In 2011, the District received over 17 million visitors, many of whom traveled by motorcoach. These visitors spent approximately $6.03 billion in the District, generating an estimated $662 million in tax revenue.  The “DC Loves Buses” initiative was launched to recognize the group tour companies that bring business to the city, supporting tourism as the District’s second biggest industry, and to engage directly with drivers to promote the safe and efficient operation of motorcoaches in the city.

The day was a great success and the group reached over 250 motorcoach drivers. DDOT staff and more than 50 other participants from the local tourism industry spread out around the city to engage motorcoach drivers, recognize them for operating safely and educate them on the rules and regulations for operating a motorcoach in the District. Drivers were given copies of DDOT’s new pocket-sized Motorcoach Operators Guide – developed in collaboration with Destination DC and The Downtown Business Improvement District (BID). The Guide, which provides information on all aspects of operating a motorcoach in the city, was well received. As one driver noted “I always check the information on goDCgo before coming into the city but it will be great to have a resource that I can just keep with me and refer to.”

The event was also an opportunity to promote the District’s campaign to reduce engine idling, and over 140 drivers were nominated for the Driver Recognition Program for turning their engine off when stationary.  DDOT, along with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) and other regional partners has established the Idle Reduction Driver Recognition Program to commend commercial vehicle drivers who help to protect the city’s environment by respecting the idling laws.  You can find more information at www.turnyourengineoff.org.

We’d to thank the following DC Loves Buses Participants:

Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association
Sheraton Pentagon City
Entertainment Cruises
Phillips Seafood Restaurant
Foggy Bottom Grocery
Doubletree By Hilton
National Cherry Blossom Festival
Hampton Inn
National 4H Center
Mid-Atlantic Receptive Services
Open Top Sightseeing
National Geographic Museum
Holiday Inn Capitol
Madame Tussauds
Old Town Trolley
Four Points By Sheraton
Ronald Reagan Building
Comfort Inn Downtown
Ford’s Theatre
Medieval Times
Guild of Professional Tour Guides
Academy Bus
Days Inn Connecticut Avenue
Hyatt Regency Washington
Hyatt Arlington
Hard Rock Café
Transportation Management Services
Hilton Crystal City
Potomac Riverboat Company
Crime Museum
Comfort Inn Suites

New Wider Sidewalks

After five years of planning, design and construction the District of Transportation (DDOT) is nearing completion of the Wisconsin Avenue Streetscape Project. DDOT continues to monitor and review the Wisconsin Avenue corridor, and will undertake further improvements with the reconfiguration of the intersection at 37^th Street NW and Tunlaw Road NW this spring to discourage cut through traffic. Remaining work on the project includes striping arrows north of Calvert Street and switching out the remaining 250 watt streetlight bulbs with 150 watt bulbs, also north of Calvert Street NW.

Dedicated Left-turn Lanes

 The Wisconsin Streetscape Project stemmed from a 2006 Office of Planning study on the Glover Park commercial district, in which area stakeholders identified key areas for improvements: public realm and neighborhood identity, pedestrian and parking accessibility and a vibrant mix of neighborhood retail. Recommendations included public space improvements such as new ‘teardrop’ streetlights, widening sidewalks, creating shorter street crossings, and more visible crosswalks to create safer pedestrian circulation and mobility.  DDOT’s 2009 Glover Park Transportation Study studied the recommendations, collected data and – with significant input from community stakeholders and the ANC – moved these recommendations to implementation through the Wisconsin Avenue Streetscape Project. These collaborative efforts from planning to implementation have facilitated improvements to the quality of life for Glover Park residents, businesses and visitors. Listed below are the online links to the above mentioned studies.

 The project has brought key transportation enhancements to the Wisconsin Avenue corridor between 34^th Street NW and Massachusetts Avenue NW to ensure all users - from  pedestrians to motorists – traverse the corridor safely.

The most noticeable pedestrian-friendly improvements are the new wider and ADA accessible sidewalks along Wisconsin Avenue all of which include curb ramps.  This is a welcomed improvement, especially in areas of the corridor that previously had three-foot wide sidwalks, and proved difficult navigation for pedestrians with strollers or in wheelchairs. Additional streetscape improvements have also greatly enhanced the pedestrian environment in Glover Park:

• Curbs on 35th Street NW were redesigned with bulb-outs that facilitate nearly a 40% shorter crossing distance for pedestrians traversing the street
• Multiple bus stop locations were relocated to mitigate conflicts with pedestrian crossings
• Traffic signal timing on several signals were adjusted to provide a 3 to 4 second lead for pedestrians crossing the street. 

