Photo by MoBikeFed.

This week and next, there are several important opportunities to advocate for better streets in DC, whether for bicycles, pedestrians, streetcars, or retail along the edge.

K Street: Tonight at 6:30, DDOT is holding a public meeting to discuss the K Street Transitway. According to WABA, “Right now two different plans are being considered, one with bike lanes and one without.” The street needs to accommodate cyclists as well as other users. I’d be just as happy if the city decided to build real, protected bike lanes on a pair of parallel streets (H or L and I or M), but there’s so such plan at the moment. The meeting is 6:30 pm tonight at the Four Points By Sheraton, 1201 K St, NW.
18th Street: Tomorrow, a community meeting in Adams Morgan will discuss plans to reconstruct 18th Street. I’ll post more details of that plan tomorrow, but you can weigh in on the plan’s wider sidewalks, more bicycle-friendly lanes, and less harrowing intersection at 18th and Florida. It’s structured as an open house starting at 7 pm at the police station, 1620 V St, NW.

17th Street: The Dupont Circle ANC and Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets is organizing a “community charrette” to discuss the future of 17th Street. There’s already a disappointing plan for the street itself, but there’s a lot more to the health of a commercial street than the road design. Can 17th draw more street festivals? What about a Summer Streets program on 17th? Should 17th have performance parking?

17th also has some prime opportunities to add apartments above low, ugly parcels like the Safeway. A new mixed-use Safeway could more closely match the height of the neighboring buildings, mostly around four stories. The first meeting is Wednesday, August 5th, 6:30 pm at Cobalt, on the 3rd floor of the building at the northeast corner of 17th and R that also houses Level One and 30 Degrees.

Streetcars! DDOT Director Gabe Klein will discuss the city’s streetcar plans and answer advocates’ questions on Thursday August 6th, 7 pm at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street, NE.
Shop and have fun: The 14th and U area is the place to be this weekend. The neighborhood is throwing their yearly festival, and the local businesses will hold the annual Dog Days of August Sidewalk Sale. The festival is Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm, and the Dog Days sale runs all day Saturday and Sunday.
Hike: If you’d rather spend the weekend quietly with nature instead of in a lively neighborhood, the Sierra Club of Montgomery County is hiking part of the ICC and looking at the impact of the new freeway on the Paint Branch watershed.

These events and more appear on the Greater Greater Washington calendar. Know of an event we should list? Email it to info@ggwash.org.