In the recently released Environmental Assessment for the Visitor Transportation Study for the National Mall and Surrounding Park Areas, the National Park Service has again failed to take into account the thousands of visitors and commuters that bicycle in the National Mall area each year. WABA needs your help to make sure that the concerns of cyclists are heard.

At the beginning of the study, WABA submitted detailed comments on what needed to be done to further encourage bicycling on the Mall. Interest among cyclists was strong, and during the initial meetings former NPS regional Director Terry Carlstrom was quoted in a study newsletter as saying the public process, “indicated a great deal of interest in bicycling as a mode of transportation.”

Among our recommendations were to:

1. update the 1991 Paved Recreational Trails of the National Capital Region and include a prioritization of implementation of the plan.

2. integrate bicycle information in all National Park Service communications regarding transportation to and through National Capital Area Parks, such as, websites, wayfinding and directional signage, maps and brochures

3. improve bike parking at Mall destinations by added new parking racks and replacing broken ones

4. widen and improve Mall trails and improve connections between area parks and the DC street network.

However, instead of safer trails, better facilities, and increased signage, the NPS is recommending a mandatory helmet policy for adults. And while there are new designated signed routes, they are creating them for Segways! Cyclists have been all but ignored despite the stated goals of the project to provide sustainable transportation solutions and to coordinate with other long term plans in DC that aim to reduce vehicle congestion, improve air quality, and provide a continuous system of hiker and biker trails.

Comments are due by January 5th, 2007. Click here for more information and to see what you can do to help.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric Gilliland
Executive Director
Washington Area Bicyclist Association