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1 A BILL
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3 25-577
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5 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
6 ______________
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8 To amend the Safe at Home Act of 2016 to include modifications intended to improve the physical
9 accessibility of an off-street parking space as an eligible accessibility modification under
10 the Safe at Home Program; to amend the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Amendment Act
11 of 2016 to require that the District Department of Transportation establish multimodal
12 measures of effectiveness for assessing transportation projects, and to establish a Public
13 Life and Activity Zones Program within the District Department of Transportation that will
14 select 3 corridors in the District to be closed to personal vehicle traffic and advise the
15 Mayor on the issuance grants to support efforts to close the designated corridors to personal
16 vehicles; to amend the Block Party Act of 2012 to modify the requirements for existing
17 block party applications and to create a process for submitting expedited block party
18 application for blocks that have been preauthorized; to amend section 47-2862 of the
19 District of Columbia Official Code to exempt expedited block party applications and block
20 party preauthorization applications from the prohibition against the issuance of licenses or
21 permits; and to amend the Autonomous Vehicle Act of 2012 to establish interim
22 requirements that people or entities engaged in autonomous vehicles (“AV”) testing must
23 meet until an AV testing permit application is made available by the District Department
24 of Transportation, to allow DDOT to restrict testing for safety concerns related to an AV
25 testing entity’s failure to comply with its permit, to require that AV testing entities submit
26 quarterly reports to DDOT, and to require that AV testing entities seek approval from
27 DDOT before increasing the number of vehicles being tested.
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29 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
30 act may be cited as the “Public Life and Activity Zones Amendment (“PLAZA”) Act of 2024”.
31 Sec. 2. Subsection 2(c) of the Safe at Home Act of 2016, effective November 26, 2016
32 (D.C. Law 21-168; D.C. Official Code § 7-551.01(c)), is amended as follows:
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33 (a) Paragraph (7) is amended by striking the phrase “; and” and inserting a semicolon in its
34 place.
35 (b) A new paragraph (7A) to read as follows:
36 “(7A) Modifications to improve the physical accessibility of an off-street parking
37 space; and”.
38 Sec. 3. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Amendment Act of 2016, effective October 8,
39 2016 (D.C. Law 21-155; 63 DCR 10143), is amended as follows:
40 (a) A new section 108 is added to read as follows:
41 “Sec. 108. Multimodal metrics of effectiveness.
42 “(a) DDOT shall not use automobile delay, as measured by vehicle level of service,
43 vehicular throughput, or traffic congestion, as the primary metric of analysis for:
44 “(1) For the planning, design, and construction of transportation projects;
45 “(2) The selection of an approved concept and design of a street improvement
46 project; and
47 “(3) The assessment of transportation impacts of new development, as may be
48 required pursuant to Title 10 or Title 11 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
49 “(b) The Director shall establish multimodal metrics for analyzing the effectiveness of
50 transportation improvements and design alternatives, to include the following considerations, as
51 applicable:
52 “(1) Pedestrians and ADA compliance;
53 “(2) Bicycles and micromobility devices;
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54 “(3) Transit;
55 “(4) Traffic calming and speed management;
56 “(5) Freight operations and curbside management; and
57 “(6) Related safety concerns.”.
58 (b) A new section 202 is added to read as follows:
59 “Sec. 202. Public Life and Activity Zones Program.
60 “(a) There is established a Public Life and Activity Zones Program (“Program”) within
61 DDOT that shall:
62 “(1) Designate corridors in the District that shall be closed to personal vehicle
63 traffic; and
64 “(2) Advise the Mayor on the issuance of grants to support efforts to close the
65 designated corridors to personal vehicles.
66 “(b)(1) The Program shall publish on DDOT’s website a report no later than December 31,
67 2025, selecting 3 roadways in the District, each no less than one-eighth of a mile in contiguous
68 length, that are suitable for closure to personal vehicles (“designated corridors”) for at least 24
69 cumulative hours per week.
70 “(2) At least one of the roadways selected for closure shall be in a neighborhood in
71 Ward 5, Ward 7, or Ward 8 that suffers from high levels of traffic violence, air pollution, lack of
72 safe access to public space, or low rates of physical activity.
73 “(3) Before publishing the report identifying the designated corridors, the Program
74 shall solicit feedback from residents, business owners, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions,
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75 Business Improvement Districts, Community Improvement Districts, Main Streets, and other
76 entities within or abutting the designated corridor to personal vehicle traffic.
