A group of residents in the Shaw neighborhood are pushing back against new bike lanes planned in their neighborhood.
Shaw residents held a rally Saturday against a plan to establish protected bike lanes along 11th Street NW south of Florida Avenue.
Residents said they worry about traffic with the incoming project, saying it will cut parking spaces near people’s homes. They also raised safety concerns.
“I don’t want my 16-year-old daughter to have to park further from our home because you’ve taken away three parking spaces in front of our home, “ Tania Shand , a resident of the neighborhood, said. “And for what?”
Matthew Roy, another resident, said he’s seen a safety issue with the proposed bike lanes.
Julius Lofton of Lofton Tailoring said, "I have customers that call me and first thing they say is, ‘Mr. Lofton, I want to patronize you, but every time I come in, I get a ticket," he said.
The Washington Area Bicyclists Association supports the plan.
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“We already have a ton of bike lanes going up 11th Street and we’re just connecting the project,” said Alyssa Proudfoot Siegel of WABA.
“When we’re connecting people to their city, then we’ll be able to take more cars off the road, make the streets safer for all users, especially vulnerable users,” she added.
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According to moveDC, a long-term transportation initiative developed by the District Department of Transportation, about 4.5% of commuters biked to work in 2018 and more than 5 million dockless bicycle and scooter trips were taken in D.C. in 2019.
Residents said they’ll meet with DDOT soon and hope to see some changes to the plan.
