How to Slow a Street
Suggestions for letting DC know you want more space for walking and cycling during social distancing
One month into weeks into D.C.’s Stay At Home order, street traffic is down 86% since January. Homebound and restless residents are feeling the weather warm — and understandably eyeing the outside world.
However, attempting to get some fresh air while social distancing on crowded sidewalks and trails can be frustrating. While cities around the nation and world have risen to the challenge and closed off streets to private vehicles — achieving what many advocates are calling “slow streets” — D.C. has done comparatively little, opening some routes in the woods to pedestrians and cyclists and adding about a few feet of walking space near five grocery stores.
Mayor Bowser, burned early on by crowding near the flowering cherry blossoms, and then at the fish market in Southwest, has been resistant to embrace many of these strategies. On the KoJo Nnamdi show on April 3, in response to a listener question about blocking cars from streets, Mayor Bowser said:
“It is a strategy, certainly, that I’ve heard about, and I’ve heard about it from a number of people. I am concerned about it however, because what I don’t want it to turn into is a festival. I had to send the National Guard and MPD around the Tidal Basin to keep people from going to see our beautiful cherry trees. And the streets around it was kind of like a festival.”
But that was in early April. Now, many residents have been inside for over six weeks, and are facing a summer with no pools, beaches, or parks. Other leaders who have resisted changes are reversing themselves, including New York mayor Bill de Blasio, who recently announced that the city would aim to open up as much as 100 miles of roadway.
For cities like Milan and NYC, each hit hard by coronavirus, changing the roadways is not a nice perk, it’s part of a strategy for adapting to a world changed by the pandemic. Milan has some of the worst air quality in Italy, which has correlated with high mortality for Covid-19. Now that driving is down, they plan to keep it that way, and help residents’ lungs in the process.
The “festivals” argument shows a lack of faith and trust in D.C. residents, and equates health, safety and access to public space with frivolity. But to the mayor’s credit, she is now moving forward with the next phase of the city’s response to coronavirus in a careful, considered way. On Monday, Mayor Bowser announced the ReOpen DC Advisory Group, which has a Transportation and Infrastructure committee.
While the Advisory Group and its committees are chock full of big-wigs — Adrian Fenty and Susan Rice and Michael Chertoff — they want your feedback, too. There is now a ReOpen DC survey, where you can share your thoughts on the city’s next steps. You can even provide feedback directly for the Transportation and Infrastructure committee, and you should.
Like we did for your comments to the Comprehensive Plan, we have bullet point suggestions that you can take for yourself, modify, and mix in with your other thoughts about how the city should recover from the pandemic in other ways. We hope you’ll find these useful and let the city know what you think.
How can we phase a reopening of the District to align with our values and priorities?
- It must be made safer to walk and bike while socially distancing.
- Trust us to be active participants in our own safety and well-being by slowing the streets.
- Walking and cycling are not just nice diversions, they’re essential transportation, now and going forward. These are our streets and we deserve access to them.
- The pandemic doesn’t reduce the urgency of the Vision Zero Omnibus bill or the seven others introduced alongside it. Don’t forget about these bills, because the streets are still dangerous.
What innovations or changes have occurred during COVID-19 that we should think about continuing?
- DDOT has been successful at innovating and installing “quick-build” infrastructure projects. Give them wider latitude to experiment and implement these projects.
- The new “sidewalk enhancements” are in the right spirit, but they’re not enough. Completely block off traffic lanes near grocery stores and other essential businesses.
- It’s a good idea to restrict cars from Beach Drive and roads within Rock Creek Park, but also doesn’t go nearly far enough.
How do we reopen and move toward recovery in ways that further equity, especially given the inequities we have seen in public health outcomes? What inequities do we need to be aware of as we make our reopening plans?
- Tailor the frequency and availability of transit, especially Metrobus, to the demands of different parts of the city. Wards 7 and 8 have lower rates of car ownership and many essential workers. Running more busses where they are still needed reduces overcrowding and risk of coronavirus spread.
- Lower income neighborhoods deserve parks too. Wealthier parts of the city have parks without fences and gates, which remain effectively “open” at all times.
Please share your ideas for Reopening DC.
- Find a way to safely reopen some city parks safely like Seattle
- Consider and plan for limited access to outdoor facilities like pools and basketball courts
- Prioritize safe access to trails and parks like Philadelphia and Minneapolis
- Prioritize safe access to grocery stores and other essential businesses, with more than a few more feet of sidewalk.
- Restrict private vehicle traffic on select streets, like NYC and Oakland
- Add more temporary protected bike lanes, like Brussels
- Consider temporary vehicle-free corridors for outdoor cafe-style seating in the street, like Vilnius, Lithuania
- Many vehicles have been speeding on the empty streets, which is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists, who are increasingly using the street. Lower speed limits and install traffic calming measures and road diets where appropriate, especially in residential areas.
- I recognize that many of these changes will be temporary, but DDOT should analyze them and consider their continued use if they are found to advance the city’s environmental, equity and safety goals.
- “Reopening” cannot only be about getting back to normal
[You can also mix and match from these for the Transportation and Infrastructure committee’s survey, here.]
After you complete the survey, the website will give you a PDF of your comments. We’d really appreciate it, if you feel comfortable, sharing your responses with us and Greater Greater Washington. They have done important advocacy in this area and are also interested in learning what you care about. You can attach your PDF of responses to an email and send it to hello@730dc.com, joshkramercomics@gmail.com and action@ggwash.org. Thank you!
