Testimony of
Josh Albertson
Smart Growth Committee, Sierra Club DC Chapter
Before the
Transportation & the Environment Committee
on
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Regarding
B23-242, the Bicycle Advisory Council Expansion Amendment Act of 2019;
B23-257, the Mandatory Protected Cycling Lane Amendment Act of 2019;
B23-288, the Vision Zero Enhancement Omnibus Amendment Act of 2019;
B23-292, the Curb Extensions Act of 2019; and
B23-293, the Cyclist Safety Campaign Amendment Act of 2019.
I’m Josh Albertson, a volunteer for the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club. Thank you, Councilmember Cheh, for convening this hearing and for being a champion of smart growth and transportation issues in DC. The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest environmental advocacy group, and we have 3,000 dues-paying members in DC.
Back in April, after the tragic week when Dave Salovesh and Abdul Seck were killed, the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club wrote an open letter to the Council of DC expressing our disappointment with the lack of action by the DC Council when it comes to making our streets safe for pedestrians and cyclists and encouraging safer and greener modes of transportation. Specifically, this letter called upon all DC Councilmembers to draft and implement legislation that will speed up the process of building new bike lanes by requiring that the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) install protected bike lanes that are recommended in the MoveDC plan whenever a road undergoes significant repair or capital improvement.
The Sierra Club is grateful that the Transportation and Environment Committee is meeting today to hear comments on several bills to help DC residents and visitors feel safe to use sustainable modes of transportation – including walking, cycling, and other forms of microtransit, such as electric scooters. We are here today to speak in support of four bills which have the potential to move DC’s transportation landscape in a safer, more sustainable direction: B23-257, the Mandatory Protected Cycling Lane Amendment Act of 2019; B23-288, the Vision Zero Enhancement Omnibus Amendment Act of 2019; B23-292, the Curb Extensions Act of 2019; and B23-293, the Cyclist Safety Campaign Amendment Act of 2019. We want to thank Councilmember Allen and the other respective members who introduced these bills.
The DC Sierra Club chapter believes that safer infrastructure such as protected bicycle lanes are vital to achieving DC’s climate commitments to Net Zero Carbon and Vision Zero -- twin goals crucial to protecting public health and safety. Beyond the global considerations, we recognize that deaths on our streets disproportionately occur along high-volume roadways in communities of concern, and that the deaths, injuries, and pollution resulting from a high volume of traffic sent down routes like New York Avenue or DC-295 is an environmental injustice.
Climate Goals
Transportation is responsible for more than a fifth of DC's emissions, according to the Department of Energy and Environment's Greenhouse Gas Inventory. To meet DC’s climate commitments of 50 percent emissions reductions by 2032 and carbon neutrality by 2050, the District needs to considerably reduce the amount of vehicle miles traveled. A major way to do that, which is recognized in the MoveDC plan, is to get people onto zero-emissions modes like walking and biking instead of traveling in energy-intensive cars. This can only happen in significant numbers by creating a safe environment everywhere across our city so everyone can feel that bicycles, walking, and new alternatives like electric scooters are reasonable and safe alternatives to driving. We support provisions in bills B23-288 and B23-293 that would adopt several of the safety recommendations within the MoveDC plan to improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety in the district.
The MoveDC plan also needs to be updated to make sure that the plan is on-track to achieve its goal of moving 75 percent of commuter trips out of private vehicles. To this end, we support a provision in B23-288 that would require the MoveDC plan to be updated every two years.
Expediting Change
While councilmembers and DDOT staff have done commendable work on planning for a sustainable future and improving bicycling infrastructure and laws, unfortunately this issue has not received the urgency it deserves. We are in the midst of a climate crisis. DC residents are continuing to die in avoidable traffic incidents in numbers higher than when DC initially adopted Vision Zero. Meanwhile, the existing process unfortunately spends too much time addressing complaints and hostility that are ultimately rooted in our decades-long history of promoting vehicular traffic and the needs of drivers over the needs of commuters using alternatives. The city’s Vision Zero and climate goals are not compatible with this car-centric mentality, and the MoveDC plan has already laid out a carefully thought-out plan for the city’s transportation future to achieve these wider goals. Therefore, the Sierra Club strongly support the provisions in bills B23-288, B23-292, and B23-257 which would expedite the process to construct bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and other traffic safety improvements in alignment with the MoveDC plan and other expert recommendations.
We are aware of some of the concerns about the citizen enforcement provisions within bill B23-288. However, the lack of compliance with laws is a common problem. Pedestrians and cyclists have the right to space specifically designed for them. Private vehicle and fleet operators are too often parking or stopping in bicycle lanes or crosswalks, forcing bikes and pedestrians into traffic where drivers are not expecting them or cannot see them. This increases conflict zones and the potential for serious accidents. We believe that better enforcement will lead to better compliance, and thereby a more comfortable walking and bicycling environment leading to more trips by these modes. The Sierra Club applauds the effort to address this shortcoming and believe reasonable accommodations can be made to address some concerns raised about the citizen enforcement provisions. We also support B23-293 because better drivers’ awareness of bicyclist’s rights should also help improve compliance with these laws.
Summary
I thank the committee for the opportunity and time to speak to you on behalf of the DC Sierra Club on these important issues and proposed legislation. We look forward to a constructive discussion on these proposals and their expeditious implementation into law.