Norton Says Her Work to Get Construction of New Bike Lane Through Lafayette Park Will Help Keep Bikers Off Road and Congested Sidewalks
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today expressed her appreciation to the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) as it began construction of a bike lane through Lafayette Park that Norton pressed the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and National Park Service (NPS) to allow to proceed. After the D.C. biking community complained of repeated closures of the Pennsylvania Avenue Plaza and Lafayette Park due to security reasons, which had forced bicycles onto heavily used, congested sidewalks, Norton held a meeting with NPS and USSS last July. At that meeting, NPS and USSS agreed to have DDOT build the designated bike lane to protect riders and pedestrians.
“I appreciate the response of NPS and the U.S. Secret Service and the actual execution by DDOT of the long-awaited bike lane along Lafayette Park, connecting bikers from Vermont Avenue NW to 15th Street NW,” Norton said. “D.C. is a city of bikers, which helps relieve congestion on the road. The least our bikers are entitled to are bike lanes that do not put them at risk.”