Happy New Year!
Last night was ANC 2B’s first meeting this year, and I have been elected Secretary of the Commission. It is an honor to be selected as an officer on my first term. Here is the lineup for 2019:
Chair: Daniel Warwick (2B02)
Vice Chair: Kari Cunningham (2B07)
Secretary: Aaron Landry (2B04)
Treasurer: Mike Silverstein (2B06)
Last night’s meeting was primarily focused on the 20th/21st/22nd St NW Protected Bike Lanes Project. DDOT is identifying a north-south route on the western side of Dupont to enable safe biking accommodations where they currently lack. There have been two major public meetings held by DDOT about this on May 23, 2018 and December 5, 2018, and it was recently before the ANC 2B’s Transportation and Public Infrastructure Committee. This committee had participation from residents along the proposed routes and developed a draft resolution that sought a compromise and consensus amongst neighbors. That resolution was introduced at last night’s ANC meeting.
Attendance last night was far higher than normal, filling most of the chairs and neighbors standing in rows in the back and out the door. Priority was given to let residents speak on the resolution. There was a variety of opinions, many of them on which street is more appropriate than another, and how much priority should be given to on-street parking. Every effort was made to allow everyone who wanted to be heard to speak before we would be kicked out of the facility around 11 p.m.
Consensus was not reached and the resolution was tabled. The ANC 2B may take up the matter in a future meeting.
I support a north-south protected bike lane in this area. I also support making sure there are connected, protected bike lanes so neighbors in our side of East Dupont can safely bike to Foggy Bottom, the West End, and George Washington University. I heard multiple testimonies in the last couple weeks from some parents who have children at Ross Elementary, for example, who noted that Francis-Stevens is the middle school for Ross, and want a safer way to get there. This was included in the draft resolution. I have also heard a significant amount of testimony from residents in surrounding areas outside of Dupont who want safer ways to bike on their commute so they do not have to drive a car into the neighborhood.
This is a DDOT project, and the role of the ANC is to exercise the opportunity to advise DDOT on the matter. In this case, as no motion was passed, DDOT will not receive formal advice from the ANC, for now. Considering the lack of consensus and that some neighbors expressed they were not aware of the project until recently, I believe tabling the matter was the right choice. I am also thankful to see a number of 2B04 neighbors who joined and provided input!
If you are interested in the project, I recommend signing up for the mailing list on the project’s website. As well, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this, as it is likely to be on a future agenda.
While there was other business on the agenda, some of it we did not get to none was specific to 2B04.
The next ANC 2B meeting will be on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. If there are agenda items specific to or of interest to 2B04, I’ll send an email in advance and reach out to neighbors. You can also receive notices of ANC 2B agendas and minutes by signing up in the right sidebar on the ANC 2B website.
In other local news:
- Steam Cafe on R St NW and 17th St NW is for sale.
- Hank’s Cocktail Bar, opening above Hank’s Oyster Bar on Q St NW, is slated for the end of January or early February.
- Over in Shaw, Union Kitchen is opening a new store in the old Glen’s location at 1924 8th St NW. Their opening party will have snacks and samples on Monday, January 21 from 5 to 9 p.m.
- Dockless scooters are now speed capped at 10 miles per hour. More about DDOT’s rulemaking on scooters for 2019 can be found here.
As always, keep in touch!
Aaron Landry
Secretary, ANC 2B
Commissioner, 2B04
Official: 2b04@anc.dc.gov
Personal: aaron@s4xton.com
Aaron Landry 