As of last week, rubber parking stops called “Park-Its” now protect a half block segment of the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes, between 9th and 10th Streets NW.

Photo by the author.

The Park-Its are supposed to protect cyclists from drivers making illegal U-turns across Pennsylvania Avenue’s bike lanes, which are in the middle of the road.

DDOT crews installed the first Park-Its last week. Workers will add more in the coming days, until Park-Its line the bikeway for the two block stretch from 9th to 11th.

Full installation of Park-Its all along Pennsylvania Avenue could eventually happen, but for now DDOT hopes to determine if this initial installation works. According to DDOT’s Darren Buck, the Park-Its on 1st Street NE sometimes pull up out of the pavement.

Park-Its succeed the zebras that DDOT installed in 2013, but which proved only partially effective. For now, the zebras between 12th and 13th Streets will remain in place.

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

Dan Malouff is a transportation planner for Arlington and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He has a degree in urban planning from the University of Colorado and lives in Trinidad, DC. He runs BeyondDC and contributes to the Washington Post. Dan blogs to express personal views, and does not take part in GGWash's political endorsement decisions.