For Release: Monday, June 14, 2021
Contact: Nick DelleDonne ,
delledonne.n@comcast.net, 703 929 6656
DDOT Changes 17th St. Bike Plan – Refuses Public Presentation; Residents Appeal to Mayor Bowser, CM Pinto
Residents led by a neighborhood civic association demand the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) hold a public presentation of recent changes to the controversial 17th St. Bike Plan which threatens the safety of residents who frequent the commercial district between P and R Streets NW, the economic and social nerve center of the community.
Neighbors learned of radical changes in the plan at a civic association meeting when Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto announced gleefully that DDOT had found a solution to the longstanding controversy – “all traffic will be funneled through one lane,” she said. Efforts by Dupont East Civic Action Association (DECAA) to get a presentation have been stonewalled. Dupont ANC Commissioner Pasternak (ANC2B04) announced in a loud voice last week that “DDOT will not make any changes.”
“Refusal to hold a public presentation of major changes is contrary to city policy and is itself provoking,” said DECAA president Nick DelleDonne. “We are not the enemy. We are constituents, taxpayers and, unlike DDOT staff, we live here,” he said. In a survey of merchants this weekend, they say they have not been consulted, are unaware of the changes and concerned about how it could work.
DECAA’s raised the issue of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance and DDOT said ADA compliance is not required north of Massachusetts Ave. DECAA’s Board Member Ed Hanlon called DDOT’s stance ‘immoral.’ DECAA is considering a lawsuit.
In a meeting Sunday, DECAA determined to bring the matter to the attention of Mayor Bowser and Councilmember Brooke Pinto. DECAA will sponsor a neighborhood petition seeking a public presentation.