Vehicular traffic flows are now more predictable and efficient on Wisconsin Avenue as a result of new dedicated left-turn lanes that were installed and the upgrades made to the traffic signalization system.  These changes have eliminated the traffic backups previously caused by vehicles attempting to turn left from a mix-use travel lane. The through lane reductions have also raised capacity concerns on Wisconsin Avenue.  DDOT recognizes that the results of making the corridor more pedestrian friendly by reducing the number of through lanes will require a reduction in the vehicular running speed, and thus, increases in travel time for through traffic. We will continue to monitor and make signal adjustments/optimization to find the appropriate balance between travel speeds and pedestrian safety.

New ADA Wheelchair Ramps

 In addition to the new traffic configuration, the oadway was also repaved and restriped with new markings that are much more visible to help both motorists and pedestrians safely navigate the area.

 The Wisconsin Avenue Streetscape Project has been accomplished with significant input from community stakeholders and the ANCs over the course of several years.  DDOT thanks the community for their support and initiative.  DDOT will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to make further transportation and safety improvements for the Glover Park neighborhood and in neighborhoods across the District.

 For additional details about this project please contact:

Paul Hoffman – Project Manager
202-671-4696
paul.hoffman@dc.gov

 OP’s Glover Park Commercial District study: http://dcra.dc.gov/DC/Planning/In+Your+Neighborhood/Wards/Ward+3/Glover+Park+Commercial+District+Study+(Completed)

DDOT’s Glover Park Transportation study recommendations:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/44554896/Glover-Park-Transportation-Study-Final-Recommendations-Report

Ronaldo “Nick” Nicholson
DDOT Deputy Director and Chief Engineer

Young Students Watch a DDOT Planting Crew at Work

There is no shortage of pictures of children planting trees with big smiles on their faces, or perhaps college students or a neighborhood group volunteering on a Saturday. Such photos and the events from which they derive are the stock-in-trade of promotion in urban forestry. Volunteer planting efforts excite the public, engage all populations in beautifying our city while helping it function more like a natural ecosystem, and plant trees where they might otherwise not be. Yet in Washington, DC there is another, albeit less photogenic, side to urban tree planting that doesn’t make it in too many glossy brochures. It is the highly efficient professional street tree planting operation that has far fewer cherub smiles and far more calloused hands, but accounts for a large majority of the thousands of trees planted throughout Washington, DC every year.

The District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) is currently planting about 7,000 trees citywide this year during the colder months of dormancy. Far from saplings, these trees stand about 8 feet tall with approximately two inch wide trunks. This year’s effort includes about 2,800 more trees than UFA planted last year. Despite a hurricane and other hindrances, 3,200 of those trees were already in the ground less than two months after beginning (See a map of the first 3,200 locations and species).

Staking a newly planted tree

Planning: UFA’s planting effort starts long before any hole is dug. Certified arborists use their intimate knowledge of the streetscape in their portion of the city, along with asset management and mapping technologies, to plan a diverse mosaic of species in good locations for each one. Their priorities are to replace dying and warranty trees that were recently removed, fulfill planting requests from residents, and, eventually, fill every plantable tree box or strip in the District’s street right-of-way.

Planting the right tree in the right place is critical. Smaller trees are planted under power lines or in narrow tree boxes while larger trees are put in areas with more room for both their canopy and root system to expand. The goal is to maximize tree canopy and species viability for each location.

Planting: Contracted crews, making their livings improving the urban environment, are motivated to complete their daily planting lists as quickly and effectively as possible. These 3 to 4 person crews haul trailers loaded with about 20 trees per day and usually spend only 10-15 minutes at each planting location. They dig sometimes unforgiving urban soil, adding amendments to the soil as well as a non-toxic hydrogel that stores water and releases it during dry periods. They plant, water, mulch, and stake each sizable tree before most residents know they were even there.

