment, but a hearing is not yet scheduled.
How to support these bills
All six bills have been introduced, but there are many steps ahead for each including hearings, markup sessions where amendments are proposed, and multiple votes by the full council. Here are some ways you can support the bills now and over the next few months. To better understand the DC Council’s legislative process see the helpful DC-specific How a Bill Becomes a Law.
- Testify at a hearing: (virtually or in person) show your support and suggest improvements. See the hearing announcements to sign up.
- Submit written testimony: If you cannot attend the hearing, submit your thoughts in writing up to two weeks after the hearing. Short, concise letters are best.
- Contact your Councilmembers and ANC: share your perspective on the bills and ask for their support. With enough notice, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions can pass resolutions in support of bills.
- Share your excitement on your favorite social network: how would these bills change your day to day experience on DC’s streets?
Thank councilmembers for stepping up: Coucnilmembers and staff put a lot of time and effort into drafting legislation. If you like what you see, reach out and thank them for their leadership. With so many steps between bill introduction and a final vote, councilmembers need to know that the effort is worth it.