Blog
Bike Lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue (updated)
I just rode up to Capitol Hill from the office – we are near the White House and usually I am headed for the House side and choose to ride up the service road on the Mall by the Smithsonian buildings. But today I was headed for the Senate side and decided that heading straight up Pennsylvania Avenue was the best bet. Plus, I wanted to see if the promised bike lanes were in fact being implemented in time for Bike to Work Day in a couple of weeks.
Photo: Andy Clarke
They are! The bike lanes are going in – on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Of course, there are some detractors. AAA Mid-Atlantic has come out and said they’ll bring the city to a grinding halt…although a quick look at Pennsylvania Avenue today suggests that tour buses and taxis are doing an excellent job already of bunging up the travel lanes as well as the parking lanes, and that despite the construction zone extending beyond the width of the eventual bike lanes themselves, the street seems to be working just fine.
Indeed, evidence from city after city in this country and the rest of the world suggests that
a) AAA Mid-Atlantic’s favored approach of adding more and more lanes ad infinitum hasn’t worked for 50 years (all it’s done is get even more people stuck in the same traffic jams) and probably isn’t going to start working today all of sudden
b) Putting in better bike infrastructure really does generate more bike traffic and either reduce or slow the increase in car traffic – look at Portland over the last 15 years, New York City in the last two as classic examples
c) When travel lanes or capacity is reduced, traffic goes away. People find other ways or other modes; or they don’t make the trip. Happens every time a bridge goes out, or a major construction project blocks off a major artery – people adapt.
d) And by even AAA Mid-Atlantic’s survey indications, a lot of people will adapt by going by bike. That’s a good thing. That’ll reduce congestion; make more room for delivery vehicles and tourist buses and taxis.
The reaction of AAA Mid-Atlantic is unfortunate, if not utterly predictable. And maybe it’s good that after years of really not having to worry about bikes because we weren’t making much inroad (sic) into their territory…maybe now they are getting a little flustered with such an iconic and visible street as Pennsylvania Avenue having bike lanes. We are starting to succeed and make a difference.
What AAA Mid-Atlantic and others fail to see is that we’re not proposing a zero-sum game. We’re not trying to do away with cars, nor are we anti-car. Cars will have a critical role to play in our transportation system into the forseeable future…but not as the ONLY means of getting around, and not as the ONLY, exclusive user of the public realm to the detriment of almost everything else – clear air, health, climate, safety, energy etc. Great cities and great streets have choice. They enjoy and celebrate diversity. They feature PEOPLE not traffic. They have balance. Altering the balance of traffic on Pennsylvania Ave won’t choke it or bring it to a halt – it will bring it to life. And the nation’s real Main Street (not the ghastly DC Beltway, as AAA Mid-Atlantic would have you believe it is) deserves to be brought to life again.
UPDATE:
A quick update on the Pennsylvania Ave. bike lane story. We didn’t clarify that it was AAA’s mid-Atlantic chapter and spokespeople that came out in opposition to the new bike lanes on Pennsylvania Ave. (corrected above,) and evidently the National Headquarters of AAA is not too happy about taking the rap for their mid-Atlantic chapter…so sorry to the national AAA folks, who just this week issued a great story about sharing the road and are meeting with us in a few days to discuss potential things we can do together.
Another of AAA’s local chapters also came under some scrutiny this week for an article about sharing the road that was generally very good and supportive, with good quotes from AAA and cyclists…but included four bullets of advice that were totally off the mark. AAA is a big, very decentralized group – but with tens of millions of members, it is also very influential, and has a huge impact on cyclists. So, we’re looking forward to the dialog beginning later this month.
Andy Clarke
League President
Andy Clarke was appointed to the position of Executive Director in April of 2004 after successfully leading efforts to create, interpret and implement the various transportation programs that are available to improve conditions for bicycling and walking as the League’s State and Local Advocacy Director. Before joining the League in February 2003, Clarke was on contract to provide technical assistance to the highly regarded Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center on site at the Federal Highway Administration. He is on the Board of Directors for America Bikes, and a member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycling Professionals.
