At some point behind the wheel, you’ve probably wished there were not so many other cars on the road.
You, of course, are not alone. Anyone who has driven in D.C. all wish traffic were better around here. And a new moveDC survey bears that out — with one respondent saying officials should “more aggressively work to limit the use of private cars.”
The survey — part of the District Department of Transportation’s effort to update its long-range plan — shows people want D.C. to put money into public transit, pedestrian accessibility and bicycling, in that order.
The survey said that D.C. residents want the District to expand transit, bike and pedestrian options, and that they want what’s available to be safer. In particular, respondents said they wanted protected bike lanes and better enforcement of laws that protect pedestrians.
One of the over 4,000 respondents suggested access to reliable transportation is not equitable across the District: “There are still huge swaths of the city that are disconnected from the metro and other transit options,” they wrote. “DDOT should focus on connecting communities east of the river to downtown areas.”
And despite moveDC’s efforts to inform residents of Wards 7 and 8 and low-income residents about the survey, nonwhite and lower-income people were underrepresented in the survey.
For that reason, DDOT says, it will look closely at the responses provided by nonwhite and lower-income people — as well as those who do not have private vehicle access — to ensure their perspectives are considered.
Residents who did respond to the survey were asked if they had $10 to spend on transportation, what they would spend it on. Interestingly, they said they would spend $8 on transit, biking and walking projects, and less than a dollar on more parking and more roads.
