Foggy Bottom, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., plans to add new bike lanes in an effort to make the roads safer for all commuters traveling along Dupont Circle and the National Mall.
The DC Protected Bike Lanes Project will identify a specific route to increase safety and mobility for north and south-running bicycle lanes that connect the Western side of downtown to the National Mall, according to the District Department of Transportation. Protected bike lanes help maintain safety, connect neighborhoods, accommodate growth in transportation systems, provide more transportation options and also help D.C. to become a more sustainable city, according to DDOT.
The project will include adding lanes to the north-south streets of 20th Street, 21st Street and 22nd Street NW between Florida Avenue NW and Constitution Avenue NW. The area includes George Washington University, where Advisory Neighborhood Commission council member James Harnett said the new lanes will help ease congestion and traffic.
“Students, I know, don’t feel comfortable biking on campus,” Harnett said. “We have a lot of out-of-state drivers that disregard or act unsafely around bikers, pedestrians and students.”
Josh Neirman, a former member of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, said the new measure to add more bike lanes is a positive one.
“I think the biggest thing is if pedestrians and vehicles acknowledge that there’s a new bike lane that’s been created,” Neirman said.
International student Omar Stinner said he regularly questions himself when using a scooter on the road and feels it’s often unsafe.
“I don’t feel like scooters or bicycles or cars should be in conjunction with each other,” Stinner said. “I feel they should be separate, there should be a bike lane everywhere, where the biker and the scooter can be alone.”
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