"In the past two years," Something missing here?

What do you have to do to lose the right to drive in this town? Kill someone else who is also driving a car.

appeared to be a fair number of people using phones while cycling.

Don't say anything about the lighting. People will get angry.

The Google map shows bike lanes on West Virginia Avenue between Trinidad and Gallaudet's campus. The note says "Community Outreach needed," though DDOT already presented to the neighborhood association, and the reception was a step above hostile. Putting bike lanes on West Virginia, at this point, will bring howls of protest. I would LOVE them, personally. (I think a better plan would be a cycle-track on the west side of the street, as there are hardly any curb cuts for nearly six-tenths of a mile.) Anyway, it just goes to demonstrate that this list is still aspirational, not necessarily a sure bet.

Worth noting that the DDOT/consultant folks said that the blue lines representing sidepaths were not accurate when it comes to placement - just that there could be something on whatever side of the right-of-way the lines are drawn on. Also needs to be said - none of this is even close to finalized. As you noted, this was a "scoping meeting" in their parlance, so this was just to feel out what neighbors and other interested folks think about the area.

so the lede is buried here...washcycle thinks unitarians are stupid. :)

DCRA says they'll send an inspector if you'll give them the building address: https://twitter.com/dcra/statuses/293719800134373377

Florida and WV is the worst in NE? All the more reason to get better infrastructure there. The rumored cycle track on Florida Avenue and the (proposed-but-going-nowhere right now) bicycle lanes on West Virginia Avenue need to happen.

The date on that WaPo gripe article about the tree coming down is 2011. Is that a mistake, or has it really been that long?

Agreed on Bladensburg, though there's a fix for the stretch south of New York Avenue that could be done that would be more beneficial for cyclists - truly making West Virginia Avenue (which is essentially flat due to being the site of an old rail line) cycle-friendly. The Trinidad Neighborhood Association has been trying to get the conversation moving forward on that. In my perfect world, a cycletrack (or at least bike lanes) on West Virginia Avenue would run from K Street north to the no-name circle where NY/MT/WV Aves come together. From there, something would need to be done to get cyclists safely to Bladensburg Avenue (using an off-road trail parallel to the tracks, perhaps?) I'm working up a plan...

David: I'm sorry you read it as an attack on Heather. That wasn't my intent. I included her quote to make sure people had some background. Regarding the headline - it was a headline written to get people to pay attention to the story. Unfortunately, few are likely to read a story titled "There are burned out lights on a trail." Based on our discussion here, I'd say the headline succeeded. I'll have a follow-up article soon.

David: There's a fatal flaw in your analysis - the assumption that I wrote my article without reaching out to Ms. Deutsch. In fact, I did, and her response to me was that she didn't want to talk to me, because she didn't know who I was. I won't quote her email to me here, but it was brusque and dismissive. We can debate the utility of lighting the trail until the cows come home, but the fact is that the city doesn't really know who's in charge of the lighting of the trail. The underlying problem here is a lack of planning on the city's part, which you could apply to damn near anything in this town.

SJE - your analysis of Hood's thought process is spot-on.

problem with the arboretum wish is that the land on that side is controlled by USDA, not NPS, correct?

This is where cyclists need to be equipped with an RPG. I'm sure the people who live on that road would appreciate an explosive end to the incessant honking as well.

does charlie ever have a point, other than to be contrarian? seems to be all he does on every DC blog I see him on.

Did you get a chance to talk to this guy? You clearly had his attention.

ha!

Would SHA ever close a major road without providing a marked detour route? Of course not. The fact that they haven't here (or for the closure north of this point, for that matter) is a slap in the face. "Screw you, cyclists. You don't matter. At all."

DaveS: Very good question. They did the same on 18th Street in Adams Morgan, and the defense was that, at the location some sharrows were placed, there was no adjacent parking, so it wouldn't be a big issue. Of course, that's clearly not the case here.

another problem here - the gathering of dirt, dust, and cinders. it's a problem not only at poorly designed cuts, but at the well-designed ones as well. in DC, the city street sweeping is very cursory, and doesn't take this stuff into account. check out the corner of rhode island avenue and florida avenue. there are ramps/cuts there with this stuff inches deep. it's bad for wheelchair users as well.

DC should have done this years ago, but the city has become uber-timid and afraid to try anything new regarding infrastructure. I'm sure this has very little to do with the current administration.

green ones? i need to see a photo of that! i'm happy my black key is still ticking, but i know it's only a matter of time...

Damn. Was that hit by a car, or wrenched off by a crook?