Monitoring: A certified District of Columbia arborist follows each planting crew every day. The arborist inspects every tree, either approving or rejecting it before it ever leaves the trailer. On site, the arborist does neighborhood outreach to encourage tree adoption and makes sure each tree that is planted meets industry specifications and contractual obligations. This level of oversight is necessary because there is little room for error or hidden shortcuts amid the intense infrastructure of an urban street when it comes to new trees getting established and surviving against the odds.

Maintenance: Too often maintenance of new trees falls by the wayside, but DC’s street trees are maintained under warranty. The contractor regularly provides a specified amount of water to each tree and replaces, free of charge to the District, any tree that does not survive its first year (exceptions, such as vandalism or a vehicle running into a tree, are obviously not the responsibility of the contractor).

Planting Requests: UFA prioritizes citizen planting requests made through the District’s 311 service request system (311.dc.gov or call 311). Individuals can suggest a preferred species and the arborists try to fulfill those wishes whenever possible. Requests must be received by June 15^th to make it onto the following autumn planting list.

Just as we get requests for trees, sometimes we get requests from folks who don’t want trees planted near their home or business. Our response is that street trees are for the greater good; they are considered a public asset providing environmental, social, and economic benefits. They are planted and maintained in as many viable street locations as possible to help reach the Mayor’s citywide goal of 40% tree canopy coverage.

Tree Adoption: To help residents and businesses fulfill their obligation to provide basic upkeep to the curb near their properties, DDOT will provide a free covered watering device for each tree adopted through the Canopy Keeper program. This once-a-week effort to water and clean tree boxes is a successful public-private partnership that provides critical support to the trees more consistently than just contractor watering; the trees have a chance to not just survive but thrive in their early years.

As UFA’s professional planting operation has been refined over the years, it has proven to be a successful, efficient means of expanding urban canopy, beautifying the streetscape, improving air and water quality, and minimizing tree mortality within the most intense and unforgiving urban habitats for trees.

Ian Leahy
Urban and Community Forestry
Coordinator

The holidays are the season of giving, a time when many people go out of their way to be charitable. In that spirit, many DDOT employees are making selfless contributions, big and small, to help others less fortunate than themselves.

Some are participating in the annual DC One Fund campaign, a very high profile effort spearheaded by the Mayor to raise a $1 million dollars for local charities and organizations. But we discovered some DDOT employees are making a difference in a much quieter way, but with just as big an impact on the recipients of their kindness.

Alex Carmona-Rodriquez shows his mom one of the toys he got from DDOT Employees

Staff in the Street and Bridge Maintenance Division (SBM) took it upon themselves to help less fortunate students in the District of Columbia Public School system. They reached out to the LaSalle-Backus Education Campus – which is not far from the SBM facility in Northeast DC – and were put in touch with social worker Yoland Ugorji.

Ms. Ugorji identified a family she felt not only needed but also deserved a helping hand over the holidays, Victoria Rodriquez, Juan Carmona and their four children, Karen (11), Michelle (10), Alex (8) and Cynthia (4).

“I knew they were struggling” said Mr. Ugorji, “But even so, their children were always in school.”

Social Worker Yoland Ugorji with Victoria Rodriquez and 3 of her Chidren

With staffer Angela Pettus and Antania Henderson leading the charge, the Street and Bridge team collected more than $1000 in donations and purchased gifts for the Camona-Rodriquez children – lots of gifts – including bicycles, toys, clothes and a small tablet computer. They presented the gifts to the very grateful family at the Street and Bridge Branch’s annual holiday party today.

4 year old Cynthia with some of her gifts

“Incredible,” added Ms. Ugorji. “I don’t know how I’m going to be able to describe this to the principal.”

“It was wonderful,” said Ms. Pettus. “One of the kids said ‘I got everything on my list’ and they might not have gotten anything. It’s a great feeling.”

It was an effort to make the holidays special for others, but as is often the case, giving was as much a gift as receiving.

Happy Holidays to all of you from DDOT!

New signage along South Capitol Street

Signs of progress for the DC Streetcar are starting to appear around the District. Along South Capitol Street, for instance, work has begun on the Testing and Commissioning Site. The 3 streetcar vehicles the District already owns are expected to arrive at the site in February/March for testing and driver training, which will prepare them for operations on the H Street/Benning Road Line. DDOT already has an experienced operations and maintenance team on board and vehicle testing on the H/Benning tracks is scheduled to begin in October.

