September 1^st, 2020

Commissioner Brian Ready

Chair, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B

703 D St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

Via Email: 6b03@anc.dc.gov

NOI # 20-80-PSD

Re: Notification for the Installation of Advisory Bike Lanes on Kentucky Ave SE

Dear Commissioner Ready,

Pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Amendment Act of 2000” D.C. LAW 13-249 (48 DCR 3491 April 20, 2001), the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is required to give a written notice of our intent to install advisory bike lanes and modify parking on Kentucky Avenue SE within ANC 6B.  This letter is being forwarded to you for the purpose of notification and solicitation of comments on our intent to implement the following in your jurisdiction.

DDOT proposes to:

• Install advisory bike lanes on Kentucky Ave between East Capitol Street and 15^th St SE.
• Install contraflow and regular bike lanes on Kentucky Ave between G Street and Barney Circle SE in order to connect the overall bike facility to the Anacostia River Trail
• Modify parking to conform to the current DDOT design and engineering manual (DEM) standards. This typically means greater setback of parking from crosswalks and alleys to preserve sightlines between drivers and people crossing the street.

The existing conditions of the Avenue is two travel lanes and two parking lanes, and the absence of most pavement marking besides the crosswalks and stop bars.  The pattern DDOT would use for advisory bike lanes would be to add parking boxes on both sides, dashed bike lanes throughout, and a shared center travel lane for two-way traffic.  This installation is part of an Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of this pattern. 

This segment is an important step in expanding the bike lane network, now also used by scooters and other personal mobility devices.  This facility will connect to existing bike lanes on East Capitol, E Street, 13^th Street, 14^th Street, and 15^th Street.  It will also connect both Payne Elementary with Lincoln Park.

We anticipate the following benefits:

• Expanded biking / scooter route for people traveling in and through Northeast DC
• A contiguous and safe bikeway designed around users between 8 and 80 years old
• Substitution of automobile trips for walking, biking, and scooting trips in this area
• Reduction of conflicts between drivers and bikeway users
• Reduction of sidewalk conflicts between people walking and people on bikes/scooters
• Reduction of vehicular travel speeds on the Avenue
• Improved safety due to reduction of existing conflicts

All comments on this subject matter must be filed in writing, no later than October 15, 2020, thirty (30) business days after the date of this notice, with the District Department of Transportation Planning and Sustainability Division, 55 M Street, SE, 5^th Floor, Washington, DC, 20003 or via email at will.handsfield@dc.gov.  If you would like to check the status of this Notice of Intent (NOI), please visit DDOT’s website at https://wiki.ddot.dc.gov/display/NOI. In addition, if you have questions, have trouble accessing the NOI site or are unable to do so, please contact me at 202-671-3378.

Sincerely,

Will Handsfield
Transportation Planner

Planning & Sustainability Division

Cc:

Corey Holman, Commissioner 6B

Kristen Oldenburg, Commissioner 6B

Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia

George Branyan, Active Transportation Branch Manager, DDOT

Andrew DeFrank, Ward 6 Community Engagement Specialist, DDOT