Removal of 15th Street bike lanes put on hold after cycling advocacy groups files lawsuit

Bikes lanes on 15th Street in D.C. were scheduled to be removed starting Monday but a last-minute lawsuit put the removal on hold for now.

The popular bike lanes were set to be removed to improve traffic ahead of big events such as the Cherry Blossom Festival and the nation’s America’s 250th anniversary celebration. The cycling advocacy group Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) believes the removal will do the opposite.

The Department of Justice received notice of an emergency filing by WABA. The group held a rally and stood along 15th Street to protest against the removal.

WABA executive director Elizabeth Kiker says they filed the lawsuit because the bike lanes save lives.

“The removal of the bike lane threatened by the federal government had no public process,” Kiker said. “We just found out from rumors, and so that’s not legal. There was a public process to put it in place.”

The D.C. Department of Transportation released a study in March that showed a 46% decrease in roadway crashes and a 91% decrease in bike injury crashes since the bike lanes were installed.

“I mean, common sense shows that is amazing,” Kiker said.

The group filed the lawsuit on Monday and hopes to have a hearing on Thursday or Friday calling for a temporary restraining order until the federal government “do the public process that is required and leave the bike lane in,” according to Kiker.

News4 reached out to the White House for a statement. A spokesperson got back to us saying they’re working on a response.

The Federal Highway Administration told the Washington Post they are working with the White House to “restore common sense into city planning.”

In response to WABA’s intent to file, the Department of Justice confirmed that no work will be done to remove these bike lanes before March 30.