Backtracking on Cycletracks

Great. Look out DC bike amenities, here comes the death-by-not-quite-enough-enthusiasm that many feared from the new mayor. Well, his new DDOT director, but same thing. At Director Bellamy's confirmation hearing - wow, before he's even official - the playing to the wrong crowd has begun:

Much of last week’s confirmation hearing for DDOT Director Terry Bellamy went smoothly.  He said the right things, including stating support for improved bicycling.  But when asked about specific projects, things went less smoothly. Specifically, Director Bellamy said that the L and M Street cycletracks were “on hold” and that “we may not do them” due to concerns over parking removal.

Now there's some courage and vision. Click here for the full post on the WABA blog. And more importantly, if you want to express support for the promised downtown cycletracks, click here.

Where have you gone, Gabe Klein? A city turns its lonely eyes to you.

A victory lap of sorts

Earlier I saw a tweet from outgoing head of DDOT Gabe Klein who, along with friends and folks from various DC bike orgs, planned an informal happy-hour bike jaunt around some of DC's cycletracks and bike lanes this evening. So I joined 'em.

It was like touring the legacy, especially with some people using CaBis. I suppose it could have been a bummer, what with the uncertainty about the intentions of the incoming mayor. I'm not big on the whole organized ride thing personally, but this was cool. It felt like a victory (and farewell) lap around some of Gabe's signature efforts. Maybe like Cal Ripken's final jog around Camden Yards. Anyway the caroling kept it festive and it wasn't too cold.

We rode down the 17th Street bike lanes, past the White House, caught the tail end of the 15th Street cycletrack, across on the Pennsylvania Ave cycletrack, through Chinatown, back up 15th Street, ending with a few drinks at Marvin back at 14th and U.