D.C. Pedestrian Advisory Council Meeting Minutes April 25, 2016, 6:30 p.m. 441 4th Street NW, Room 1112

Attendees: Gwen Cofield, Sonia Conly, Tony Goodman, Edward Johnson, Eileen McCarthy, Will Stephens, George Tobias, Jessica Tunon, Jerry Wall, Heather Edelman (PAC staff), George Branyan (DDOT), Chris Shaheen (OP), Terry Thorne (MPD), Ryan Westrom (DDOT), Andrea Adleman, Marlene Berlin. Start: Tony Goodman convened the meeting at 6:36 p.m. Introductions: Attendees introduced themselves. Public comments: There were none. Discussion about curb cuts and driveways with Ryan Westrom, District Department of Transportation (DDOT), and Chris Shaheen, Office of Planning (OP): Ryan Westrom explained that there is set policy on the issue of curb cuts for driveways, and he explained the process for seeking a curb cut. Someone who wants a curb cut applies for a public space permit and that triggers a review by the Public Space Committee, a five-member panel that can deny something that does meet code and allow something that does not meet code. The Public Space Committee Includes representatives from DDOT (two people), OP, DCRA, and the Office of the Mayor. Chris Shaheen explained that the committee reviews 350 applications per year, including sidewalk cafes, fences of certain heights, every curb cut, and valet permits. Sgt. Terry Thorne expressed concern about valet areas spilling across crosswalks. Thorne said MPD officers cannot cannot give a ticket to a business and cannot tell by the permit how many spots the business is allowed. A business is not supposed to operate a valet service until it is approved and a sign posted. There is a major problem on 14th Street NW from K Street to U Street with valet services blocking crosswalks. Officers can ticket the vehicle, but it does not make sense to ticket the driver in this situation. Shaheen suggested having a conversation with Eliot Garrett from OP enforcement, and Thorne said he would like to invite them to come see the problem. The Black Cat was mentioned as a business with a busy valet that ends up blocking two crosswalks; the practice was established before there was much activity in an area that is now much busier. Will Stephens asked whether there are regular reviews of valet permits, as there are with liquor licenses. Conditions on the ground may change, with added bike lanes or an area becoming busier. Valet permits are not regularly reviewed after initial approval. Valet permits only started being required about six years ago, so all valet locations that existed at the time were reviewed and are not too outdated at this point. Westrom continued describing the review process and defined some regulations on curb cuts. The District policy is to diminish curb cuts because they are not conducive to urban life, he explained. First,

vehicles crossing sidewalks introduce a conflict with pedestrians. Second, curb cuts lead to parking spaces, but they are likely removing a street parking space. You have removed one on-street parking space to gain an off-street parking space. Unless you’re leading to many spots or have a need for loading, it is a tradeoff. Third, they’re just not attractive, adding concrete where there could be green space. It may be good to provide off-street parking for a grocery store, for example, but we prefer to see that type of activity from an alley, Westrom said. There are locations where there is no alley or an alley is too tight. There are other rules, such as required offsets from intersections and other curb cuts. Shaheen said the biggest challenge is in places where there are no alleys. Zoning requires some parking, and the only way to access parking is through a curb cut. If a developer owns a whole block and only brings one section (a legally separate lot) of the block for review at one time, then they end up getting multiple curb cuts along the whole block, and the review committee cannot require that the developer add an alley. Tony Goodman asked if there is a way to stop this, such as requiring alleys, or some way to force a better solution. If a development is part of a PUD (Planned Unit Development) or zoning variance, then we have some leverage, Ryan said. Edward Johnson said development projects are overwhelming the community. Brookland, the Michigan Avenue area, and North Capital Street are very congested. Planning departments should reevaluate the effect of projects on people who live there, Johnson said. Shaheen said he thought progress has been made. Previously, developers came for review with plans 90% completed and expected everything to be approved. Now they come earlier in the process. Years ago, developers sometimes applied for public space permits when they already had building permits from DCRA. That does not happen now. Marlene Berlin mentioned that people in Forest Hills are dealing with a problem on Connecticut Avenue in which Chick-fil-A wants to have a drive-thru and the neighborhood is pushing back. A traffic study was required, but the study did not look at the number of pedestrians the business would generate, only the number of cars it would generate, and the study did not consider the conflict between the cars and pedestrians. Eileen McCarthy asked how to offer input. Westrom said the PAC could advocate for policy that it approves. He said ANCs are asked to give input but do not always do so. Goodman said ANCs do not always find out about curb cut applications. Westrom said the PAC could testify or write to the public space committee about applications being reviewed. Shaheen cited developments on large blocks in which there is currently no way the District can require developers to build alleys; he said changing rules in this way would have to be done through the regulatory process. MPD update: Thorne reported that four pedestrian fatalities had occurred so far in 2016, as well as one motorcycle driver fatality and two motor vehicle operator fatalities. The first pedestrian fatality occurred at Minnesota Avenue & C Street SE at the beginning of year. The driver did not stay at the scene. Charges have been pressed. On Feb. 22, a pedestrian was struck on the 2100 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW. The pedestrian ran out into the street mid-block. The third fatality also occurred when a pedestrian ran into the street mid-block at Alabama Avenue & Ainger Place SE after dark. The fourth