77 “(c) The report required by subsection (b)(1) of this section shall include a summary of the
78 corridors considered and the rationale for selecting the designated corridors, including:
79 “(1) If the designated corridor has been closed to personal vehicle traffic for another
80 event, such as an Open Streets event, farmer’s market, or festival:
81 “(A) A description of the other event and any challenges associated with
82 those prior events; and
83 “(B) Recommendations for addressing challenges identified pursuant to
84 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
85 “(2) Notable safety concerns regarding the designated corridor as identified by
86 DDOT or the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency;
87 “(3) Recommendations for any new or improved traffic infrastructure that would
88 promote:
89 “(A) Pedestrian travel to and within the designated corridor, such as
90 sidewalk extensions and curb bump-outs, developed in consultation with the Pedestrian Advisory
91 Council;
92 “(B) Bicycle travel to and within the designated corridor, such as bike lanes
93 or cycle tracks, developed in consultation with the Bicycle Advisory Council;
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94 “(C) Accessibility for multimodal users and persons with disabilities or
95 mobility challenges, developed in consultation with the Multimodal Accessibility Advisory
96 Council; and
97 “(D) Access to public transit to or within the designated corridor, including
98 Metrorail, Metrobus, and Streetcar service;
99 “(4) Plans for ensuring public transportation, government fleet, emergency and first
100 responder vehicles, and freight and delivery vehicles maintain access to the designated corridor;
101 “(5) How the street closure can be implemented without additional agency staffing,
102 including the use of barricades;
103 “(6) The anticipated cost of closing personal vehicle traffic on the designated
104 corridor, including any traffic infrastructure described in paragraph (3) of this subsection or grants
105 issued pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section;
106 “(7) The number of parking spaces eliminated by the proposal to close personal
107 vehicle travel within the designated corridor and its anticipated impact on businesses within the
108 designated corridor;
109 “(8) The feasibility of permanently closing the designated corridor to personal
110 vehicles; and
111 “(9) Feedback received from the residents, business owners, Advisory
112 Neighborhood Commissions, Business Improvement Districts, Community Improvement
113 Districts, Main Streets, and other entities within or abutting the designated corridor to personal
114 vehicle traffic, and the Program’s responses to that feedback.
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115 “(d) Following the publication of the report, in order to obtain community feedback
116 regarding the selected designated corridors, DDOT shall:
117 “(1) Publish on its website a form through which District residents may provide
118 feedback regarding which of the 3 designated corridors should be closed to personal vehicle traffic;
119 “(2) Convene at least one public meeting, properly noticed in the D.C. Register at
120 least 30 days prior to each public meeting, for each designated corridor; and
121 “(3) No later than March 31, 2026, announce which of the 3 designated corridors
122 will be closed to personal vehicle traffic for, at a minimum, 24 cumulative hours per week,
123 beginning October 1, 2026.
124 “(e) Beginning March 31, 2026, the Mayor shall, in consultation with the Program, with
125 respect to the designated corridor selected:
126 “(1) Issue grants to businesses and other entities not to exceed $2 million in total to
127 support efforts to close the designated corridor to personal vehicle traffic and promote the use of
128 the designated corridor by residents and visitors, including grants to:
129 “(A) Install or expand streateries;
130 “(B) Commission and install artwork;
131 “(C) Safely facilitate deliveries to restaurants and retailers during street
132 closures;
133 “(D) Construct venues to be used for public events; and
134 “(E) Reimburse residents, businesses, and other entities for permit fees
135 related to construction within the designated corridor; and
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136 “(2) Implement the recommendations for any new or improved traffic infrastructure
137 as described in subsection (c)(3) of this section.”.
138 “(f) Beginning October 1, 2027, any updates to the District’s Multimodal Long-Range
139 Transportation Plan shall include plans to close the remaining 2 designated corridors to personal
140 automobile traffic for, at a minimum, 24 cumulative hours per week.”.
141 Sec. 4. The Block Party Act of 2012, effective October 23, 2012 (D.C. Law 19-190; D.C.
142 Official Code § 9-631 et seq.), is amended as follows:
143 (a) Section 2 (D.C. Official Code § 9-631) is amended as follows:
144 (1) Existing paragraphs (1) and (2) are redesignated as paragraphs (2) and (3),
145 respectively.
146 (2) A new paragraph (1) is added to read as follows:
147 “(1) “Authorized resident” means a District resident who was listed on a block party
148 preauthorization application, as described in section 3a(b)(2), that has been approved by the
149 Department and can submit an expedited block party application for a preauthorized block on
150 which they reside.”.
