The Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission heard updates Wednesday from a representative of Ward 2 D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto about an uptick in complaints about improper scooter usage and parking on sidewalks.
Deputy Committee Director and Senior Counsel Elle LaBrada, who spoke on behalf of Pinto, said scooters were among the issues that Pinto’s office hears about most frequently from constituents and asked commissioners and members of the public if they had feedback for Pinto’s office on how they could effectively address concerns over the scooters or what regulations the District Department of Transportation could implement. Metropolitan Police Department officials launched a safety outreach campaign earlier this month after a rise in traffic fatalities and a fatal electric scooter crash that killed a D.C. official.
“While DDOT and many of the scooter companies are working on changes to try to help with this issue, we know legislation is likely needed to make a more meaningful impact to improve pedestrian safety and accountability,” LaBrada said.
2A04 Commissioner Ed Comer said he also hears from his constituents “all the time” about problems with scooters parking on sidewalks and that he believes legislation is necessary to address the issue.
“Our sidewalks, particularly along Virginia Avenue, are extremely narrow and the scooters blocking them make it difficult for anybody to walk by, let alone two people or somebody who is in a wheelchair or handicapped,” Comer said.
Talib Shakir, the director of the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs was killed in a scooter crash on Oct. 9 after colliding with another scooter rider, who was injured. Neither Shakir or the other rider were wearing helmets at the time of the crash.
2A02 Commissioner Rob Gifford mentioned attending a GW briefing regarding scooters and e-bikes earlier this month. He said officials detailed how they planned to improve sidewalk safety and bolster enforcement.
Gifford said GW is working on some “proposals” that would seek to improve safety surrounding “micro-mobility” devices.
Here are some other highlights from the meeting:
Commissioners question MPD and Councilmember representative regarding election security
2A03 Commissioner and ANC 2A Chairperson Trupti Patel asked LaBrada whether Pinto had taken any steps to ensure the National Guard did not congregate around the ballot drop box located outside the Foggy Bottom Metro station.
Community members shared videos of troops stationed in front of the ballot drop box near the Metro earlier this month, and the D.C. Board of Elections reportedly asked National Guard leadership to prevent troops from congregating near ballot drop boxes.
Two National Guard officials told the Washington Post earlier this month that the troops stationed near the Foggy Bottom ballot box were not guarding it, and rather the troops near the box were part of a larger patrol that had paused.
LaBrada said it is illegal for the National Guard to congregate outside of the ballot drop box, but it is difficult for officials to litigate the issue because D.C. is not a state.
“As you know there’s ongoing litigation right now from our attorney general for the National Guard presence,” LaBrada said. “So, this is an issue around which it’s difficult because we are not a state.”
During a separate portion of the meeting, Comer asked MPD Lieutenant Kenneth Taylor whether MPD officials were developing plans to assure that “nobody will interfere” with voters casting their ballots.
Taylor said he would be working the “ballot box escort detail” on election day and encouraged anyone who feels threatened at the ballot box to call 911, but said it was not MPD’s role to provide election security.
“Anything that may be related to someone being threatened, if it happens to be related to voting or having the ability to vote, then we will respond and address that,” Taylor said. “But as far as us being deployed to actual poling places to provide security for voters, that is not something that I believe the MPD is going to be handling.”
MPD updates commissioners traffic enforcement policies
Taylor also provided an update to commissioners and community members about how MPD conducts traffic enforcement after receiving an emailed question from an ANC commissioner about whether MPD officers still conduct traffic enforcement in the District, given the presence of traffic enforcement cameras.
Taylor said the traffic enforcement cameras — there are three red light cameras and four speed cameras in ANC 2A — are an “enhancement” of traditional traffic enforcement where officers pull drivers over for traffic enforcement.
“We are still tasked with active traffic enforcement and there are officers who are still issuing traffic citations at scenes of say vehicle accidents, where we can determine who was at fault,” Taylor said.
Taylor said MPD often designates an officer as a “traffic car” throughout a shift, meaning the officer doesn’t respond to radio calls and only focuses on traffic enforcement. He also said the U.S. Park Police and the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service will both conduct traffic enforcement in the downtown area of D.C. alongside MPD.
Commissioners also voted in support of a case before the D.C. Zoning Commission regarding 1701 Pennsylvania Ave., where a property owner is seeking an exception to a zoning rule in order to construct a habitable penthouse, along with approving a separate zoning case regarding a map amendment for a property at 401 14th Street SW.
The Commission also voted to take no action on Whole Foods’ application to renew its license issued by the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration.
The next ANC meeting will be held Nov. 18 over Zoom.