At a hearing on Mayor Muriel
Bowser’s proposed FY 2016 budget, the D.C. Pedestrian Advisory Council (PAC) expressed
cautious optimism that pedestrians will indeed be prioritized among
transportation modes in the year ahead. Sidewalk repairs and corridor
improvements would both get funding through the District Department of
Transportation (DDOT) budget, which the D.C. Council will vote on in May. The April
21 hearing on the budget was held by the D.C. Council Committee on Transportation
and the Environment, chaired by Councilmember Mary Cheh. Councilmembers Charles
Allen and Kenyon McDuffie also attended and joined Cheh in asking DDOT Director
Leif Dormsjo pointed questions about transportation infrastructure and safety
in their wards and throughout the District.
The PAC’s testimony at the hearing praised sidewalk funding
but questioned the sufficiency of funding for other types of infrastructure
work, such as making intersections and crosswalks safer for pedestrians. (Click here to read the PAC’s testimony.)
Highlights of the budget are below:
Sidewalks – Through a couple different funds, there would be
nearly $18 million in the FY 2016 budget to repair uneven sidewalks and build
sidewalk segments where they are missing.
Vision Zero – The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Fund would
be replaced by the Vision Zero Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Fund, which would
be furnished with automated traffic enforcement fines paid by motorists and
would be bigger -- stocked with $500,000 for FY 2016. DDOT is leading the
District’s Vision Zero initiative, Dormsjo said at the hearing. Vision Zero is
an approach to road safety that aims to prevent all traffic-related fatalities
and serious injuries.
Safer corridors – The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety
Enhancement fund would have about $2 million in FY 2016 for corridor design and
implementation.
The proposed budget is available on the website of the D.C. Chief Financial Officer.