Washington, D.C
Debate over potential bike lanes on Connecticut Avenue in DC continues
WASHINGTON (7News) — Connecticut Avenue is considered one of the busiest channels to get through D.C.
“It is dangerous, it’s fast, and it’s deadly,” said Elizabeth Kiker, the Executive Director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA).
The future of the thoroughfare is up for debate with the possibility of adding bike lanes back on the table.
Last year, the mayor reversed course, and the plan was postponed by the D.C. Department of Transportation.
The move stunned WABA members.
READ MORE | DC pauses proposal to put bicycle lanes on Connecticut Ave. after major pushback
“This process happened,” Kiker said. “This process included ANCs. It included community members. It included businesses, and it was voted on and it was done, and it was budgeted, and then it was stopped. That’s not fair. That’s not how you run a city.”
However, the chance for barrier-protected bike lanes going in on Connecticut Avenue was given a new life when new language was approved by the Committee on Transportation and the Environment.
“The chairman of the transportation committee, Charles Allen, and Matt Frumin slipped in language in the budget recommendation report that requires any safety improvement on not just Connecticut Ave. but any road to have protected bike lanes or else they withhold all the funds for safety improvements,” said Lee Mayer, President of Save Connecticut Avenue.
He said this could mean that the D.C. Council’s transportation committee could block all capital improvements to Connecticut Avenue and any street if bike lanes are not included.
7News reached out to Committee Chair Allen’s office.
They said the language has been misinterpreted.
In a statement, Allen’s office wrote:
“The language approved by the Committee on Transportation and the Environment preserves full funding for the project, including 5% to create an alternative design. It does restrict construction from advancing on Conn Ave that does not include protected bike lanes (option C from the many years of discussion includes protected bike lanes). The clause “or any other capital project for the same or similar purpose” was inserted to prevent DDOT from simply renaming or attempting to skirt the law and advance construction. This language clearly applies only to the Conn Ave Street Safety Project and does not apply to other safe streets projects around the District.”
Still, both sides of the debate remain uncertain of the future and tell 7News they’ll work to plead their case with councilmembers ahead of the vote.
“This is going to hurt the mayor’s plan for revitalization for downtown,” said Mayer.
“It’s going to be massive congestion up and down Connecticut Ave. and people are not going to want to go there,” he added.
“We don’t know what they’re going to say, but we hope they say this is back on the way they said it would be,” said Kiker.
The DC Council will vote on the matter twice. The first vote is set for Wednesday, May 29. The second vote will happen on July 12.
Between those votes, the public can ask questions during a virtual meeting on June 3.
Washington, D.C
Man dies after being stabbed in Northeast DC
Washington, D.C
Thieves steal $50,000 worth of clothing from Northeast DC store
D.C. police have released video of suspects in a string of smash-and-grabs in Northeast D.C. Police say a group of thieves allegedly stole $50,000 worth of merchandise from high-end clothing store A Ma Maniére on H street in September.
The stunning action caught on camera inside the store led to this reaction from Doris Windham, who plans to open up her own business on the same street in Northeast D.C. next month.
“To hear that those types of things are happening in this area, it’s a little alarming,” she said.
Security cameras inside the store captured the moments the first couple of suspects are seen crawling through a door that police say they smashed with a tool before smashing the interior door with a brick.
Fast forward in the video and multiple suspects can be seen running to the door with arms filled with clothes.
D.C. police say another burglary happened last month just up the street at a vape shop.
Investigators released a video captured outside the H & Vape store on H Street.
Police say back in october, three suspects broke into the rear door of the business with two crowbars.
Once inside, the group is seen on video walking behind the counter before leaving with their hands filled with vape products.
“So to come and do that somewhere where we’re trying to build up, it’s just not cool,” Windham said.
Investigators say anyone with information about either burglary is asked to contact police.