Work on Maintenance Pit at Anacostia Testing Site

There is also activity on H and Benning. While 80% of construction for the line was completed in 2011 during the Great Streets project, the final 20% began this month. Through October 2013, when streetcar vehicles will arrive in the corridor, we will be hard at work putting the finishing touches on H Street and Benning Road to make them streetcar-ready. On December 17 we met with business owners and other stakeholders in the corridor to update them on the planned work and construction schedule – the materials from that meeting are available on the DC Streetcar website.

Concept Rendering of Car Barn Training Center

Design work continues on the Car Barn Training Center (CBTC) as well. The Spingarn campus was granted historic designation in late November and DDOT is working with the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) to refine the design. We’re also working with DCPS on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the student training program that will be housed in the facility.

We can also update you on the 3 additional streetcars the District has ordered. They are starting to take shape at the U.S. manufacturer, Oregon Iron Works, and are on track to be delivered in August (2 cars) and December (1 car).

One of the new vehicles being prepped for painting

Meanwhile, work continues on the Environmental Assessment for the planned Anacostia streetcar line and a draft document is expected in the New Year.

As you can see, there are a lot of moving parts – including safety oversight, public outreach and the planning of future lines – and our goal is to keep everyone up-to-date on the progress as all of this critical work advances; that includes you, who we hope will ride the streetcars, and the media who share this information with their audiences.

To that end, Last week, DDOT hosted area reporters and bloggers for a DC Streetcar update briefing. The Washington Post, Greater Greater Washington, WAMU, WMAL, NBC 4 and DCist were represented and a couple even live tweeted. (See Twitter chatter here.)

Media Briefing on DC Streetcar Program

Questions ranged from what happens if a vehicle breaks down, to whether the in-production vehicles will be delivered on time, to how fast the vehicles can travel, to how fares will be collected. Several very informative articles were published as a result of the briefing and we encourage you to read them:

D.C. Streetcar Tests Will Begin In March
WAMU 88.5
December 13, 2012
By Martin Di Caro

Start seeing streetcars soon
Greater Greater Washington
December 13, 2012
By David Alpert

D.C. Officials Confident That Streetcars Will Roll in 2013
DCist
December 13, 2012
By Martin Austermuhle

D.C. to Start Testing Streetcars Next Spring
Transportation Nation
December 14, 2012
By Martin Di Caro

Keeping the media informed is just one of the many ways the DC Streetcar communications team is reaching out to the public.

Other ways to stay up to date on all things DC Streetcar include:

• Visit our website!                            www.dcstreetcar.com (New website to debut in 2013!!)
• Follow us on Twitter!                     @DCStreetcar
• Visit us on Facebook!                     www.facebook.com/dcstreetcar
• Sign up for our email list!              http://www.dcstreetcar.com/stay-informed.html
• Read our latest newsletter!           December Special Issue – H/Benning Construction

We look forward to keeping you posted on all things DC Streetcar as we prepare to enter 2013 – it will be a big year for this big program!

DC Streetcar Team

Gender

The gender split has remained relatively consistent at about 77% male to 23% female.

Helmet Usage

In Washington, helmet usage has remained consistent with approximately 75% of cyclists choosing to wear helmets.

Sidewalk Riding

Please note that the percentage of sidewalk riding is inflated because 6 of the 19 locations are on bridges over the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers where sidewalk riding is recommended; however, in general sidewalk riding is discouraged, and is forbidden in the Central Business District (CBD).  While there has been some fluctuation over the last nine years, the trend for the last three years has been a reduction in the number of cyclists on sidewalks.

Capital Bike Share Usage

For counting locations that were in proximity to Capital Bike Share stations, in 2012 we requested that the counts distinguish between privately owned bikes and Capital Bikeshare bikes.  13 of the 19 locations have such counts, with bikeshare bikes representing between less than 1% to 12% of all bikes (see chart below).

Next steps

Since 2008, COG has been collecting reliable bicycle count information at approximately 40 locations.  When time allows, we plan on entering all of this data in the bicycle count database to get a more accurate picture of citywide and neighborhood-specific cycling rates.   In addition, we hope to collaborate with our IT department to develop an interactive online database.

