NPS to Remove a Popular, Life-saving DC Bike Lane

The National Park Service (NPS) is set to remove a protected bike lane on Washington, D.C.’s 15th Street NW to comply with Trump administration directives, reports Martin Austermuhle in The 51st.

According to Austermuhle, “While D.C. has been growing its network of bike lanes over the last decade — there are now 120 miles of them, and 43 miles of protected lanes — senior officials in the Trump administration are less enamored with the space they take up.” As part of a broader federal effort to remove bike infrastructure, the NPS decided to scrap a 0.75-mile stretch of the bike lane just before a busy tourist season.

The agency cited the upcoming National Cherry Blossom Festival as a reason to remove the bike lane to ensure a better flow of traffic. “There are three Capital Bikeshare stations located along the stretch of the bike lane that will be removed. On Friday morning, the first day of spring in D.C., there were also dozens of Veo bikes and Lime scooters available in the area. According to DDOT, those Bikeshare stations are among the most used in the entire system.”

According to DDOT, roadway crashes along the 15th Street corridor decreased by 46 percent, and bike injury crashes dropped by 91 percent, after the bike lane was installed in 2021.