15th Street: It’s hitting the fan [UPDATED]
Update: April 9, 2026: We sued the federal government, it helped.
Two weeks ago we filed a complaint against the Department of the Interior demanding that federal agencies halt any further action to remove the protected bike lane, and that they follow the legally required processes to make this kind of change, which include, among other things, soliciting public input, demonstrating that the removal will not have a negative impact on safety (it will), and demonstrating that the removal will not have a negative impact on the environment (it will).
The Department of Justice agreed not to remove the lanes until April 23. This is a great step in the right direction. We’re not taking their word for it though, and will continue to keep a close watch on 15th Street.
On April 9, Our all-star legal team from Covington and Beveridge & Diamond argued our case in front of a federal judge and we expect a decision before April 23.
What you can do:
- Share this petition calling on the National Park Service to leave the lanes in place. Post it on your social media, send it to your friends, your family, your neighborhood listservs. Get the word out!
- Help us pay for the lawyers who are working on this with us. We’re in this fight together and we need your support now more than almost any other time in our history.
- Buy a “Don’t tread on my bike lane” t-shirt!
Older updates:
March 23, 2026
Last Thursday signs went up on East Basin Drive announcing construction work beginning Monday March 23rd, and workers on site confirmed that the work includes the removal of the 15th Street Bike Lane.
Lawsuit
Today WABA files a lawsuit against the government for their planned removal of the 15th street bike lane on federal land for not complying with federal law, including because the government has not provided the legally required public processes.
As part of this lawsuit, we notified the Department of Justice of this ‘off-hours, emergency’ filing. Yesterday, Sunday, the Department of Justice responded.
In their response they confirmed that the relevant government parties would not start work on removing the bike lane before March 30.
Accordingly, we now plan to file our lawsuit today, March 23rd, and to seek that the court issue an order halting the removal process before March 30.
And also:
We’re also working with the League of American Bicyclists, Rep Eleanor Holmes Norton, and VA Rep Don Beyer to include language in upcoming appropriations that prevents federal agencies from spending money to remove the bike lane. Signers on that letter also sent a letter to USDOT on Friday opposing the removal of the bike lane.
Background:
We heard some well substantiated rumors about a month ago that USDOT, at the behest of the White House, was pressuring NPS to remove the part of the 15th Street Protected Bike Lane that’s on land the Park Service controls, from Constitution Ave to the Jefferson Memorial. Technically, this requires a public input process, but we all saw what happened to the East Wing of the White House, and we anticipated that the agency would attempt to do the work without following proper procedures. In the intervening weeks, we’ve been working with our legal team to prepare a complaint, and we’ve had volunteers riding the lanes to let us know if anything suspicious popped up.
We know from DDOT’s data that these lanes improve safety for everyone and actually reduce car traffic congestion. And this isn’t unique. We know from study after study after study that bike lanes make everyone safer and don’t cause congestion. Removing them is not about making the street safer, or even making things more convenient for drivers.
We’ll keep you updated as this unfolds.