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
National Guard continuing DC deployment through Inauguration ’29
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed Wednesday the National Guard will remain deployed in Washington, D.C., through Inauguration Day 2029.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and other city officials have been against deployment since it began last summer, but pushing back has been an uphill battle.
More than 5,000 National Guard troops are deployed in the city after President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a crime emergency, and that number swelled for the Fourth of July.
City leaders made it clear they want the National Guard to leave, but the Defense Department says the troops will stay through the end of the Trump administration.
City leaders argue the National Guard is unnecessary, the soldiers are not trained in law enforcement and it’s bad for business. A lawsuit filed by the D.C. attorney general was overturned on appeal pending further litigation.
“My understanding is that there’s going to be some sort of proceeding in September, and so the city is still litigating that we don’t want these National Guard troops from other states here,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said.
On July 9, the D.C. Council sent letters to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan asking them to withdraw their National Guard soldiers that were sent for the Fourth of July celebrations.
“We respectfully ask that you recall all Michigan National Guard personnel as soon as practicable and decline any extension of their current deployment,” Council wrote to Whitmer.
“To have National Guard troops sent here from states across the nation who are armed, who are not trained in our laws, does not help us advance public safety and is not the right path forward,” Councilmember Brooke Pinto said.
The Council did not reach out to any other governors with troops deployed to Washington.
Bowser declined to comment on the extension of the guard’s deployment.
News4 reached out to both governors’ offices for comment but has not heard back.
Washington, D.C
Benjamin Netanyahu to fly to DC for Graham Lindsay’s funeral, meeting with Donald Trump | The Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to fly to Washington, DC, on Saturday night, Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Netanyahu’s visit would mark the first official trip to Washington since the war with Iran, with his last visit in February.
During a recent phone call made by Netanyahu to congratulate Trump on the 250th anniversary of US independence, the two leaders agreed to “meet soon.”
Netanyahu’s main commitment during this upcoming trip will be attending Graham’s funeral, who passed away on Sunday after “a brief and sudden illness.”
Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, mourned Graham in a statement on Sunday.
“Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable. He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world,” Netanyahu said in his statement.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”
“Our hearts are with Lindsey’s family and with the American people at this difficult time. May his values and initiatives continue to guide us toward victory and peace, and may his memory forever be a blessing.”
Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this article.
Washington, D.C
DC residents who’ve owned their home for 70 years now told they can’t park there
WASHINGTON (7News) — Some D.C. residents told 7News they are fed up with the no-parking signs that have been added in front of their homes.
For the first time in 70 years, the view outside Anita Marsh’s home has changed.
“It’s very emotional,” said Marsh. “To be in a place where there’s no access to my door, no one can legally park for me to enter and exit my home. It’s frustrating, but more importantly, it’s upsetting. It’s very upsetting. I find it heartless.”
ALSO READ | DC considers tighter rat control restrictions after poison, tracking and trash concerns
Video from Marsh showed what she woke up to on Monday morning. She said the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) installed no parking signs in front of her home.
“How do I walk? How do I get into my house? I’m not very ambulatory,” said Marsh. “I have mobility challenges. So what happens?”
Neighbors about a mile away, over on Kimi Gray Court, reached out with the same frustrations. That’s where 7News met Aaron Harris.
“DDOT put these signs up, these signs, and they are ticketing people who are trying to park in front of their home because they have multiple cars,” said Harris.
Both neighborhoods feel that access to their home will now cost them.
“I’m very nervous because also financial impact is on a retiree,” said Marsh.
7News also got a call from businesses on MLK Jr. Avenue in Anacostia who said DDOT hit them with changes, too. 7News met Ronald Moton in front of his Gogo museum.
“They bring a bus lane without talking to us and take away 29 parking spaces,” said Moton.
Moton said business owners and customers have been hit with $200 tickets.
“This is a community trying to build itself up and survive,” said Moton. “You cannot come and dump stuff like this on us without talking to us.”
“We can’t afford to pay $90 a week or $180 or $270 per week because we’re in violation in front of a property that wasn’t zoned this way,” said Harris. “At least we didn’t know it was owned that way until the signs went up and they started getting ticketed.”
“I’m very scared. I’m very scared. And very upset,” said Marsh. “I’m not going to be able to stay in my house. Then I’m going to be forced to go elsewhere. Because I’m not going to be able to enter and exit my house.”
7News reached out to DDOT and Councilman Charles Allen, who chairs D.C.’s Transportation and Environment Committee, and asked about the no-parking signs community members feel came out of nowhere. 7News has not heard back from either yet.
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