151 (3) A new paragraph (4) is added to read as follows:
152 “(4) “Preauthorized block” means a section of roadway for which an authorized resident
153 can submit an expedited block party application following the approval of a block party
154 preauthorization application as described in sections 3a and 4.”.
155 (b) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 9-632) is amended to read as follows:
156 “Sec. 3. Block party application and requirements.
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157 “(a) The Department shall create a block party application and make it available for in-
158 person pickup and online.
159 “(b)(1) Any District resident who is 21 years of age or older may submit a block party
160 application requesting that a street on which they reside be closed for the purpose of holding a
161 block party.
162 “(2) The block party application shall, at a minimum:
163 “(A) Be completed on the form provided by the Department;
164 “(B) Identify the street name and cross streets of the block to be closed;
165 “(C) The date and time of the closure; and
166 “(D) Include either:
167 “(i) A list of at least 51% of the residents, owners, or businesses
168 abutting the section of the street requested to be closed who have consented to the block party,
169 excluding any property that has been identified as a vacant building, as that term is defined in
170 section 5(5) of An Act To provide for the abatement of nuisances in the District of Columbia by
171 the Commissioner of said District, and for other purposes, approved April 14, 1906 (34 Stat. 114;
172 D.C. Official Code § 42-3131.05(5)); or
173 “(ii) Approval from all of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions
174 abutting the section of the street requested to be closed, in a manner to be determined by the
175 Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
176 “(c)(1) A street closure conducted pursuant to a block party permit shall:
177 “(A) Not last longer than 12 hours; and
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178 “(B) End by 10:00 p.m.
179 “(2) The Department may publish guidance on its website or issue rules limiting
180 the physical length of block parties conducted pursuant to a block part permit.”.
181 (c) A new section 3a is added to read as follows:
182 “Sec. 3a. Block party preauthorization application; expedited block party application.
183 “(a) The Department shall create a block party preauthorization application and an
184 expedited block party application and make it available for in-person pickup and online.
185 “(b)(1) Any District resident who is 21 years of age or older may submit a block party
186 preauthorization application requesting that a street on which they live be designated a
187 preauthorized block which, if approved, allows authorized residents to submit an expedited block
188 party application requesting that the preauthorized block be closed for the purposes of holding a
189 block party.
190 “(2) In addition to the requirements for block party applications described in section
191 3(b)(2), the block party preauthorization application:
192 “(A) Shall include
193 “(i) A list of District residents, accompanied by the residents’
194 signatures, who are allowed to submit an expedited block party application for the block that the
195 applicant is requesting be designated as a preauthorized block; and
196 “(ii) A description of the means the authorized residents will use to
197 close the streets; and
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198 “(B) May require any other information the Department deems necessary to
199 consider the block party preauthorization application.
200 “(3)(A) The designation of a preauthorized block shall remain in effect for the
201 purposes of requesting an expedited block party application for the following time periods:
202 “(i) For block party preauthorization applications approved within
203 one year after the effective date of the Public Life and Activity Zones Amendment (“PLAZA”)
204 Act of 2024, as approved by the Committee on Transportation and the Environment on November
205 25, 2024 (Committee print of Bill 25-577), a preauthorized block shall be effective for 6 months
206 after the date the block party preauthorization application was approved, or until the end of the
207 calendar year during which the block party preauthorization application was approved, whichever
208 occurs first; or
209 “(ii) For block party preauthorization applications approved on or
210 after the date that is one year after the effective date of the Public Life and Activity Zones
211 Amendment (“PLAZA”) Act of 2024, as approved by the Committee on Transportation and the
212 Environment on November 25, 2024 (Committee print of Bill 25-577), preauthorization shall be
213 effective for one calendar year.
214 “(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Department
215 may:
216 “(i) Rescind the designation of a street as a preauthorized block for
217 good cause, including noncompliance with the requirements of the permit; and
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218 “(ii) Require that an authorized resident submit a new block party
219 preauthorization application for good cause, including changes to the characteristics of the
220 preauthorized block.
221 “(c)(1) A District resident may submit an expedited block party application with respect to
222 any preauthorized block for which they are an authorized resident.
223 “(2) The expedited block party application shall, at a minimum:
224 “(A) Be completed on the form provided by the Department;
225 “(B) Specify the date and time of the closure;
226 “(C) Include:
227 “(i) A sworn statement that the authorized resident has posted or will
228 post notice of the street closure, at least 72 hours before the date of the proposed street closure, in
229 at least 4