William Faulkner once said, “The American really loves nothing but his automobile: not his wife his child nor his country nor even his bank-account first…but his motor-car.” Even as many Washingtonians turn to bikes, and as our city faces worse and worse congestion, let us not forget our beloved automobiles.
Washington has become bike obsessed. Capital Bikeshare users took over 1.8 million trips last year; that’s over 5,000 trips a day. DC has the largest bike-share program in the country, with over 18,000 members and 189 stations in DC and Virginia. There are now 80 miles of dedicated bike lanes in the District.
I applaud our city for embracing bikes. I, too, like to bike to work on occasion. Yet since the closure of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in the late 1990s and the “temporary” closing of E Street in 2001, our city has been choked by east-west traffic. Ever try to go from Georgetown to Penn Quarter in rush hour? Good luck. And have you tried it lately?
I’ve sat on the corner of 19th and L and watched each evening as the backup has gotten worse and worse with the addition of the new bike lanes—and I watch as the smog from stopped cars pollutes while nary a bike goes by on cold winter evenings. Only 3% of commuters bike. More than 70% still drive or take the bus.
One has to wonder if there is any strategy to our bike-obsessed city. Did it occur to anyone to perhaps put the east-west bike lanes on H, N, or I Streets? Streets with significantly less traffic than L or M. Is anyone measuring how many bikes use the lanes in rush hour to determine whether they warrant the increased traffic backup?
In order to get a speed bump in my neighborhood, I must get a petition from 75% of the households and then have the speed and quantity of traffic measured. Are we doing that for bike lanes?
Recently I came across this signal. I assumed it meant to watch for bikers when turning, which I explained to MPD officer who pulled me over–yet I was still fined $100 for “Disobeying A Traffic Control Device.” No warning, no matter that this is not in the DC Driver Study Guide, which lists eleven other signal types.
I love that our city has embraced bikes. But let’s add some common sense to the equation and find ways to also better accommodate the automobiles we love so much.
Cathy Merrill Williams is the president and publisher of Washingtonian Media. She lives in Northwest DC with her husband, Paul, and their two sons.
Since 2006, Catherine Merrill has served as CEO and Owner of Washingtonian Media, parent company of the flagship Washingtonian—the capital region’s leading magazine for nearly six decades, with more than 400,000 readers and five National Magazine Awards. She also oversees Washingtonian.com, which attracts over 3 million monthly page views, and the brand’s social platforms, reaching more than one million followers. Under her leadership, the company has expanded with Washingtonian Weddings, the Washingtonian Welcome Guide, Washingtonian Events—producer of nationally recognized, award-winning events—and Washingtonian Custom Media, a full-service content marketing agency. She is proud to be certified as a women-owned small business.
From 2002 to 2007, Ms. Merrill served as Director of Operations for Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), where she helped manage and collect 60 percent of the nation’s tolls—$2.7 billion a year—including the majority of the E-ZPass network. From 1995 to 2002, she was a partner in the worldwide management consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
Ms. Merrill is deeply engaged in the community and currently serves on the boards of Cornell University; Ford’s Theatre; the Board of Visitors for the School of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park; Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences; and The Merrill Family Foundation. She is a founding member and serves on the Board of Advisors of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation, and sits on the National Advisory Council for the Trust for the National Mall.Her past board service includes roles as a trustee of the University of Maryland, College Park; the City and Regional Magazine Association; and the Greater Washington Board of Trade.
Ms. Merrill is a member and former chapter chair of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), and remains active in the Economic Club of Washington and the Federal City Council.
Her media appearances include CNN, the Today show, FOX, MSNBC, and various Washington, D.C. area news outlets.
