ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
23-429
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
June 9, 2020
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to direct the District
Department of Transportation to publish a report identifying modifications to roadways
in each ward that will create space for uses other than for motorized vehicles and to set a
timeline for implementation.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the Connected Transportation Network Emergency Declaration
Resolution of 2020.
Sec. 2. (a) On May 27, 2020, Mayor Bowser issued Mayors Order 2020-067, allowing
for certain businesses to reopen in certain circumstances.
(b) Mayors Order 2020-067, however, notes that [w]hen leaving their residents, all
individuals must continue to maintain a distance of at least six (6) feet from persons not in their
household . . . . and that while [w]earing a mask or face covering is one tool to protect an
individuals health and the health of others . . . it does not replace social distancing.
(c) On many sidewalks in the District it is impossible to maintain a distance of 6 feet
when simply walking or bicycling.
(d) It is anticipated that as District residents return to work, the number of those residents
cycling and walking to work will increase significantly as they attempt to commute using
methods that comply with social distancing requirements.
(e) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has created a Slow Streets
program that will identify some streets that would be closed to through traffic and mandates
reduced speeds for cars. That is a good start, but DDOT should create a map of where it intends
to locate slow streets and other protected lanes so as to create a framework by which a connected
network for residents to commute to and from work safely can be established.
(f) The Connected Transportation Network Emergency Act of 2020 requires DDOT to
identify streets that can be part of a network of bicycle lanes, work that DDOT has done in
several existing reports.
(g) Emergency legislation is necessary to ensure that when residents leave their homes
during times when social distancing is required, safe space is available for pedestrians and
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bicyclists, and, as the number of residents who choose to walk or cycle to work increase, those
individuals may do so in a safe manner.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the
Connected Transportation Network Emergency Act of 2020 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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