Subscribe
May 5th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Sounds like the Pennsylvania Avenue is simply becoming more “Complete” as was promised at the National Bike Summit.
May 6th, 2010 at 4:52 am
Hooray for the bike lanes in our nation’s capital!
Here in Monterey County, local government leaders joined other cyclists in biking to City Council meeting in Pacific Grove today. Same thing will happen in our county seat, Salinas, for next week’s May 11 City Council meeting.
Imagine our national legislators joining with cyclists to bike to US Senate and Congress sessions for Bike to Work week in 2011! Yes!
May 6th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
In my opinion, AAA in general, not just this one branch of AAA has been responsible for a lot of the car traffic congestion problems that this country is facing, so they should own up to that even though they might not have been directly responsible for this criticism of the Pennsylvania Ave bike lane.
May 6th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Better World Club is a green alternative to AAA. Based in Portland Oregon (one of the nations top bike friendly cities) Better World Club has been lobbying for bicycle lanes and providing nationwide roadside bike service for years. I interned for Better World Club so I am not completely unbiased but I also know they are a good company.
May 7th, 2010 at 11:35 am
I work for AAA Mid-Atlantic and, when I heard about this, I emailed our Public and Gov’t affairs group (Lon Anderson, in specific) about this. I ride my bike, my boyfriend’s only mode of transport is a bike and all my friends ride, too! So I was clearly a little upset.
In truth, AAA Mid-Atlantic is not against the bike lanes themselves but are concerned that there was no procedure in place for public review, survey, etc. If they were putting another car lane in, we would be equally as alarmed. People are reacting to the anti-bike lane issue as anti-bike when, really, we are just anti-lack-of-formal-review-process.
What we (AAA Mid-Atlantic) did wrong was write a confusing press release and not respond to the community earlier to clarify that we are definitely not anti-cyclist. In fact, we are sponsors of Ride Your Bike to Work Day and offer community programs on Bike Safety (http://www.aaamidatlantic.com/Foundation/CommunityPrograms/BicycleSafety)
I’m working on a blog post on our community site now to clarify the whole mix up (I’m in social media). But I welcome any questions or comments on the issue at kdriscoll@aaamidatlantic.com.
Hope that clears things up a little! Ride on!
May 7th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Just wanted to follow up with a comment. I work in Social Media at AAA Mid-Atlantic and so, since this is an issue that is important to me, I wrote a blog on it (complete with our official position). http://ht.ly/1Ij81
Thanks!
May 9th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
The AAA was right, since making the lane changes on Pennsylvania Ave the traffic is horrible. I drive down Penn twice a day from Constitution
Ave to 14th Street, and a trip that used to take 3-5 minutes now takes 20+. I love my bike and i love dedicated bike lanes, but i’m not sure why each east and west bike lane needs about 8′ of width plus a 15′ wide median between. Friday’s traffic in the city was pretty light, except on Penn where gridlock ensued.
There is probably no hope of getting the drive lanes back, but i wish for them. oh, on friday while sitting the new gridlock, one cyclist went by me. a tourist that paused several times to take photos of the capital.
Thanks for adding 20 minutes to my commute.
May 10th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
[...] that goes past the White House — is part of a “war on drivers.” After getting an earful from bicyclists and bloggers, including some of their own members who apparently have cancelled their memberships, [...]
May 10th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
If you try to follow the links above to AAA’s website, you will be directed to your local club’s site. So, those of us outside the Mid-Atlantic region can’t see the content.
May 13th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
@ Molinari,
I think the question you should be asking yourself is, why do you need to drive at all if it’s such a short commute? Not quite sure the distance since Constitution run perpendicular to 14th, but it can’t be more than a couple miles? Unless you are required to drive for your job, maybe you should get a bike yourself.
If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.
May 20th, 2010 at 2:24 am
Im thankful for the post.Really thank you! Really Great.
May 11th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Best wishes! You have just won a new feed reader. actually amazing write-up!