Mike Goodno
Bicycle Program Specialist

Addng Green Paint on I Street at S. Capitol Street

The goal is to improve the visibility of the bike lanes and cyclists using them, and to reinforce that a cyclist traveling through an intersection has the right-of-way over a motorist making a turn.  Research of similar lanes in Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas has shown an increase in the yielding behavior of motorists and a reduction in bicycle conflicts with turning motorists.

The locations already completed include:

1. I Street and South Capitol Street
2. C Street NE between 15^th and 16^th Streets
3. 14^th and Rhode Island Avenue, NW
4. R Street, NW between Rhode Island Avenue and 7^th Street
5. R Street, NW and Connecticut Avenue
6. 4^th Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NE
7. Calvert Street and Connecticut Avenue, NW
8. Columbia Road and 18^th Street, NW
9. 4^th Street, and I Street, SW

R Street, NW at Connecticut Ave

DDOT has been training and using its own crews to apply the green paint. That will build
the expertise in-house to install and maintain them more rapidly in the future.

15th and C Streets, NE

It’s Not Just Paint

To color the lanes DDOT is using a product called Ride-A-Way™ which the manufacturer describes as “a durable, colorized, slip resistant and skid resistant coating suitable for delineating areas for preferential use such as bike lanes, bus lanes and other vehicular or pedestrian traffic uses.”

This type of coating is used for bike lanes in other cities including New York and Baltimore, as well as our neighbor to the south, Arlington County.

What You Should Know About Green Lanes

The green paint doesn’t guarantee safety – that requires your cooperation. Here’s some information that will help everyone share the road.

Motorists: 

• By DC law, cyclists are granted the same rights and responsibilities as operators of motor vehicles.  When making a right-turn, DC regulations require you to make that turn as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.  This means that you should look, and yield, for cyclists before merging across the bike lane to make your turn. This should be done whether the lane is colored or not.
• For bike lanes that are to the left of a right-turn lane, you should look for cyclists that will be merging from the right side of the road to the new location of the bike lane.  DDOT has colored some of these “merging zones” to highlight the areas where cyclists and cars must make this maneuver.
• In addition, the bike lane may be colored on the approach to the intersection to emphasize that this is a dedicated space for bicyclists.  Do not drive in this area.  This is a reserved space for bicycle travel.

Cyclists:     

• The green paint is being used to highlight conflict areas.  These are places where cyclists and cars cross paths, such as an intersection approach where cyclists must merge to the left of a dedicated right-turn lane, or where cars must cross the bike lane to make a right-turn.
• The paint is meant to improve the visibility of the bicycle lane, and has been proven to increase motor vehicle yielding behavior.  However, please remember that you should continue to follow all rules of the road.  By DC law, cyclists are granted the same rights and responsibilities as operators of motor vehicles.

L Street Cycletrack

Over the next few weeks DDOT will be resurfacing L Street, NW and adding a protected bike lane on the north side on the roadway between New Hampshire Avenue and 12th Street, NW.  The separated lane is designed to give bicyclists more protection from cars than a typical bike lane, and to prevent delivery vehicles from illegally parking in the bike lane.  However, there will be merging zones at intersections where vehicles and bicycles may cross paths and those areas will be marked with green paint as well.

Typical Intersection on L Street, NW

Green Lane Project

This might just confuse you, but the District is also one of 6 U.S. cities participating in the Green Lane Project. “Green” in this case doesn’t necessarily mean green paint; green lanes are dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes in the roadway, protected by curbs, planters, posts or parked cars. Like the L Street cycletrack or the bike lanes on 15^th Street, NW and Pennsylvania Avenue.

DDOT is working with the national bicycling nonprofit Bikes Belong Foundation to identify additional opportunities for new bicycle infrastructure in the District. For more information about the initiative visit www.greenlaneproject.org.

For more information about DDOT’s Bicycle Program visit dc.ddot.gov/bikes.

Sam Zimbabwe, DDOT Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Sustainability
Jim Sebastian, DDOT Supervisory Transportation Planner
Mike Goodno, DDOT Bicycle Program Specialist

Plan for Washington Circle

The project will include the complete reconstruction of the New Hampshire Avenue from M Street to the south side of Dupont Circle, and the resurfacing of New Hampshire between H and M Streets, Washington Circle, and 22^nd Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and K Street.