Washington, D.C
Washington Spirit outlast Gotham FC in penalty kicks to advance to NWSL final
A trio of saves by goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury halted the defending NWSL champion in its tracks, as the Washington Spirit outlasted Gotham FC in a game that went the distance. The Spirit converted its first three attempts in alternating order with Kingsbury’s saves to end the shootout sequence with the fewest rounds necessary.
Washington returns to the NWSL championship for the first time since it won the title in 2021, where it’ll face the winner of Sunday’s other semifinal between the Orlando Pride and the KC Current.
“I just wanted to do whatever I could to help the team win,” Kingsbury told the CBS broadcast after the game. “We’ve been practicing for these, and just to grind out those 120 minutes, I knew they would come through and make them (the penalties). I just did my part.”
TICKET PUNCHED.
The Washington Spirit are heading to the NWSL Championship after defeating Gotham FC in PKs.
🎥 @AttackingThird | @WashSpirit pic.twitter.com/4Cl3QGMRnc
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 16, 2024
It was a result that frankly flips the game on its head from where things stood as it reached second-half stoppage time. At that point, Gotham was carrying a narrow 1-0 lead, earned shortly after halftime. Some nimble interplay between Yazmeen Ryan and Rose Lavelle led to a Ryan cross that fell inch-perfectly to Esther González’s forehead. The Spanish striker’s header lobbed back across Kingsbury’s goal, putting her in an awkward position and making her unable to stop it from falling into her net.
However, Washington pushed hard to bring things level. The Spirit outshot Gotham 9-2 following González’s opener until the end of regulation, keeping the defending champion on their heels as Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós replaced attacking-minded players with defensive alternatives in hopes of icing the game.
Ultimately, Hal Hershfelt was up for the big moment.
The budding USWNT star and Spirit midfielder rose up after a Makenna Morris free kick to tower over Gotham’s zonal marking scheme and power the ball past Ann-Katrin Berger. The majority of the 19,365 fans in attendance met her goal with a near-deafening cry of cathartic jubilation. After another Hershfelt header fell atop Berger’s goal in the 96th minute, it was clear that this game would require extra time.
Now playing without its ideal complement of attackers, Gotham seemed content to attempt counterattacks and keep its shape in hopes of reaching the penalty shootout. Bruninha made that task more difficult in the 101st minute, being sent off after earning a second yellow card to the delight of the crowd following a challenge on Trinity Rodman.
Once the shootout arrived, the 20 minutes of shorthanded soccer appeared to catch up with Gotham. So, too, did the voracity of the support behind Washington; while home crowds are often referred to as a 12th player for soccer teams, that advantage proved to be even more palpable against a Gotham side playing with 10.
“I think it’s more just the confidence and having the fans behind me,” Kingsbury said. “I was really trying to get them into it, because I knew that would give us a great advantage, for their penalty takers coming up and trying to make one in front of that wall of fans. Like, I would be scared.”
The game continues an impressive stretch by the Spirit in the wake of Croix Bethune’s season-ending meniscus tear. Before her knee injury, Bethune was playing at a level that didn’t just land her on Emma Hayes’ squad for the Olympics but had her in pole position for rookie of the year and the NWSL Best XI. Without Bethune (and U.S. international Andi Sullivan, who suffered a torn ACL in October), Washington has leaned into a deep pool of capable if unproven box-to-box midfielders, arguably led by Hershfelt — herself a rookie, as well.
Washington also underwent a coordinated midseason coaching change, as Jonatan Giráldez joined the club in June following the end of FC Barcelona’s season. He inherited a side that was already operating near the top of the NWSL table under interim Adrián González, and to his credit, he kept them whirring at a high level without missing a beat.
To reach the final after missing the playoffs altogether in 2022 and 2023 is no small feat, and Saturday’s test shows Washington will be a tough opponent in the final no matter who advances from the other game. Ultimately, their return to the championship largely has Kingsbury, Hershfelt and a packed Audi Field to thank.
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(Photo: Amber Searls / USA Today)
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