fatality, which is still an open case, occurred on Massachusetts Avenue NW at Thomas Circle. The person was approached by police while in the middle of Thomas Circle, then ran into an alley and ran into a car. The driver was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Johnson asked what percentage of fatalities are linked to a pedestrian violation, and Thorne estimated that half are related. Thorne said that in several cases last year pedestrians were struck while in the crosswalk and the drivers did not see them, or the vehicles were turning and the pedestrians were hit by the back of the vehicle. Johnson asked whether more vehicle traffic leads to more pedestrian hits, and Thorne said studies show speed is the number one problem, and sometimes more traffic slows things down. Thorne reported that he conducted a pedestrian safety enforcement today, walking across an unsignalized crosswalk on 14th Street NW at Wallach Place NW and ticketing drivers who did not stop. MPD officers issued 27 tickets, 5 of which were for other violations such as using cell phones. Media covered the enforcement, including WTOP, Channel 4, and WMAL. Thorne explained that the goal of enforcement actions is to educate, reaching many people who see the media coverage as well as the driver of the car who gets a ticket. George Branyan said a survey about the StreetSmart campaign found that people have high recognition of the “Pedestrians don’t come with airbags” campaign, but that people do not see much enforcement occurring. Media presence helps highlight the enforcement. Johnson said we need frequent, repetitive announcements and frequent media coverage to change mindsets. Thorne said money is being spent on this. Branyan said COG (Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments) has $700,000 budgeted for the StreetSmart ad campaign, which buys a few weeks of ads in the spring and fall. Media coverage amplifies that. This year was the first year a TV commercial ran. Johnson said it is timely because of the increase in traffic. McCarthy said enforcement actions will be happening once a week in the near future. Suggestions for locations can be sent to her. Best spots are commercial areas with unsignalized crosswalks with pedestrian traffic between 11 am and 2 pm. Update on livability studies: Goodman reported that DDOT is starting the Rock Creek East II Livability Study and a member of the PAC is invited to participate. DDOT has done several livability studies, which look at large geographic areas and make suggestions on transportation and pedestrian safety concerns. The boundaries for this study are Military and Missouri to the north, North Capitol Street and down Rock Creek Church Road, to Piney Branch to the south and Rock Creek Park to the west. In the past, fantastic plans have been made for cost effective ways to improve traffic but improvements have not been completed, Goodman said. Goodman reported that DDOT has hired someone to do 30 percent engineering plans for elements of some of the proposals that have been overlooked. Colleen Hawkinson and Sam Zimbabwe of DDOT are encouraging the plans to be implemented. Update on Vision Zero and FY 2017 Budget: McCarthy reported that there may be a markup of the Vision Zero legislation in 2-3 weeks. She also reported that the Age Friendly DC toolkit appears to becoming more Vision Zero oriented; the toolkit committee visited three dangerous intersections in Ward 8 to inform the design of a survey. Sonia Conly said the survey needs to be short and simple and reliable and include information such as the driver’s line of site when a vehicle is turning. Grant funding will include money for training people to do the survey.

PAC business: • Email addresses – The PAC has heard nothing back. Edelman will follow up. • Upgrading Dropbox – Stephens asked about live streaming meetings but was told there is not capacity for that. McCarthy explained that the BEGA (Board of Ethics and Government Accountability) calendar will allow us to add minutes, recordings, and the PAC schedule. • PAC member attendance – George Tobias said a Ward 8 person has been invited to join the PAC. Ben Welle is getting reinstated on Wednesday. Approval of March 28 minutes: Goodman moved to approve the March 28 minutes. Stephens seconded the motion, which was approved. Goodman and Jessica Tunon abstained. Next meeting date (May 23) and topics: Possible items: Nick Kushner from Age Friendly DC; Lamont Hinton from Automated Traffic Enforcement; John Townsend from AAA; Colleen Hawkinson or Ted Van Houten from DDOT to discuss livability studies; Eliot Garrett from OP, Mathew Marcou from DDOT and someone from ABRA to discuss valet parking and public space enforcement and taxi drop offs and pick ups; trial lawyers association and insurance representatives to discuss the contributory negligence bill, which was changed significantly and made it out of committee. Stephens suggested continuing the discussion about the Vision Zero action plan and whether the PAC or individual members want to pick items to track. Conly is interested in tracking sidewalk repair money and seeing when the list of sidewalk grades is published. Discussion about density and pedestrian safety continued. George Branyan said more pedestrians were struck in recent years but there were fewer fatalities. The increase in pedestrians struck may have occurred because more people are walking. The model is to create density where people do not have to drive. The peak for fatalities was 1936 when about 100 pedestrians were struck and killed. Street car loading islands were in the middle of the street and more cars were coming onto the roads in the 1950s and people were getting hit often. As the street car went away in the 1960s and people fled to the suburbs, pedestrian fatalities lowered and car crashes increased. McCarthy mentioned that the National Transportation Safety Board pedestrian safety meeting on May 10 will be open to the public. She asked Branyan for more information on how new federal regulations might affect DDOT regulations. Branyan said he could bring more information to a future meeting. End: The meeting ended at 8:33 p.m.