July 27, 2022
The DC chapter submitted the following statement to the District Department of Transportation in support of the timely completion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail and the Piney Branch to Blair Road section in particular:
The Washington DC Chapter of the Sierra Club supports the ongoing development of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, In particular we support the recommended design alternatives recommended by DDoT for the Blair Road to Piney Branch Road segment of the trail.In addition, where DDoT did not make a recommendation among three alternative alignments on VanBuren Street (segment 6), we support the 2-way protected bike lane alternative. The 2-block VanBuren Street segment goes past a playground. Accordingly, the presence of children in this area requires that they receive the highest possible level of protection. The 2-way protected bike lane offers that protection.
Finally, some of the recommended design alternatives necessarily require the loss of some parking spaces. DDoT has tried to keep that number to a minimum. We support the reductions where necessary, however, as an acceptable trade off between using public rights of way for private parking versus using these rights of way to safely promote a diversity of transportation modes, including biking.Finally, the chapter looks forward to the timely completion of the MBT. It is a vital resource to the communities through which it travels.