New Hampshire Avenue, between Washington Circle and M Street, will be converted from one-way to two-way traffic, at the request of the community. The addition of a southbound lane on New Hampshire is expected to relieve some of the congestion on 23^rd Street, make it easier for residents to circulate in their neighborhood and patronize local businesses. It will also allow for the addition of two-way bicycle lanes, providing a continuous link for cyclists between Washington and Dupont Circles.

Design for Intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and L Street

The sidewalks will also be restored, including the brick sidewalks between H Street and Washington Circle, where New Hampshire Avenue abuts the Foggy Bottom Historic District.

Brick over concrete provides long-term durability similar to concrete sidewalks since the concrete slab below deters deterioration due to cracking/settling. Brick over concrete is also consistent with the sidewalks on New Hampshire from 24^th Street to Washington Circle. In addition, they will match the brick sidewalks that already exist along George Washington Hospital’s frontage and those approved for the new School of Public Health and Health Services Building.

Pedestrians in Washington Circle

These plans were developed with community leaders and residents who have been engaged in the planning process as far back as 2005. Recommendations from the Washington Circle Pedestrian-Vehicle Traffic Study were incorporated into the project and in February 2008 DDOT and National Park Service representatives attended an ANC 2A meeting to discuss the plans. Later, in collaboration with the ANC, DDOT considered and agreed to modify the designs and restore two-way traffic on New Hampshire Avenue.

As the project engineering progressed, DDOT shared the 65% and 90% designs with ANC 2A and 2B in March 2010 and January 2011 respectively. The final plans and construction schedules were shared with the community at meetings in August, as the project neared the start of construction.

The ANCs, neighborhood residents and businesses have been great partners and DDOT feels very comfortable with the level of public outreach conducted as this project took shape, and we know the project has broad support in the community. Moreover, the plans are sound – this is a well-designed project – and it will upgrade the infrastructure of this neighborhood to the benefit of its residents. We are excited about beginning construction on these needed improvements, and when the work is done we will have a project we can all be proud of.

Ronaldo “Nick” Nicholson
DDOT Chief Engineer

For more information about the New Hampshire Avenue Project, visit www.newhampshireavestreetscape.com.

Over the summer, while the children were hopefully enjoying their time off, our Field Operations crews have been busy adding new pavement markings to alert drivers when they are approaching school zones. DDOT also deploys dozens of school crossing guards to crossing points across the city before and after school each day.

But, we all have assignments when it comes to protecting our children. First and foremost, DDOT’s Safe Routes to School program reminds drivers to take extra precaution when travelling in school zones, because a child is no match for a heavy car. Also, students walking and biking to school can take a few simple steps to help protect themselves. We offer the following tips for everyone – follow them and you might get a gold star for safety!

Reminders for Drivers:

•  Slow down. Observe the speed limit in school zones at all times.
• Be especially careful when driving on neighborhood streets and around school zones. Always expect the unexpected.
• If your car is parked in an area signed “No Parking School Days,” be sure to move it by the start time on the sign.
• Watch for children on bicycles, especially at intersections.
• Drivers should avoid distractions while driving, such as texting, talking on cell phones, eating and adjusting the radio.
• Stop your car when you see lights flashing on a school bus. Red flashing lights indicate that the bus is stopped and students are getting on or off. Don’t start driving until the red lights stop flashing. Be aware that a child may dash across the street.

Safety Tips for Pedestrians:

• Walk in groups; there is safety in numbers. Groups are more likely to be seen by drivers. Consider starting a “walking school bus,” in which an adult accompanies a group of neighborhood children walking to school.
• Cross the street safely:
• Stop at the curb, or the edge of the street.
  o Look left, right, left and behind you and in front of you for traffic.
  o Wait until no traffic is coming and begin crossing.
  o Walk, don’t run across the street.
• Do not text or talk on cell phones while walking and/or crossing street.

