There are currently no East-West protected bike lanes North of M Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C. R Street is a main thoroughfare for cyclists, connecting the Metropolitan Branch Trail to Shaw, Logan Circle, Dupont Circle, and Georgetown. Despite it being a major cycling corridor and a crucial part of the bicycle network, it is only protected by paint and currently only travels West. And for East-bound riders, there is no direct connection between Dupont Circle and the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

R Street presents a great opportunity to create a much safer 2.6 mile, two-way protected bike lane that would connect thousands of residents to the Metropolitan Branch Trail, the Dupont Circle and Shaw Metro stations and countless of other amenities. And it all can be accomplished with minimum effect on drivers. R Street currently has enough space to accommodate an auto parking lane, an auto travel lane, and a two-way protected bike lane.

Anecdotally, dozens of children are biked to school on R and Q Streets, and parents could use this new protected lane to ensure that their children have a safe route to school. Given the number of cyclists using this street, we have a moral imperative to design the street to make it as safe as possible.

When the Metropolitan Branch Trail is completed, the addition of this bike lane would create a fully-protected route from Silver Spring, Maryland to Dupont Circle, making a great alternative to Metro or driving and creating safer streets for all road users.