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I Street Bikelane Proceeds Despite ANC Objections – ANC 6D July Report
amended to include the curb cut, and all other improvements were previously approved. • Adopt the TPS committee recommendation to request that the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) postpone the public space committee hearing for the property at 1325 Second St. NE until the committee can meet with the applicant in September. The application is regarding shrubs, ground cover, lead walk specialty paving, planters and a water feature in public space. The applicant also plans to refinish the existing canopy with new material. • Adopt the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development (PZE) Committee recommendation for an application at 1109 Congress St. NE for a modification of consequence to a previous zoning commission order, new developer doing affordable units at 605 MFI, supports this application and is going to zoning commission review on July 28. • Adopt the PZE committee recommendation to support the application, with conditions, of the
Hillsdale College Capitol Hill Campus 227-239
Massachusetts Ave. NE. Conditions include reducing the entrance column in the front on Massachusetts Avenue and reducing a nailhead column that sticks out of a planter bed.
Additional Items:
ANC 6C will be in recess for the month of August. The commission will meet again on September 14 via WebEx. You can learn more about the commission and register to attend the meeting here. Note that ANCs do not generally meet in August.
Sarah Payne is a general assignment reporter for Capital Community News. She can be reached at sarahp@ hillrag.com. u
I Street Bike-lane Proceeds Despite ANC Objections
ANC 6D July RepoRt
by Andrew Lightman
• The Alcohol Beverage Licensing (ABL) Committee recommended taking no action on the new license application for a class C liquor license for Hersha Hospitality Management at 22
M St. NE. • The ABL also recommended taking no action on the following license renewal applications:
The Hyatt Regency Washington (400 New Jersey Ave NW), Po Boy Jim (709 H Street NW),
DC Harvest (517 H Street NE), Butter Chicken
Company 3 (601 Second Street NE) and The
Little Grand (808 7th Street NE). • Commissioners voted unanimously to protest the renewal application of Cane (403
H St. NE) in order to address community concern about delivery vehicles blocking the alley and the neighbors around the property being impacted. • Commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter to the Historic Preservation
Review Board (HPRB) noting summary opposition to a preservation application at (203 Third St. NE) as the applicant has been “indecisive” about specifics of their application. Commissioners say the application is too vague for the ANC to proceed.
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D (ANC 6D) met on July 18 over Zoom. Commissioners Dr. Marjorie Lightman (6D01), Jared Weiss (6D02, secretary), Ronald Collins (6D03, treasurer) Andy Litsky (6D04), Fredrica (Rikki) Kramer (6D05, vice chair),
Rhonda Hamilton (6D06), Edward Daniels (6D07, chair) were in attendance. Representatives from the DC Department of
Transportation (DDOT) were expected present their plans for installing protected cycle tracks on
I Street SW. They cancelled their appearance at 3 p.m. on July 18. The project would place two protected bike lanes on the stretch of I Street between Seventh
Street SE and SW, removing parking for most of the south side of the road. Parking will remain on both sides of the street only between Wesley Place and Delaware Avenue SW.
The plan for the I Street Protected Bike Lane. Courtesy DDOT.
DDOT issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) on June 24, which indicates the details of the plan has been finalized.
According to the Notice of Intent (NOI), about 190 parking spaces will remain after the plan is implemented, DDOT stated. The NOI does not include information on the total number to be removed.
The installation of Protected Bike Lanes (PBL) is pivotal to achieving a totally protected network for cyclists of varying ages and abilities, DDOT stated. According to District data, 11 cyclists have been injured on the stretch since 2012.
The project, originally focused on I Street itself, now includes bike lanes on Seventh Street SW as well, linking I Street and Maine Avenue SW, providing protected lanes all the way to The Wharf. This may impact the new development planned at 807 I St. SW as well as the pickup/drop-off lanes for the Goddard Preschool on the east side of the roadway. Advocates and opponents to the plan from the community expressed their views before commissioners themselves weighed in.
Advocates stressed the dangers of cycling in the District, claiming that the safety situation on I Street was dire. They attacked Commissioner Lightman in particular, faulting her for earlier characterizations of cycle tracks as ageist and sexist infrastructure catering mainly to young men.
Opponents stressed the impact on seniors, particularly the future residents of the Westminster Church Project. They expressed concern about the dangers posed to seniors crossing the lanes after being dropped off by for-hire vehicles. They also objected to plan’s impact on the Amidon-Bowen Elementary School’s pickup-drop off (PUDO).
All the commissioners started their individual remarks with their support for protected cycle tracks. However, they collectively expressed their disgust with DDOT’s public engagement. The agency, they stated, had not conducted a block-by-block examination of the impact of the project on I Street.
Moreover, the NOI had been issued before the commission had been accorded “great weight.”
Secretary Weiss spoke for his colleagues when he termed DDOT an untrustworthy partner that does not honor its public commitments. Treasurer Collins pleaded with cycle advocates to respect their opponents. Stop the nasty comments and respect neighbors, he urged. “We have advocates who are willing to go to the nth degree to denigrate the comments of others,” he said.
“DDOT has not listened respectfully or treated the commission respectfully,” Collins continued, citing the agency’s earlier interaction with the commission regarding the installation of the P Street Cycle Track. In this instance, he objected to the agency’s lack of consultation with stakeholders such as Westminster Church, Amidon-Bowen Elementary School and the Goddard School.
“DDOT does what DDOT wants to do, period,” echoed Commissioner Litsky. “Regardless of what we pass, DDOT will do precisely what they want to do. They have “intent,” but they don’t “consult.” It will not make one whit of difference what the commission does this evening,” he stated. He faulted the agency for ignoring an earlier promise to consult with the commission on a block-by-block basis.
“I totally get this,” stated Vice Chair Kramer, citing her longstanding participation in cycling. “What is disturbing is that we can create a wedge issue in this community,” she opined. “I don’t know what the solution is, but I was looking forward to talking to DDOT on a block-byblock solution. We are not trying to sabotage it. We are trying to come to something that serves the entire community,” she said.
Commissioner Lightman pointed out that the plans most re-
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