DC Needs to Invest in Transit, Bike and Pedestrian Safety, and Electrified Transportation

Written Testimony
of
Mike Litt, Sierra Club DC Chapter
For the District Department of Transportation Budget Oversight Hearing
Before the Council of the District of Columbia’s
Committee on Transportation & The Environment
30 April 2024

Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony for the budget oversight hearing for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). My name is Mike Litt. I am a car free renter in Ward 6 and Chair of the Sierra Club DC Chapter’s Sustainable Transportation Committee. Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. Here in DC, we have 3,000 dues-paying members and many thousands of supporters.

According to the District of Columbia's Multimodal Long-Range Transportation Plan, also known as “moveDC”, transportation is the District’s second leading source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for 21% of such emissions.^[1]

DDOT, therefore, plays a critical role in meeting the District’s mandate for a 60% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2045, as required by the Climate Commitment Amendment Act.^[2]

In this testimony I will present recommendations for Mayor Bowser’s proposed FY 2025 DDOT budget^[3] to make this shift by continuing DC’s progress towards a safe and sustainable transportation system – with improved transit service and infrastructure, heightened bike and pedestrian safety, and increased electrification.

Transit Service and Infrastructure

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

We support the proposed increase of $216,734,000 for WMATA in the mayor’s proposed budget, which, as DDOT Acting Director Kershbaum noted, “will complement all the other transportation investments her budget is making at DDOT.”^[4] We thank Mayor Bowser, Chairman Mendelson, and Councilmember Allen for making sure DC steps up and sets an example for the region by investing in transporting our residents and workers safely with public transit and contributing to fill the $750 million operations budget shortfall. This shortfall would unacceptably lead to slashing the number of Metrobus routes in half, decreasing frequency on all Metrorail lines to every 15 minutes on weekdays and 20 minutes on weekends, closing 10 Metrorail stations, eliminating 1900 staff positions, and increasing fares by 25% across the board.^[5] However, even with DC’s extra contribution, there would still be some service cuts and a $164 million preventive maintenance transfer of expenses from the operations budget to the capital budget in FY25 and a forecasted $174 million transfer in FY26.^[6] Such annual transfers would cut into capital budget funding for critical infrastructure projects to ensure Metro’s safety, reliability, and sustainability.

We regret that regional leaders were not able to work together to fully fund the remaining gap in Metro’s budget. According to Metro’s proposed FY25 Proposed Budget Book, annual transfers could mean Metro reaches its debt limit in FY28, two years before the end of its Six-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). A capital budget shortfall would jeopardize projects to rehabilitate facilities, infrastructure and systems, electrify bus garages, and deploy zero-emission buses.^[7] The $11 billion in capital funding for FY2015-FY2030 was already $6 billion short of identified funding needs to begin with. Without system improvements, Metro will not continue to live up to the world-class system that Washington region residents, workers, and visitors rely on. The CIP must not be allowed to be left unfunded. Furthermore, capital funds will need to be identified for the 10-year capital plan and beyond to ensure a long-term state of good repair of the system and full, on-time deployment of Metro’s zero-emission bus program. As Metro alarmingly notes, “Long-term increases in the state of good repair backlog will cause Metro to move away from a proactive asset replacement strategy and risk increases in reliability and safety incidents.” The District experienced such problems with reliability when SafetTrack was implemented due to a repair and maintenance backlog.^[8]

Ultimately, Metro needs adequate dedicated funding like other transit authorities. One option, for example, is congestion pricing, also known as road pricing, which would require drivers to pay to drive into the most congested parts of downtown DC. This would decrease congestion, reduce air pollution, help meet the District’s transportation and climate goals, and generate revenue that could be used to fund Metro.

We are disappointed that DDOT continues to not release a congestion pricing study, which the DC Council required to be updated and released in January.^[9] The public deserves to see whether decisions by DDOT are being informed by the best available data. We continue to call on this committee to compel DDOT to release the study.

Sierra Club is part of the Fund Metro! coalition, which has called for standardizing reporting from WMATA to provide more transparency and solving the lack of adequate long-term dedicated funding once and for all by the end of 2024.^[10]

We appreciate Councilmember Allen’s call for ensuring a seat at the table for all stakeholders to develop a long-term solution that fully funds and meets our regional transit needs.^[11] We look forward to being part of that process as soon as possible with our community partners and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).

Circulator

The proposed budget funds the Circulator through next March before eliminating it. When DDOT proposed eliminating three Circulator routes last year, the Sierra Club asked DDOT to publish an impact study and explain how impacted riders would be ensured transit service in the District. Given that a year has passed since the Council reversed those proposed cuts and DDOT is now proposing to eliminate Circulator service altogether, we are concerned that DDOT has yet again not published an impact study and appears to have only just begun to plan a transition for alternative service with WMATA.^[12] We understand from DDOT Acting Director Kershbaum’s recent budget presentation before this committee that more definitive plans are expected this summer, but that leaves both WMATA and transit riders with just eight to nine months to prepare for a major addition of bus service to the Metrobus system.^[13] Those plans should address how impacted riders will be ensured continued access to transit service in the District.

