Immediate Release: Thursday, May 5, 2022
Contact: Nick DelleDonne,
delledonne.n@comcast.net , 703 929 6656
‘Raising a Naïve Generation’ –
Council Stumbles over Bills to Make Us Safer
“Imagine a child on his bike on his way to school; he rides through a stop sign and is hit. Who is responsible?” asks Nick DelleDonne, founder of the city-wide Coalition on DDOT Bike Plans, organized to galvanize opposition to the DDOT's intransigence, lack of transparency and installation of the dangerous “Protected” Bike Lanes throughout DC, at the direction of Mayor Bowser.
The testimony will be heard today by Councilmember Mary Cheh on her bill titled, the Safer Intersections Act, B24-673, which proposes the Idaho Stop. DC now requires cyclists to obey the same traffic rules as drivers, rules they often scoff at. The Idaho Stop will legalize riding through stop signs. “If a child rides his bike through a stop sign and is hit, under this bill, who is responsible?” DelleDonne asks, “You are responsible,” DelleDonne told Cheh.
“Candidates for office are saying, ‘I want my kids to ride their bikes to school.’ Playgrounds are the dedicated public space we provide for safe play, intersections are not,” DelleDonne said.
“We are raising a naïve generation – one that expects to be safe in a dangerous world. Teach children to look both ways, so they will learn to become wary. And one day it will save their lives,” DelleDonne said.
The same bill will prohibit Right Turn On Red (RTOR) which has been law in DC for decades. It is currently allowed in jurisdictions all around DC. “Creating confusion is not a way to make us safer,” DelleDonne said.
DDOT has earned a reputation for installing new traffic plans without study. In answer to the Coalition’s request for data that DDOT used to support this legislation, DDOT replied, “DDOT does not have any.” “That answer does not give us confidence that the bill will make us safer,” DelleDonne said.
Promoters of the new legislation say the bill will help put DDOT on a professional basis, by requiring it to “harden” temporary changes after a year. But laws cannot administer an agency. “What we need is more consideration of the special circumstances in a neighborhood through greater community engagement, not less, and certainly robotic directives are not the answer,” DelleDonne said.
A companion bill, the Upgrading Tactical Safety Projects Amendment Act, B24-674, changes notice provisions. Without fan fair, the District is gradually changing the rules for Notice. In an age of technology, government agencies have become reliant on email addresses when a great many residents are self-isolating out of frustration with technology. Many do not have smart phones or email addresses. “The DC government may not be meeting its legal obligation to give residents notice,” DelleDonne said.
Join the neighborhood discussion and action forum, HearUsNow!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dccoalitiononddotbikelanes
