A widened sidewalk in DC by Ted Eytan licensed under Creative Commons.

At her press conference on Friday, May 29, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the default speed limit on DC streets would be lowered from 25 mph to 20 mph, and that DDOT would be closing some streets to through traffic as part of a “slow streets” initiative.

Per Bowser’s press release:

…DDOT will also roll out at least 20 miles of DC Slow Streets across all eight wards over the summer. Slow Streets are restricted to local traffic only and the speed limit is set at 15 mph to support neighborhood-based safe social distancing while walking, running, or cycling. Drivers should only use a designated slow street if their destination is within two blocks of the slow street. Residents, emergency vehicles, deliveries and trash collection vehicles will continue to have access to Slow Streets. Streets with bus routes will not be eligible. DC Slow Streets will be in place for the duration of the public health emergency.

Also announced at the mayor’s presser was that the District will allow restaurants to open “streateries,” which will “expand beyond individual parking lane uses and close one or more lanes of an entire block or more to vehicle traffic to allow for outdoor dining and table service.”

The lower speed limit will go into effect on June 1.

Why safe streets are an appropriate response to coronavirus

Many other cities, including Oakland and Baltimore, have implemented some sort of slow-street initiative to promote safe social distancing during their COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.

Safer streets don’t just protect pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users and anyone else who isn’t driving. With fewer people moving around the District, drivers who are are speeding, fatally: Though 12 pedestrians and cyclists lost their lives to traffic violence in 2018, most traffic fatalities since the COVID-19 public health emergency began have been drivers, including a motorcyclist Thursday.

There are many difficult discussions to be had about what the reallocation of street space means, in theory and in practice. It is critical to discuss who wins and who loses when power and space are shifted. Nonetheless, right now, people are losing their lives not just to coronavirus but to poor road design and, in some cases, violent enforcement of laws that make little sense on those same poorly designed roads.

What we know and what we don’t

Bowser’s single slide didn’t indicate much about signage, education, or enforcement, and in response to audience questions, she said that some things related to lower speed limits and slow streets— but not which things — would occur during Phase II of the District’s coronavirus recovery plan.

An image of Mayor Bowser's presentation slow streets in DC. Image by @randydaledowns used with permission.

This was, generally, an announcement of future planning—so, of course, lots of people have questions! In a listserv thread, our supporters and contributors expressed concern that drivers will speed regardless of the speed-limit change. Though dropping the baseline to 20 mph is significant, and may well make a big difference, many streets are still designed in ways that encourage people to drive well over that limit.

DDOT will roll out, over the coming weeks, new signage, as well as plans for which roads will be identified for “slow streets” closures, and how those roads will be slowed or closed to through traffic.

Done right, this could be a celebration-worthy breakthrough in how DDOT handles public space, and, perhaps, be the start of more permanent changes to slow traffic and create space for people on residential and commercial streets.

Slower streets, so far

Bowser’s announcement comes after two months of requests from residents, advocates, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, councilmembers, and businesses to consider street interventions more broad than anything her administration has offered during its stay-at-home order, the most prominent action of which has been to expand sidewalks outside of some essential businesses.

So, DDOT has had plenty of time to observe the pluses and minuses of how interventions to commercial and residential streets have worked elsewhere, and develop its own protocol in response to the District’s unique needs. However, credit where it’s due: As calls to adapt the streets to our changing needs for safe public space have grown in recent weeks, DDOT kept the pace or accelerated progress on existing bike and pedestrian infrastructure plans, such as G Street NW.

While “slow” streets will mean very little if they are poorly or unevenly implemented, or if they fail to incorporate feedback from the people who are actually using them, Bowser clearly stating a commitment to lower speed limits and presenting an initiative for closing streets to through traffic, at a citywide scale, is a win for the District.

GGWash will continue to follow this story. If you’ve got thoughts about the mayor’s announcement, you can always email her office at eom@dc.gov.

Alex Baca is the DC Policy Director at GGWash. Previously the engagement director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the general manager of Cuyahoga County's bikesharing system, she has also worked in journalism, bike advocacy, architecture, construction, and transportation in DC, San Francisco, and Cleveland. She has written about all of the above for CityLab, Slate, Vox, Washington City Paper, and other publications.