"It's official!" Bike lanes open down America's Main Street

It was hot, sizzling hot, and summertime-in-DC humid. But I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

I'm talking about yesterday's dedication festivities to inaugurate Washington, DC's newest bicycle lanes. And these are not just any bike lanes. These lanes run right down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue--America's Main Street--from the White House to the U.S. Capitol.

It's official! Mayor Fenty, Gabe Klein, Reps. Blumenauer and Oberstar

I see them as another milestone in Washington's steady march to become a model livable American community.

All across America, people are asking for more choices, more options to get from one place to another. Some of them can't afford cars. Some are concerned about greenhouse gas emissions. Some want exercise or to be out of doors, but don't feel safe.

For too long, walking and biking have been overlooked as important forms of transportation. Now we see local governments answering that call by creating new opportunities for people to take advantage of streetcars, transit, walking, and bike lanes. They’re taking the needs of pedestrians and cyclists into account like never before.

As DC Mayor Adrian Fenty said, ""This country is finally catching up to our European and other neighbors in their commitment to bicycling."

But don’t get me wrong: There will always be cars and trucks on America's roadways--and DOT will always be committed to keeping America’s roadways the safest and most efficient in the world. Mayor Fenty made this point effectively, saying, "We believe there is room here for everyone--on four wheels, two wheels and on foot."

Sidewalks and bike lanes are also relatively inexpensive to create. And, despite their visibility and positive impact, these projects are using a very small part of our nation's transportation spending. They are simply part of a cleaner, greener future in American transportation.

Ready to ride--with Rep. Blumenauer, Mayor Fenty

DC's new bike lanes are also a tribute to the hard work of DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and DC's Transportation Director Gabe Klein. As Rep. Earl Blumenauer noted yesterday, "This project started as I was cycling to last year’s National Bike Summit, and only 15 months later they are now a reality."

If you've ever tried to take a transportation infrastructure idea and navigate it through planning, approval, design, and implementation, you know it takes leadership and commitment to see a project to completion so quickly. And for that we need to thank Mayor Fenty, Director Klein, DC Bike Program Director Jim Sebastian, and a team of dedicated DDOT employees.

Listening to Rep. Oberstar with DC Councilman Jack Evans, DDOT Director Gabe Klein,
Rep. Blumenauer, DC Councilman Tommy Wells, and Mayor Fenty

We should also thank two of our nation's most effective bicycling advocates, Rep. Blumenauer and Rep. Jim Oberstar, Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, both of whom joined us in yesterday's heat to celebrate these new lanes--in their work shirts and ties, along with helmets, gloves, and ankle straps to keep their pants out of their bike chains.

In his remarks, Rep. Blumenauer made a terrific point, reminding motorists that, "A bike is really a driver's best friend. Because every bike you see cruising down one of these lanes is one less car to compete with in traffic, one less bit of congestion, one less driver buying fuel."

But it was Rep. Oberstar who may have had the best line of the day: "Bicyclists aren't burning hydrocarbons; we're burning carbohydrates!"

The peloton gets rolling, with the group's youngest participant in the green seat!

Comments

[Linda Rapacki]

Sweet! I wonder if anyone from the White House will ever use them?

[Harvey Botzman]

These bike lanes are a unique and needed addition to Washington DC's transportation infrastructure.
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Smaller cities, those with less than 1,000,000 persons in population need these facilities too. Hopefully, the Secretary will submit federal funding programs specifically for cities in the 100,000-500,000 population range and other smaller cities, towns, and villages to improve these municipalities' bicycle infrastructure.

Likewise, the Secretary should not forget about intermodal transportation facilities such as bicycle carriage on Amtrak passenger cars as long as the full sized bicycle is partially assembled (wheels & pedals off, hand bars turned); placed in a sturdy bicycle bag or Pullman suitcase sized hard case; and weigh no more than 50 lbs.

Such a change in policy by Amtrak would encourage bicycle tourism in areas outside of the major megapolis' such as Washington DC.

More importantly, a change to the full sized bicycle in a bicycle bag policy involves no additional expenditure by Amtrak or a governmental entity! Sturdy bicycle bags are relatively inexpensive and are made in the U. S. A.!

As the author of 7 bicycle tour guide books www.cyclotour.com for the Great Lakes & New York State
bicyclists write me to say how much more they discovered in the U. S. A. by bicycle touring compared with going to Europe, Australia, or other continents.

[Michael E. Bailey]

We need to make our cities and towns more walkable and more bike friendly and DC's program helps achieve that. While we make cities more walkable, we should also make them more accessible. The buttons on signal poles to press to cross streets should be lower down for wheelchair users and easier to press with an audible sound for vision empaired people to let them know when it is safe to cross the street. John Wayne Airport has a real good accessible street crossing system in place to cross from the terminal building to the parking structure and ground transportation holding lots. The cross light comes on and an automated message says "Cross Street, Proceed With Caustion" and the sign ticks down the number of seconds you have to get across; then when the light changes, the voice comes back on to say "Do Not Cross". We also need accessible bus stops and accessible buses, especially on routes that serve hospitals, large medical office buildings, government buildings, places of employment that have lots of disabled employees, and apartment/condo complexes where a number of disabled persons live. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[Dave Morse]

Props to Mayor Fenty for wearing the same helmet model that is commonly given away free at these sorts of events. If I were mayor, that'd be the only helmet I'd wear, just to convince other's that it's "good enough". He also fit it properly to his head.

Blumenaur and Oberstar maybe want to review the NHTSA helmet fitting guidelines - particularly steps 3 + 4 at http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/bike/easystepsweb/index.htm . They paid for it. :)

[Sam]

I am really glad about these bike lanes, it gives people more choices in how they travel, and hopefully inspire people to stop polluting the environment by using their cars for simple journeys that a bicycle can replace. Not to mention its a good way to get some exercise!

[Bill Crandall]

Just watched the news video posted above, outrageous slant implying this is bad news for drivers. The first line of the lead-in is all about how Penn. Ave. will now be more 'treacherous'...

[Head Wrap]

Thanks for doing this and for showing the city officials wearing proper head protection. A head wrap is not a helmet!
http://www.headwrap.us

[BMW cars]

This is really cool. Cyle lane will help in reducing major accidents that take place.

[Shuffle pants guy]

YA MAN i love Bicycles - and its so True, This will reduce The deaths caused By cars on the roads

[Truck Dealers]

Encouraging the bikers and making a dedicated bike lanes can help reducing the precious oil bills. It also helps in reducing the co2 emissions.