DC’s long-range transportation plan, moveDC, is getting an update. Here’s what you need to know.

Six years ago the District created its first set of long range transportation plans to help people better move around the city using various means of transportation.

Aptly titled moveDC, some of the proposed plans at the time called for an ambitious expansion of transit and biking infrastructure, improved buses, congestion pricing for downtown DC, and an expanded DC Streetcar system.

Now, the District says moveDC is due for an update, and the public is being asked to weigh in on the transportation goals they want to see DC adopt.

In 2014, the District identified more than 300 projects to complete within a 25-year span. So far it has completed at least seven, with at least 10 more being designed or under construction. Some have raised questions about the speed of the plan, and it’s not yet known how extensive an update moveDC will receive.

Meanwhile, DC is expecting a 35% increase in population between 2020 and 2045, according to a moveDC snapshot. This translates into about 50,000 more people in the District each year. MoveDC will help beef up its mobility and transportation network to accommodate such growth. The plan will also address how to make mobility more equitable, accessible, and safe for residents.

During an October 13 town hall District officials said that state long-range plans like moveDC are typically updated every five to seven years — seven years after its introduction, officials believe moveDC is due for a refresh. The update will also let DC align with a shift at the national level toward more performance-based planning, they said.

During this stage of public input, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is looking for input on goals and policies as well as equity.

DDOT also wants input on its mobility priority networks — networks of streets throughout the district where DDOT wants to improve certain modes of transportation. For instance, the surface transit priority network indicates streets that should be changed to allow buses to move more efficiently and safely.

Recent transit network developments have included dedicated bus lanes on H and I streets in 2019, as well as M Street SE, and Martin Luther King Jr Avenue SE, as part of the District’s reopening plan.

It’s also not clear how COVID-19 could impact moveDC and future development. The pandemic has already forced this round of public input to go totally virtual, and the economic downturn could make it difficult to invest in the goals moveDC outlines, at least in the short term.

Three main priorities

The moveDC update is starting with three draft mobility priority networks. Each network draft has an interactive map that residents can use to give feedback on DDOT’s priorities, indicate gaps, and suggest routes that should be improved. The three draft networks are:

• Surface transit (buses and streetcars)
• Bicycle
• Freight (trucks carrying goods around the District)

While moveDC will not allocate specific funding to improvements on these routes, DDOT says the plan will shape investment priorities moving forward.

How you can weigh in

DDOT has four primary ways of collecting feedback:

1. An online survey, which will be available until November 14
2. The interactive maps of mobility priority networks
3. Email movedc@dc.gov
4. Phone office hours: Residents can call 202-599-7371 during the following times (outside of these times, you can leave a voicemail):

• Tuesday, October 20 from 7 to 8 pm
• Thursday, October 22 from 10 to 11 am
• Tuesday, October 27 from 10 to 11 am
• Wednesday, October 28, from 7 to 8 pm

After this initial round of public engagement, DDOT plans to ask for feedback on more specific strategies in a second round in early 2021. The plan is scheduled to be complete next summer.

Readers, what would you like to see included as part of moveDC?