Support Low Stress Biking on 11th St NW

After Advisory Neighborhood Commissions up and down 11th St NW urged DDOT to plan safety upgrades and protected bike lanes for 11th St NW between Pennsylvania Ave NW and Spring St NW and on Vermont Ave NW. DDOT has added the street to its 2023 workplan and begun developing plans.

In December ’22, DDOT presented options for the narrower stretch of 11th between S St. and Florida Ave and asked for feedback. Use the form below to email project manager Victoria Caudullo to show your support for a low-stress bike lane design that makes everyone feel safe. Read on for more details.

Between S St and Florida Ave, 11th St. NW narrows from more than 50′ between the curbs to just 33′. Today, these five blocks have curbside parking on both sides of the street and a driving lane with a shared lane arrow in each direction. But “sharrows” do not make a street safe or low-stress to bike on, so a different design and tradeoffs are needed. We support both options A and B because they both would deliver a low-stress biking experience that works for people of all ages and abilities. 

The Options

Option A would add curbside protected bike lanes in both directions and maintain driving lanes in each direction. This design would remove parking on both sides of the street.

Option B converts 11th St. to one-way for auto traffic, which frees up 10′ for other uses. This design adds slightly wider curbside protected bike lanes in both directions and allows for parking or loading zones on one side of the street.

Converting to one-way operation does potentially complicate the road network, but it may come with additional traffic calming opportunities. Since the 64 bus line already diverts to Florida Ave and Vermont Ave, one-way conversion would not affect bus lines. This option also provides the most flexible space for the design to accommodate the existing streatery at 11th and U St.

Option C converts 11th St. to one-way for auto traffic and retains curbside parking on both sides. However, under this option, the bike lanes are unprotected and positioned in the “door zone” so people on bikes will risk being doored on one side and passing car traffic on the other. It may be prohibitively stressful for less confident bicyclists and children. Additionally, because the parking lanes are very narrow, sloppy parking or larger vehicles will make the narrow bike lanes less usable.

For more details and background, you can view the full presentation here.

Take Action

Use the form to share your feedback with the project manager and show your support for a low-stress bike lane design that makes everyone feel safe. You may edit the message to make the message yours. Be sure to state your preferred option and why you prefer it.