DC Backpedals on Bike Lane Protection, Swaps Barriers for Paint

Washington, D.C. is removing plastic delineators and concrete barriers from a protected bike lane in Northwest Washington, citing low usage and the aesthetics of the posts, reports Rachel Weiner in The Washington Post.

For now, the poles and concrete barriers have been replaced with plastic barrels. But the city’s intention is to take those away once the rest of the two-way lane is removed and to replace it with painted bike lanes on either side of the street.

This marks the first time the city has removed protected bike lanes, causing concern among bike safety advocates that the move is a first step in a backlash to hard-won bike infrastructure. Significantly, “U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has frozen all federal grants involving cycling, recently calling bike lanes in congested areas ‘a problem,’” Weiner notes.

Tricia Duncan, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in the area, told The Washington Post that “They are sacrificing safety for aesthetics,” noting that the plan for the lanes came out of “hundreds of hours” of community engagement and planning. “Supporters of the lanes agree they don’t get much through-traffic, but that they were suggested by DDOT in part because of a long-awaited connection to the Capital Crescent Trail that is finally moving forward.”