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A Look at D.C.’s Contraflow Cycle Track

While we were down in Washington D.C. for the National Bike Summit, Streetfilms got the chance to check out some of the innovative bike infrastructure. Tops on our list: the city’s first protected, contraflow lane for bicyclists. The D.C. DOT has redesigned 15th Street NW between U Street and Massachusetts Avenue to accommodate two-way bike … Continued
While we were down in Washington D.C. for the National Bike Summit, Streetfilms got the chance to check out some of the innovative bike infrastructure.
Tops
on our list: the city’s first protected, contraflow lane for
bicyclists. The D.C. DOT has redesigned 15th Street NW between U
Street and Massachusetts Avenue to accommodate two-way bike traffic on
a one-way street. Northbound cyclists get a shared lane moving in the
same direction as car traffic, and southbound cyclists ride in a
parking-protected lane. The treatment has also slimmed down the street,
removing a vehicle lane and calming traffic.
D.C. transportation
officials say that when designing this protected bike lane, they looked
to New York and Montreal for inspiration. Additional use of contraflow
lanes could help make critical new connections in New York’s bike
network, like the gap between the Park Slope and Fort Greene neighborhoods that one Brooklyn community board recently asked the New York City DOT to take a look at. So hopefully some of that inspiration will flow back up the Acela corridor.

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