ANC Mount Pleasant: Open Forum about Bike Lanes
last night the Mount Pleasant ANC held a meeting at LA CASA on Mount Pleasant Streetthe main focus was the on Traffic Calming and Bike Lanes on the 2000 Block of Park Road in Mount Pleasant
the meeting was opened with an open forum about bike lanes and traffic calming...
I was late
a homework project with my older son took longer than expected
it turned out great
but... it stole my focus and sent me rushing up to Mount Pleasant Street only to barge into a meeting already well into the discussion that means so much to me
my apologies to all for my tardiness
I assure you... it will happen again
having missed what was discussed I was not sure where to start
before I could remove my jacket and sit down the microphone was passed to me to answer a question how bike lanes had been lumped into a notion of traffic calming
not only was I ill prepared for public speaking
the microphone and my not being settled into the surroundings did not make things easier
I tried to speak on the fly
went over my time limit
and well
may have rambled off course
the microphone was passed around
there was a strong bicycle presence
there seemed to be zero opposition to the bike lanes
well, other than the opposition of one of the ANC members
as it appears to me the Bike Lanes are already on the cities' master plan for Bike Lanes
which would have little to do with a citizen's notion that bike lanes could be a tool used for traffic calming
it was as if one of the ANC members was trying to use my efforts to stall the DDOT Bike Lane plan
all in an effort to focus on the future traffic calming effort
the Traffic Calming study for this section of Park Road will happen
but... why can there not be Bike Lanes until that point?
Bike Lanes are inexpensive
the strips on the road could work in advanced to aid our understanding of what needs to be done
the bike lanes could help the group doing the study to see the need for inclusion of bicycles in their study
as well as showing the residents of this block the value of a bike lane
and the importance of a bike lane for bikes and car traffic
as well as the positive side effects for resident pedestrian traffic
in the end the ANC voted in favor of continuing with the plan to paint the Bike Lanes on this stretch of Park Road
a small victory for the cycling community of Washington DC
thanks to all who attended
especially Eric of WABA
another evening of Eric's taken away from his private life and offered up to the bicycle community
cartoon from andy singer
WABA:Washington Area Bicycle Association
posted by gwadzilla @ 6:16 AM
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