Should Circulator service be eliminated, it is our understanding that the District might sell much of the bus fleet. Sierra Club is proud of the District’s early penetration of electric buses in the Circulator fleet and urges that those buses remain in the District. Frankly, it would be a shame to give up much of the progress we have made in making DC’s transportation system cleaner, healthier, and quieter through bus electrification, if those buses did not continue serving riders in the District.

Bus Priority

Bus priority is the easiest, fastest way to improve connections between DC neighborhoods. Faster bus service also costs less to operate. We support the continued funding levels for DDOT’s Bus Priority program for 51 projects to improve bus speeds and reliability across all wards.

However, we note that the entire amount budgeted for the Bus Priority and Efficiency Initiative in FY24 has not been spent at all and is being shifted to other years. As it appears that DDOT currently has 13.1 miles of bus lanes built or under construction and will fall short of its goal of 25 bus-lane miles by the end of FY25,^[14] we urge DDOT to prioritize sticking to its spending schedule moving forward to reach its important bus priority goal as soon as possible.

We appreciate the up-to-date statuses on the individual pages for individual projects since last year, when we recommended such updates. We continue to also recommend brief descriptions and timelines for each project on the projects map and a central list of all bus priority projects by ward, with brief descriptions and timelines for each to help the public more easily assess bus priority progress across the District.

Councilmember Allen’s emergency legislation^[15] to start $100 fines^[16] to finally enforce the joint DDOT/Metro Clear Lanes Project has been a welcome and much-needed relief to improve bus travel times and bus stop safety. We ask DDOT to publish data on changes in illegal and obstructive activity in bus lanes and bus travel times as Clear Lanes enforcement goes into full effect this year.

We would also like to see an update on DDOT’s program to replace all of the bus shelters in the District with new, modern shelters, an effort that both improves the rider experience with bus arrival times and service alerts and provides revenue to the District for the Great Streets program to improve and beautify major transportation corridors.^[17]

We also commend the increase in proposed funding to continue last December’s debut of overnight Metrobus service, which provides 24/7 service on 14 routes throughout the District, made possible by the passage of Councilmember Allen’s Metro for DC legislation.^[18]

Benning Road Streetcar Extension

The Sierra Club has long supported the Benning Road Bridges and Transportation Improvements Project, which, as originally conceived, would replace and rehabilitate bridges along Benning Road, and also provide a much-needed transportation link for Wards 5 and 7 neighborhoods by extending the DC Streetcar to the Benning Road Metrorail station and make it safer to walk and cycle along what is now a forbidding highway. As we noted in our DDOT performance oversight hearing testimony, we were concerned that the project appeared to be proceeding with additional car infrastructure, but without the Streetcar extension or safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. The proposed FY25 CIP confirms those concerns by separating the project into two phases, starting with the freeway infrastructure. DDOT must ensure that all aspects of the project get funded and implemented as promised.

The proposed amounts for FY26-28 for the Benning Extension project were listed under the “construction” phase of the project in the FY24 CIP budget  However, the proposed FY25 budget now has those amounts for the same years listed under the “project management” phase instead. We would like to know what accounts for this change in status if the amounts are the same as before. We would also like clarification on the timeline for the project and its different phases.

H Street Bridge

The H Street Bridge NE Replacement project is needed to address safety concerns about the Hopscotch Bridge, which handles streetcars, intercity buses, and crosstown traffic.^[19] We noticed an increase of $93,340,000 in the proposed six-year FY25 CIP for the H Street Bridge project. Given that there are no funds shifted from FY24 and nothing budgeted for FY30 in the proposed budget authority request, we request more information justifying this increase in cost for FY25-29. We urge DDOT to prioritize completing the replacement of the H Street Bridge safely, on time, and within budget.

Bike and Pedestrian Safety and Infrastructure

Vision Zero

Tragically, 2023 was the District’s deadliest year for traffic fatalities in 16 years, despite the launch of Vision Zero in 2015.^[20] Victims included 19 pedestrians, two cyclists, two scooter riders, six motorcyclists, and twenty people in cars. According to the Vision Zero 2022 Update, Wards 7 and 8 bore the brunt with the most crash injuries and fatalities in the District from 2017 - 2021.^[21]

We are encouraged by the apparent net gain of 10 FTEs for Vision Zero in the operating budget.

We request additional information on how the creation of the new Traffic Safety administration is expected to improve administration of traffic safety and how its success will be measured. Given DDOT’s reorganization, we urge transparency on whether there is a net increase or decrease in traffic safety spending in the proposed FY25 budget, compared to the FY24 budget.

Safety Enforcement

We recognize the important progress made in the past year to more than triple the number by March of Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) cameras,^[22] which have been shown to provide safety benefits in the District,^[23] and support the funding to continue operating the ATE network. However, without the ability to enforce fines or take cars with repeat offenses off the road, such expansion of cameras will yield limited results, and dangerous drivers will continue posing a threat to pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers in the District.^[24]

As we wrote in our Department of Public Works (DPW) budget hearing testimony, we are concerned about the $691,000 cut in funding for “vehicle immobilization/relocation” under parking enforcement in DPW’s proposed budget, especially since the DC Council recently enacted much needed legislation that would prioritize the booting or towing of vehicles with repeat speeding or reckless driving violations.^[25] The mayor’s final budget should ensure those efforts are fully funded.

