EDITORIAL/OPINION

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These Bike Lanes Might be Sensible, But DDOT Needs to Keep ANC Informed

Bike lanes and new traffic patterns were much on the minds of the attendees of the Aug. 30 ANC2E meeting, attended by 140 people -- the most ever on an ANC Zoom community meeting. Fortunately, the plans as presented by D.C.’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) and discussed so far do not appear to pose detrimental effects on the neighborhood, though it is clear that DDOT needs to improve its communications with the ANC and local residents.

Many residents expressed concerns about the presentation of DDOT’s thus-far “informal plan” to create two marked contra-flow bicycle pathways -- one on N St. NW and the other nearby on Dumbarton St. NW. The plan would designate N St. a one-way street going west while Dumbarton St. would remain a one-way street going east. Under the plan, bicyclists and scooters could travel in either direction within the marked bike lanes.

On the call, ANC Chair Rick Murphy expressed frustration that there was “no demonstrated need” for such a plan and asked whether DDOT has “ever seen a problem it doesn’t think it can fix by plunking a bike lane down?” He also echoed the voices of many in attendance concerned that DDOT has not provided any study data or statistics to warrant such a plan. One caller expressed consternation that no public meeting exclusively for the purpose of discussing the plan was called.

Several participants also expressed concerns over the possible loss of neighborhood parking, hazards presented by swiftly-moving bicyclists, interference with delivery truck patterns, and whether changes in traffic flow might further congest the neighborhood and hurt businesses.

In the meeting, however, it became clear from the presentation by Bicycle Program Specialist Will Handsfield of DDOT that the proposed plan might not be so odious. He assured that no parking spaces are likely to be lost on either street. Side-swiping accidents and driver confrontations – long a problem on N St. -- could be reduced. Automobile speeding could be slowed by narrowing car lanes. Adding to the bike lane infrastructure could lower citywide traffic congestion. And, enhanced micromobility could reduce car traffic from the many commuters to and from Georgetown University and the Georgetown Medical Center, two of the biggest employers in the city.

Representing the Citizens of Georgetown (CAG), Tara Sakraida Parker offered a moderate position, suggesting a study and pilot project on the plan. A sensible approach, as would be DDOT’s better communication and collaboration with ANC.

Letters to the Editor

WHY NOT A COMMUNITY MEETING?

On Monday, Aug. 30, I participated in the ANC2e zoom meeting. It was reported there were 140 individuals on the call – a record, I believe.

I write for two reasons. First, to thank Commissioners Rick Murphy, Elizabeth Miller, Gwen Lohse and Lisa Palmer for alerting residents to the two DDOT presentations made that evening. Their communication with their constituents and sharing of residents’ concerns with the DDOT presenter for N St. NW and Dumbarton St. NW (N St. one-way west and bike lanes on both streets) is of critical importance to the future of travel in Georgetown.

For many years Georgetown has grappled with transportation and parking issues. It is clear these issues and the possible solutions seem to vary block by block. For that reason, and being an historic community with many residential streets, there is usually a Community Meeting held. In the past a D.C. government agency would schedule such a meeting, advertise the time and place and present (often to a packed room) their plans, listening to concerns voiced by the attendees. It was of interest that the DDOT presenter said NO statistics or studies had been done prior to their plan. DDOT did not schedule such a meeting and had the ‘audacity’ to say that this August ANC2e meeting was “the community meeting.”

Hopefully, DDOT will make clear to us taxpayers what they -- from a distance and with input only from several residents on N St. between Wisconsin and 31st Street -- are considering. Georgetowners are reasonable, smart, engaged people. Solutions most likely can be found. But not when there is no engagement with those of us who live here. Again, thank you to our Commissioners mentioned above. And I hope The Georgetowner will assist in informing our community of these important issues.

