Bikers will have to wait

With the exception of small, disconnected portions of R Street, our neighborhood has no designated Bike lanes. This contrasts with our neighbors to the west in Dupont, who have several streets with designated bike lanes that go on for more than a two block span. Ultimately, DDOT intends to have bike lanes along several streets around Shaw, including O, Q, R, 1st, 6th, 7th, 11th, and 13th Streets, and Rhode Island Avenue, adding them during ordinary street resurfacing projects over the next decade.

For the most part, Shaw's lower density and lighter vehicular traffic make it a safer bike riding experience than Dupont, so I'm not too disappointed by the fact that we've lagged behind Dupont in getting these lanes. Nonetheless, it's great to know that we're on the list of places to get bike lanes, as these will surely add to our community's economic, physical, and aesthetic health. As a bike-commuter to work, I look forward to not sharing a lane with auto-commuters, so hurry up DDOT!

PHOTO CREDIT: Bike Plan Source, available here.