In addition to enforcement against unsafe driving and fraudulent or expired/invalid tags, DDOT should prioritize safety enforcement measures that lower car speeds, improve visibility of cyclists and pedestrians, and reduce the number of miles traveled by private motor vehicles.

Protected Bike Lanes, Trails, and Sidewalks

We wholeheartedly support the vision of a city that is accessible to cyclists of all ages and skill levels, and studies show that safe and protected cycling infrastructure is an impactful factor allowing people to significantly reduce their reliance on cars.^[26] We, therefore, support the continued operations funding for the pedestrian and bicycle program in the proposed budget.

We are also pleased to see increased investments in both the operations and capital budgets for Capital Bikeshare, amid continued record ridership.

We commend DDOT for the substantial proposed increases in capital funding for the Streetscapes and Beautification project, which includes longer-term corridor safety investments, and the Safety & Mobility capital project, which includes quicker-build projects, such as bike lane and infrastructure expansion, intersection improvements, and other activities to support Vision Zero. These physical changes to the right of way play an integral part in drawing walkers and riders to trade car trips for zero-emissions modes of travel, protect those travelers who are most vulnerable to injury and death on the District’s highest injury roads, and improve quality of life for District residents. Given the transfer of unspent funds in FY24 for both of these important capital projects, we urge DDOT to stick to project implementation and spending timelines moving forward.

We support removing parking and single-occupancy vehicle travel lanes when necessary to speed up implementation or improve safety of the protected bike lane network in DC, including plans to install bike lanes on Grant Circle NW, Benning Road NE between Oklahoma Avenue and the Benning Road Metro, Southern Avenue SE between 13th Street and Barnaby Road, and to upgrade the bike lanes on Q Street and R Street NW between Massachusetts Avenue and Florida Avenue from shared lanes to protected bike lanes.

We are deeply disappointed by the Bowser Administration’s about-face on the Connecticut Avenue redesign plan, which we have supported for many years. This plan is the product of substantial community engagement and has been met with widespread community and ANC support. We strongly urge the mayor and council to restore protected bike lanes to the plan, which is essential to improving safety along this corridor.

In addition to expanding our network of on-street protected bike lanes, we have long urged expansion of our trail network, which makes it possible to bike to many places across the District and region without needing to share the road with cars at all. We are, therefore, troubled that the CIP for the “Trails Master Project” has been slashed by half over the next six years, and urge the council to fund this effort to improve and expand trails such as the heavily-used Metropolitan Branch Trail, an economic development anchor for Northeast DC.

We support the proposed increase in funding to restore and improve the condition of our sidewalks.

Long Bridge

Spending for the Long Bridge Pedestrian & Bicycle Connection project appears to be delayed by four years in the proposed CIP. We urge DDOT to stick to project delivery timelines moving forward for this long-awaited regional connection across the Potomac.

Electrification

Transitioning to a zero-emission vehicle future, coupled with reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT), will require electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to meet the District’s goal under the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act of 2018 for at least 25% of registered vehicles in DC to be zero-emission by 2030.^[27]

The planned investment of federal dollars, noted in Acting Director Kershbaum’s budget oversight hearing testimony, to install five EV chargers to jumpstart the creation of a reliable network of stations along Alternative Fuel Corridors is a good start.^[28]

The District will, however, need many more to meet its EV and climate goals. Councilmember Allen’s Comprehensive Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Access, Readiness, and Sustainability Act (B25-0106) would build on DDOT’s planned investments and lay the groundwork for that necessary infrastructure.^[29] The faster the council acts to facilitate the transition to EVs, the better.

DDOT should also revisit the current prohibition on Level 2 charging cords that cross the sidewalk from residences to EVs parked curbside.^[30] We ask this committee to require DDOT to explain the reason for its prohibition, conduct a publicly available study on Level 2 home street charging, and revise its policy if warranted.

Tree Canopy

In addition to managing transportation, DDOT also plays an important role as steward of our public trees. We support the increased funding for the Urban Forestry and Tree Planting projects to help restore our tree canopy, mitigate climate change, and reduce heat-related health concerns.

According to Casey Trees’ 15th Annual Tree Report Card, released last year, the District has done a good job with tree coverage, tree health, and tree planting.^[31] However, it has fallen far short of tree protection goals, with a 50% failing grade in that category. Protecting the mature trees we already have is critical to restoring our tree canopy, which helps mitigate both climate change and daily high temperatures in our urban environment. All fines for tree law violations should go to the Tree Fund, as required by the Urban Forest Preservation Act.

Conclusion

DDOT has a wide swath of work under its purview. The Sierra Club emphasizes the paramount importance of DDOT centering climate and Vision Zero goals in this work and the budget needed to fund it. We seek to be an active partner with this committee and with DDOT to ensure sustainable public transportation, cycling, and walking in the District are safer, cleaner, and more convenient, and therefore can take on a greater share of the trips that people make every day.

Thank you again for the opportunity to submit this written testimony.