Dir. Lott to Visit Site Wednesday, 3 pm
Resident Will Report Parked Car Was Totaled
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is contending an escalating conflict in the Grant Circle NW neighborhood in Ward 4 between neighbors wanting to access and use their cars and bicyclists wanting to use the recently installed Protected Bike Lane (PBL). To make room for the PBL, DDOT narrowed vehicular traffic to a single lane. This has led residents to complain of nighttime traffic crashes, lost parking, and difficulty in egressing from parked cars.
DDOT Director Everett Lott is scheduled to revisit the site today, Wednesday, August 2, at 3 pm, at the 3900 block of 5th St., NW.
Lott, along with Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, first met with the community on April 25, to hear complaints.
News of the public meeting surfaced on social media this week, with comments that disparaged local residents. Bike advocates have been urged to show up to counter the neighbors’ complaints.
One distraught neighbor had to replace her car after an early morning hit-and-run crash totaled her parked vehicle. In addition, she will bring the disturbing direct account to DDOT Dir. Lott that a second accident has already damaged her new car.
Last week a Washington Post editorial wrote, “DC-area residents travel in a land of scofflaws,” but that ignores the fact that DDOT street design is a major part of the problem. “When you accept the premise that every mode of transit has a right to every street, the plan becomes reckless,” said Nick DelleDonne with the DC Safe Streets Coalition (formerly Coalition on DDOT Bike Plans).
DDOT revisits the site today, August 2, at 3 pm at 5th and Upshur Streets NW.
Release: Thursday, August 3rd, 2023
Contact: Nick DelleDonne
delledonne.n@comcast.net, 703 929 6656