Last week, bike ramps went in on the edge of Lafayette Square near the White House, giving cyclists an easier route around a Secret Service checkpoint. Yesterday, DDOT added additional pavement markings to help riders navigate the new layout.

All photos by the author.

The new striping extends roughly 30 feet from each set of ramps. Lane lines with bike stencils clearly indicate the ramps are for bicycles and reinforce which side riders should use depending on their direction of travel. Flex posts and additional signs help separate the lanes from cars going through the security checkpoint.

Combined with the ramps, these lanes help visually extend the 15th Street protected bikeway and make it clear that bikes are welcome along Lafayette Square.

It’s great to see official markings for biking infrastructure on federal property, and maybe this instance will help lay the groundwork for cooperation in other federally controlled places.

For example, there aren’t any signs or pavement markings directing people from the 15th Street bikeway’s segment east of the White House through the bollards at Pennsylvania Avenue and where it picks back up at the new ramps. If you don’t know the connection is there, there’s nothing to clue you in.

Image from Google Maps.

What other federally-controlled land could use bike lane markings?