DC Strategic Bikeways Plan 2025: Ward 7 Opportunities
Let’s make sure key Ward 7 needs are included as District Strategic Bikeways Plan (SBP) priorities!
The District Dept. of Transportation (DDOT) states that “the Bike Lane Program plans to build an additional 50 miles of bicycle lanes across the District over the next 5 years.” Please communicate your bicycling, safety concerns, network gaps, and project ideas to DDOT via the Strategic Bikeways Plan Public Comment Map.
DDOT’s moveDC 2021 Bicycle Priority map — a Ward 7 image is below — shows significant underinvestment in Ward 7 safe transportation infrastructure compared to other wards. MoveDC is the District’s long-range transportation plan; our priorities build on the 2021 map. (BTW, this post’s header photo is of a 2nd grade bicycling class at Ward 7’s Lorraine H. Whitlock Elementary School.)
Our focus is longer-distance, corridor routes. Based on input from Ward 7 residents, and looking at the traffic and number of crashes, our suggested priorities are:
- Minnesota Avenue, connecting Ward 7 business, residents, parks, and transit hubs, from Deanwood south into Ward 8
- Benning Road, another key southeast-northeast connector and route across the Anacostia River
- Nannie Helen Burroughs, Ave., NE, which is slated for a bus priority project and connects east-west across the northern part of Ward 7.
DDOT identified other major Ward 7 arterials as moveDC 2021 bikeway routes. See the map below. These routes are on our SBP priority list for protected bikeways. Please join us in urging DDOT to retain them as Ward 7 strategic bikeway priorities:
- East Capitol Street, the ward’s major east-west connector. DDOT removed planned bike lanes from their concept plan. Let’s fight to bring them back!
- Division Ave., NE, a north-south route between Sheriff Road NE and East Capitol Street
- Alabama Ave., SE, serving southeastern Ward 7 into and through Ward 8
- Ridge Ave., SE, Massachusetts Ave. SE, and Pennsylvania Ave., SE, three routes crossing Ward 7, south of Benning Road.
- Branch Ave., SE, and Naylor Road, SE, two north-south corridors in the southern portion of Ward 7.
Provide your comments NOW via DDOT’s Strategic Bikeways Plan Public Comment Map.
We’re also keeping tabs on the Benning Road NE Bridges and Transportation Improvements project. DDOT had scheduled a November 17 public meeting but has postponed it; a new date hasn’t been posted.
And we’ll call out another need that DDOT should address now, outside of the SBP process. Quoting a community member:
My top priority is the stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue SE from 27th Street to the Sousa Bridge. Getting to the Sousa Bridge from nearly anywhere north of Nicholson St SE (where there’s access, as imperfect as it is, into Anacostia Park) is extremely difficult and dangerous for cyclists. We are forced to ride on narrow sidewalks with 15 (no exaggeration) difficult road, alley, commercial driveway, and bus stop crossings in about a quarter mile stretch. During rush hours, drivers use every inlet and outlet to work around traffic backups, and there is nearly no infrastructure to aid rider and pedestrian safety at these crossings.
Our priorities are based on discussions with Ward 7 community members. Do you have additional/other priorities to suggest? Please let us know by e-mail to advocacy@waba.org or this form.