It looks like the K Street Transitway will resemble Option 2, the two-lane transitway with two three-lane side roadways, if DC gets the federal funding it needs to build the project.

FHWA published in the Federal Register that they’ve issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the “preferred alternative,” option 2. I asked DDOT if that means they’ve chosen option 2, but they replied that they don’t want to announce anything prior to the official publication on Friday.

Segment of Option 2 from 17th to 19th Streets, NW.

I leaned toward Option 2 as well, because it provides greater flexibility for off-peak loading zones, more sidewalk space, and does move traffic faster. However, Option 2 provides no bicycle lanes or other bike infrastructure.

If Option 2 is indeed the reality, it’s all the more important to push for some protected bicycle lanes on I and L, or M, or some other parallel street similar to the new one on 15th and planned for M Street SE/SW.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.