District DOT Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Bus Transit

Washington, D.C. is the latest place to find traffic lanes emblazoned with a bright red coat of paint to welcome transit while barring cars.

1 minute read

June 22, 2016, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Bus Lane

Goran Bogicevic / Shutterstock

"DC's first bright red bus lanes now adorn four blocks of Georgia Avenue, near Howard University," reports Dan Malouf, after "DDOT crews added the red surface earlier this month."

DDOT added the red lanes to help speed "Metrobus' busy 70-series line through what was the slowest section of Georgia Avenue north of downtown."

Malouf's reports anecdotal evidence that cars are staying out of the lanes, while also noting that "DDOT is in the process of collecting actual data, comparing the car violation rate now to the rate from before the red surface was added."

The article includes more details about the red lanes as well as the intended message communicated by such infrastructure decisions. Meanwhile in San Francisco, similar red transit-only lines face public scrutiny earlier this week. 

Tuesday, June 21, 2016 in BeyondDC

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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