NEIGHBORHOOD PETITION REGARDING PLANNED DDOT BUS PRIORITY ZONE AND PROTECTED BIKE LANES IN 1900 AND 2000 BLOCKS OF COLUMBIA RD NW

Dear Mayor Bowser, City Council Members, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C Commissioners, DC Office of Planning, and DC Fire Marshall

We, the undersigned, are condominium associations, cooperatives, homeowners, and residents located in the 1900 and 2000 blocks of Columbia Road NW (between Belmont at the northeast end and Connecticut Avenue at the Southwest end), and in the surrounding impacted neighborhoods.

We are very concerned about the concept changes proposed for Columbia Road regarding the installation of “bus priority” lanes, protected bike lanes, and the removal of much needed residential parking spaces.

The Project and Objectives

DDOT seeks to resolve or improve the traffic and delivery congestion on a business-dense section of Columbia Road NW between Belmont Rd NW and 16th Street NW, to “improve safety and bus transit operations” and a bike lane network. Ostensibly, the safety-improvement aspect of the project is the installation of protected bike lanes (where painted bike lanes and parked cars already happily co-exist), and the bus transit improvement is the installation of the priority lane (for all of 700 feet) to reduce bus transit times from 16th Street to Connecticut Ave. As part of this project, DDOT has proposed to:

• Remove all of the much-needed residential parking on the northwest side of Columbia Rd between 19th St and Connecticut Avenue NW
• Install a 700-foot “bus priority” lane in the curb lane on the northwest side of Columbia Road between Wyoming and Connecticut Ave
• Install protected bike lanes, between the curb and parking and travel lanes on the southeast side of Columbia Rd.

Inadequate Public Notice

Whereas over 323 residential households in just the 1900 and 2000 blocks of Columbia Road will be directly affected by the proposed changes, including 111 households on or abutting the northwest side of Columbia Road and 212 households on or abutting the southeast side of Columbia Road, and

Whereas many buildings, households, and residents in these blocks received no direct formal notice of these proposals, and Whereas most households in these blocks are homeowners paying real estate taxes, and Whereas it would have been quite easy to mail a notification regarding the proposed changes to the official address shown in the tax records, and Pedestrian Safety Impacts

Whereas Columbia Road NW, from Belmont Street west to Connecticut Avenue, traverses a densely populated residential neighborhood, including the Kalorama Triangle residential neighborhood on the northwest side of the street and the Washington Heights historical residential neighborhood on the southeast side, and

Whereas there is minimal bus or traffic congestion on this segment of Columbia Road from 19th Street to Connecticut Avenue, even during morning and evening rush hours Whereas In the proposed concept, pedestrians would need to navigate three (3) traffic lanes (the bus and bike lanes as well as the two (2) lanes reserved for automobiles) to safely cross the street, and

Whereas we currently have six (6) pedestrian crosswalks between Belmont Street and Connecticut Avenue and

Whereas our neighborhood has a very high number of senior citizens who must navigate the pedestrian crosswalks daily, and

Whereas Children attending the Oyster-Adams School on 19th Street just south of Wyoming Avenue must negotiate these same crosswalks, and

Whereas pushing parking out to the traffic lanes will reduce visibilityfor vehicles entering or exiting driveways and alleys in these blocks, and endanger motorists, cyclists, pets and other pedestrians, and,

Whereas we assert that the plan actually poses increased (not decreased) risk to public safety of all residents, hotel guests, students, and other pedestrian traffic.

Impacts of Parking Removal

Whereas this is a densely populated residential neighborhood that already suffers from a severe shortage of residential parking, and

Whereas DDOT has already removed many parking spaces in our neighborhood at crosswalks, corners, and for bike share stations, and

Whereas elimination of even more residential parking on the northwest side of Columbia Road from 19th Street to Connecticut Avenue would cause significant problems for the residents living in all of the households (condominiums, cooperatives, rental apartments, and single-family residences) in these blocks, and

Whereas the proposed bus priority zone will eliminate ALL legal parking for resident-related moving and furniture/ appliance delivery and other service vehicles on the northwest side of Columbia Road from 19th Street to Connecticut Ave, and

Whereas none of the buildings in the northwest side if the 1900 or 2000 blocks of Columbia Road have any rear of building access or parking, and

Whereas the proposed plan will eliminate trash pick-up access on the northwest side of Columbia Road for the entire 2000 block of residences, and

Whereas Residents on the southeast side of Columbia Road in these blocks will also be severely impacted by reduced parking options for residents, visitors, and trades, and

Whereas impacts of reduced parking and increased traffic congestion will spill over into the surrounding Kalorama Triangle, Washington Heights, and Kalorama Heights neighborhoods as well, and

Other Neighborhood Impacts

Whereas the plan will eliminate the heavily used Capital Bikeshare docking station on the Northwest side of Columbia Road between Wyoming Avenue and 20th Street to accommodate the proposed curbside dedicated bus lane, and

Whereas installation of the bus lane will likely require removal of a least four (4) mature trees, decades old, on the northwest side of Columbia Road, and

Whereas moving the bus traffic closer to the curb will exacerbate bus noise, pollution, and health impacts on the structures and residents of the residential buildings on the southwest side of Columbia Road in these blocks, and

Whereas a dedicated bus lane that would only exist in the Southwest bound portion of 1900 and 2000 blocks of Columbia Road would do nothing to accelerate transit times or change the necessity of traffic to come to a stop at the traffic light at Connecticut Avenue, and

Whereas this project will have unacceptable aesthetic impacts on the character of this aesthetically charming, residential, and historically significant stretch of Columbia Road, and

Whereas property values and tax revenues may be reduced as well by further reduction of parking options and the aesthetic damage done to this architecturally significant and historic neighborhood, and

NOW THEREFORE:

We conclude that: The adverse impacts of the DDOT Preferred Concept far outweigh public benefits in these residential blocks of Columbia Rd NW. This project will have very damaging effects on the residents of Columbia Road This project will endanger pedestrians attempting to cross Columbia Road between 19th Street and Connecticut Avenue. Public safety will be impaired, and traffic impeded, neither will be improved.

• This project design ignores the residential and pedestrian safety ramifications, while only considering bus transit time and cyclist convenience, the improvement of which by this plan would be negligible, at best, and

This project will substantially and adversely impact our day-to-day living situations, quality of life, and our property values.

We strongly urge all city officials engaged in the design and approval of the parking elimination and dedicated bus lane creation in this residential-only segment of Columbia Road between Belmont Road and Connecticut Avenue to fully consider and acknowledge the severe adverse impact of the proposed project for the residents of this segment of Columbia Road.

• We respectfully urge elimination from the proposal of the provision that takes away residential and moving and delivery parking on the northwest side of Columbia Road to create a curbside dedicated bus lane between 19th Street and Connecticut Avenue, and
• We urge that the current infrastructure and traffic design in these blocks be maintained unaltered. It is an imperfect but fully functional balance of parking, bike lanes, and motor-vehicle traffic. DO NOT MAKE IT WORSE!
• We request that you meet with the concerned residents of the 1900 and 2000 blocks of Columbia Road at the earliest convenience to hear our concerns, discuss this matter further, and take into account the impact on our day-to-day lives.