Events: A big week for biking

Wednesday, May 18

Remembering lives lost to traffic violence: The 2022 DC Ride of Silence will take place on Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00 pm. Held to honor and remember those who cannot be here to celebrate with us, the Ride of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph … and remain silent during the ride. If possible, please wear white. If you would like to be identifiable as having been hit while riding, wear red.

The Ride of Silence takes place in hundreds of cities around the world on the 3rd Wednesday of each May at 7 pm local time. As rideofsilence.org puts it, “Although cyclists have a legal right to be on the road with motorists, [drivers] often [aren’t] aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.” To learn more, check out our event posting.

Thursday, May 19

Learn how candidates in the DC Council At Large race plan to achieve community safety in DC: Join ACLU-DC and partners for a Virtual At-Large Council Member Candidate Forum, on Thursday, May 19 at 6 pm as moderator Delia Goncalves (WUSA9) asks candidates how they will help achieve community safety if elected to serve the District.

“For decades we have relied heavily on policing and incarceration to respond to public safety concerns,” The ACLU of DC event page states. “These policies have inflicted significant harm on Black and brown residents and done little to reduce crime. Achieving community safety requires leaders on the D.C. Council who will pass policies to end systemic racial and economic injustices deepened by the D.C. government’s overreliance on policing and incarceration. Achieving community safety means investing resources in communities’ needs so they can be free from harm.”

All At-Large candidates on the June 21 primary ballot have been invited to attend. You can learn more and register for the event here.

Friday, May 20

Get ready for Bike to Work Day! This year’s Bike to Work Day, hosted by Commuter Connections and WABA, is coming up on Friday, May 20, 2022. There’s no better time to get outside and experience the joys of active transportation!

Join a free bike convoy, find a ride buddy, or ride solo this Bike to Work Day, and you’ll have the opportunity to change up your commute, save some money, and do your part to improve regional air quality and reduce traffic congestion. Make sure to stop by one of the 96 pit stops located throughout DC, suburban Maryland, and Northern Virginia for free giveaways, food, and beverages, plus a chance to win raffle prizes.

The event is open to experienced and novice cyclers—and for those who would like to join a convoy led by experienced volunteer bicycle commuters, starting point information will be available on the event website. Registration and updates are available at www.biketoworkmetrodc.org.

Saturday, May 21

Open Streets in Your Neighborhood: DC’s first event in its “Open Streets in Your Neighborhood” program is kicking off with Ward 8’s Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE. On Saturday, May 21 from 9 am - 1:00 pm, 0.3 miles of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE will be closed to cars and open to people to ride, bike, walk, socialize, and participate in exciting programming! The main stage will feature music, entertainment, and demonstrations, with one activation zone along the Open Streets route providing opportunities to join a fitness class.

Other anticipated activations include Double Dutch jump rope, a traffic garden, rollerblading, bike demonstrations, a photo booth, a protected bike lane that connects the route to the Anacostia Park trail, and much more! You can learn more here.

Designing Pennsylvania Avenue for people: Join the National Capital Planning Commission at 10:00 am on Saturday, May 21 for the third and final public meeting reimagining the design of Pennsylvania Avenue.

The proposed Pennsylvania Avenue Vision aims to transform the Avenue between the White House and the US Capitol into a venue that celebrates its civic role and spirit of democracy, creates an inspiring public realm, and modernizes infrastructure to make the Avenue a great street and an iconic destination. Three concepts explore different approaches on how to achieve this vision, with an emphasis on multimodal access and placemaking. They also provide a comparative and inspirational overview of potential options that can be mixed and matched. RSVP for the May 21 meeting here or visit the NCPC’s project Vision Page to learn more.