– Pamla H. Moore Dumbarton St. NW

Up in the Air

BY SUSAN BODIKER

The Georgetown BID is all in favor. Ditto the mayor and the D.C. Council, which has allocated $10 million to the project in the 2022 budget (versus the $14 million our very own Brooke Pinto requested). And, if you can believe the Georgetown Rosslyn Gondola coalition, so are countless businesses, companies and other advocates dedicated to “improving public transit to under-served areas; access to Georgetown’s jobs for the region’s workforce; congestion relief; and pollution reduction.”

Yes, the Georgetown Rosslyn Gondola claims it will be all things to all people and urban interests, all provided at a “lower capital cost than other fixed guideway transit options” (e.g. Metrorail).

To which we reply, remember the H Street streetcar? That, too, was designed to boost development, revitalize neighborhoods and minimize pollution. After almost a decade of delays, political back-and-forth and significant cost overruns, the jury is still out on the benefits it has conferred. It’s likely that the gentrification on the H Street corridor would have happened

As a people we have lost our focus.

Upon the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, many seem to have forgotten the lesson of the “failure to connect the dots.” The horrendous terrorist attacks on that day might have been prevented had our intelligence and security agencies been more observant and communicated more effectively, the axiom holds.

Now twenty years on, our collective ability to observe, assess and communicate vital national security information appears to be in sharp decline. While our national security apparatus has indeed -- for the past two decades -- stepped up to “connect the dots” sufficiently to prevent another major strike on American soil, the vigilance and attentiveness of our citizenry appears to wither by the day.

For a republic to survive, its voting citizens need to be informed on the major issues affecting national security. Our ability to read and absorb vital news, however, has eroded markedly since the early days of the 21st century. In those heady days of the new millennium -- before the creation of the iPhone, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and the rise of distracting social media -- we focused intensely for a time on how it was possible for the deadliest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor to have been planned and carried out from the mountains and “caves of Afghanistan.”

We must ask ourselves now, however, how much focus and attention we have given to the very real threats to our republic lurking over the horizon. In our last presidential election, each of the candidates tried to appeal to voters’ concerns over domestic rather than foreign policy concerns. However, much of anyway and as a “transit option,” it has not exactly lived up to its promises.

We fear that this is the fate of the gondola. High hopes and lofty aspirations aside, we question whether the gondola is even necessary. It will connect two already well-developed urban areas (certainly not underserved or in need of new transportation alternatives) at a cost and timetable we can only assume will exceed their estimates.

True, it is far less expensive and complicated to build a gondola and supporting infrastructure than a new metro station (historically a nonstarter, but now, who knows?) and will allegedly require a “lower subsidy than any other public transit in the region because of its projected high ridership and low operating costs. [Italics ours.] We shall see.

Admittedly, it’s got an undeniable wow factor, it could help the environment and could be fun. We’ll await the results of the coming studies before we commit either way. Tell us what you think of the gondola plans -- for or against and why. Send your comments to editorial@georgetowner.com.

the country is dotted by “news deserts” where local newspapers have collapsed, political demagoguery is on the rise as never before, and Americans have grown accustomed to selecting media that caters to personal biases. Foreign actors have found fertile ground to exploit such divisions and erode confidence in American democratic institutions.

For our survival, let us not lose our focus. Let’s read the news more carefully.

Consider these over-the-horizon developments: Russia’s seizure of Crimea and half of Ukraine, its expanding presence in the Middle East and North Africa and its support for extremist factions in European politics -- not to mention its manipulation of our last two presidential elections and major ransomware attacks on critical American targets. China’s aggressive expansion in the South China Sea, its absorption of democratic Hong Kong and threats to Taiwan, its genocidal treatment of the Uighers, and its aggressive Belt and Road initiative to gain control of strategic resources and markets around the globe.

And let us not kid ourselves that the threat of major acts of terrorism against the United States has disappeared. Though it’s unpleasant to consider, Isis has metastasized into countless regions and countries far beyond simply Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria. It is now deep into Sub Saharan Africa, parts of Indonesia and making inroads wherever vacuums of power can be exploited.

Following such developing threats is unnerving, but let’s not put ourselves in the position of asking why we didn’t “connect the dots” earlier before the next major crisis falls upon us.

Losing Focus

BY CHRISTOPHER JONES