Safety Tips for Bicyclists:

• Wear a helmet.
• Look and listen for traffic and other things that could make you fall, like potholes and storm grates.
• Watch for vehicles going in and out of driveways and alleys.
• Keep both hands on the handlebars, except when signaling.
• Stop before crossing the street, entering a road, or turning. Look left, right, left, and behind you for traffic, including pedestrians, bicycles, and cars.
• If you are allowed to ride in the street:
  o Ride in single file and in the same direction as cars.
  o Ride to the right side of the road, but far enough away from parked cars to avoid any car doors that suddenly open.
  o Obey traffic laws.
  o Be predictable. Ride in a straight line, not in and out of cars. Use hand signals.
• Do not text or talk on cell phones or listen to headphones while biking.

We’re Here to Help:

Do you want to continue the conversation about safe walking and biking at your child’s school? Did you know that the District Department of Transportation is available to help schools create Safe Routes to School Action Plans?

Schools that sign up for the program will receive the following:

• Help with the identification of barriers to safe walking and bicycling to school and the development of a Safe Routes to School Action Plan to address the barriers. The Action Plan will cover each of the five E’s (education, engineering, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation).
• Pedestrian and bicycle safety training in the classroom.
• Ideas about what has worked at other schools across the country.
• Technical assistance with the implementation of education, enforcement, evaluation, and encouragement programs.
• Expert assistance in the development of engineering recommendations to improve the safety of children walking and bicycling to school.
• Small prizes to be used as incentives to encourage students to walk and bicycle to school.

SAVE THE DATE! Wednesday, October 3, 2012 is International Walk to School Day.  Register and learn more about how to get started by visiting www.walkbiketoschool.org.

Let’s all keep safety as top priority to provide a safe and promising school year for our children!

Learn More: If you would like to learn more about the Safe Routes to School program, please contact me at 202-671-2227 or jennifer.hefferan@dc.gov.

Jennifer Hefferan
DDOT Safe Routes to School Coordinator

We agree that pedestrian safety is an issue that deserves widespread attention and should continue to be the focus of engineering, enforcement and education efforts like the regional Street Smart Campaign. However, we also would like to offer a little perspective on the numbers.

The Post pointed out that the NHTSA report shows that of the 24 traffic fatalities in the District in 2010, 54% were pedestrians. That is an unusually high proportion, the highest in the nation apparently.

But are the streets of the District really getting more dangerous for pedestrians? What wasn’t highlighted in the coverage by the Post and other media outlets was that in 2010 the District had the lowest total number of traffic fatalities in history. The number of pedestrian deaths was also below the 5 year average (16 per year).

In reality, the number of fatal crashes involving pedestrians in the District is not going up, it’s going down. In 2011, there were 11 pedestrian fatalities in DC, the third lowest total ever recorded in the city, and this year, as of July 1, there have been only 3 pedestrian fatalities and a total of 8 traffic fatalities. Those are remarkable numbers and if our luck holds, we could see record lows in both categories in 2012.

These trends are very encouraging and we hope they show DDOT’s partnership with MPD to make our streets safer through improvements in the pedestrian environment, education, and enforcement is paying off. But we also know the pitfalls of gloating about statistics – they can always turn against you down the road. As we expand transportation options and have more people walking in biking, the number of collisions involving pedestrians can increase, even as the overall rate declines. And in the last three years, that’s exactly what we’ve seen: even though traffic fatalities are on the decline, total non-fatal crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists have increased.

We’ve still got work to do, and everyone has to do their part. Many people suspect that walking while distracted has contributed to the increase in collisions involving pedestrians, and common sense dictates you should pay full attention when you’re crossing the street. While “text walkers” have become a symbol of the multi-tasking age we live in, they can be a danger, particularly to themselves. Earlier this year a truck backed over a pedestrian who was wearing earphones and could not hear the vehicle’s warning beeps.

The largest category of pedestrian crashes in DC occurs when a pedestrian is in the crosswalk with the walk signal and is struck by a vehicle turning right or left. The driver has the legal responsibility to yield right of way to pedestrians, and more patience and caution behind the wheel could prevent many of these collisions. It’s also good practice for pedestrians to be “defensive” and not distracted by phones or music when crossing the street.

The bottom line is many pedestrian crashes are preventable, and while we’re encouraged to see the number of fatalities decline, what we really hope to celebrate in the not too distant future is a year without a single traffic fatality.

Sam Zimbabwe, DDOT Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Sustainability
George Branyan, DDOT Pedestrian Program Coordinator