WashCycle reports today that the proposed 9th Street cycle track isn’t going to happen, because it is being removed from the regional long term plan. Fortunately, that’s incorrect.

I’ve spoken with DDOT about this, and they explain that the cycle track is still planned, and is simply being removed from the regional document because it doesn’t have to be listed there. The purpose of the regional plan is to model air pollution, and DDOT’s concept for the cycle track won’t impact the pollution computer model enough to bother with the added bureaucracy of keeping it in the plan.

Ironically, taking the cycle track out of the regional plan will actually make it easier to deliver, because it will reduce the number of bureaucratic hoops DDOT has to jump through in order to make the project happen.

Welcome to the confusing world of federal transportation reporting requirements!