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DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The Director of the District Department of Transportation (Department), pursuant to the authority set forth in sections 4(a)(5)(A) (assigning authority to coordinate and manage public space permits and records to the Department Director), 5(4)(A) (assigning duty to review and approve public space permit requests to the Department Director), and 6(b) (transferring the public right-of-way maintenance function previously delegated to the Department of Public Works under section III (F) of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1983 to the Department) of the Department of Transportation Establishment Act of 2002 (DDOT Establishment Act), effective May 21, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-137; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-921.03(5)(A), 50-921.04(4)(A), and 50-921.05(b)(2009 Repl.)), and section 604 of the Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Support Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-198; D.C. Official Code § 10-1141.04 (2008 Repl.)), which was delegated to the Director of DPW pursuant to Mayor’s Order 96-175, dated December 9, 1996, and subsequently transferred to the Director of the Department in section 7 of the DDOT Establishment Act (transferring to the Director of the Department all transportation-related authority previously delegated to the Director of the Department of Public Works) (D.C. Official Code § 50-921.06), hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt amendments to Title 24,”Public Space and Safety”, of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). The amendments will revise Chapter 33,“Public Right-of-Way Occupancy Permits”, to modify the regulations for commuter buses, sightseeing buses, and shuttle buses to correspond with the new intercity bus regulations.
Final rulemaking action shall not be taken in less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
Chapter 33, PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY OCCUPANCY PERMITS, of Title 24, PUBLIC SPACE AND SAFETY, of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Section 3306, OCCUPANCY OF POLES OR OTHER STRUCTURES IN THE PUBLIC SPACE FOR TOUR BUSES AND COMMUTER BUS STOPS, is repealed and replaced with:
3306 OCCUPANCY OF THE RIGHT-OF-WAY BY COMMUTER BUSES, SIGHTSEEING BUSES, AND SHUTTLE BUSES
3306.1 A Commuter Bus Operator, Sightseeing Bus Operator, or Shuttle Bus Operator (collectively “Bus Operator”) seeking to occupy a public right-of-way in the District of Columbia to provide commuter bus, sightseeing bus, or shuttle bus service by stopping to pick up or discharge passengers in the right-of-way shall obtain an annual Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit from the Department.
3306.2 The application fee for the Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit shall be the fee established in § 225 of this Title. The annual permit fee shall be Fifty Dollars ($50).
3306.3 A bus operator seeking an annual Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit shall file an application on a form provided by the Department. The form shall include the following information:
(a) Information on the bus operator including:
(1) The name of the bus operator;
(2) The mailing and physical addresses of the bus operator; and
(3) The phone number, fax number, email address, and website of the bus operator; and
(b) Information on the proposed occupancy of the right-of-way in the District of Columbia including:
(1) The location of all stops in the District of Columbia at which passengers will be picked up or dropped off in the right-of-way;
(2) The location of any layover parking spaces in the District of Columbia, including layover parking spaces on private property, where buses will be parked either before beginning operations in the District, while waiting between or during operations in the District, or after completing operations in the District;
(3) The route(s) that the commuter, sightseeing, or shuttle buses will take between any stops within the District of Columbia;
(4) The hours and days for which the operator proposes occupying the public right-of-way for the loading and unloading of passengers; and
(c) Such other information as may be required by the Department.
3306.4 In addition to the permit requirement listed in § 3306.1, a Bus Operator seeking to post signs in the public space (including signs to be affixed to existing poles or structures, signs to be affixed to proposed new poles or structures, or freestanding or portable signs) to indicate commuter bus, sightseeing bus, or shuttle bus operations must first obtain a Bus Sign Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit from the Department. A Bus Operator shall, if practicable, include its application for a Bus Sign Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit with its application for a Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit. No Bus Sign Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit may be issued unless the Bus Operator holds a Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit for the bus route on which the sign will be placed.
3306.5 A bus operator seeking a Bus Sign Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit shall submit an application to the Department. The application shall be on a form provided by the Department and shall include:
(a) The information required in § 3306.3;
(b) A site plan showing the locations of the poles or structures to which proposed signs will be affixed and the locations on the sidewalk where freestanding or portable signs will be placed;
(c) The size, material, and specifications for a new pole if required;
(d) If the sign is proposed to be affixed to an existing pole or structure, a description of the signs currently affixed to the existing pole or structure;
(e) An actual-size sample of the proposed sign that shall not be larger than twelve inches by eighteen inches (12″ x 18″); and
(f) A description of how the sign will be affixed to the pole or structure in public space.
3306.6 No sightseeing bus sign or shuttle bus sign may be posted on a Metrobus pole nor may any sightseeing bus sign or shuttle bus sign be posted in a marked Metrobus Zone. With the permission of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and an approved Bus Sign Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit, a commuter bus sign may be affixed to a Metrobus pole or in a marked Metrobus zone.
3306.7 Except for a Public Transit Agency, a Permittee shall pay an annual rental fee for each commuter bus, sightseeing bus, or shuttle bus sign in the following amounts:
(a) Sign affixed to an existing pole or structure in public space or freestanding or portable sign:
Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250) per sign;
(b) Sign affixed to a new pole or structure in public space as proposed by Permittee (new pole or structure to be provided and installed by Permittee after receipt of permit):
Five Hundred Dollars ($500) per sign.
3306.8 An application for a Bus Public Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit shall be reviewed for conformance with District of Columbia traffic safety requirements, transportation network policies, and streetscape design elements. In determining whether to grant a Bus Right-of-way Occupancy Permit, the Department shall consider the following factors:
(a) The direct impact on pedestrian and vehicular traffic, including bicycle and other non-motorized vehicular traffic;
(b) The bus service schedule, peak hour(s) concentration, and anticipated traffic conditions;
(c) The number of passengers expected to board or disembark at any given time;
(d) The anticipated impact on nearby public transit systems; and
(e) Any other effect of the proposed operations in public space on public health or safety and the efficient and safe operation of the existing transportation network, including pedestrian, vehicle, and all other modes of transportation.
3306.9 A Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit shall expire one (1) year after its effective date. A Permittee shall submit a renewal application at least thirty (30) days before the expiration date of the permit. If all of the information required by § 3306.3 remains unchanged from the most recent application, the renewal need only contain a statement confirming there have been no changes. If any of the information has changed, the application for renewal shall include the information required by § 3306.3 that has changed, along with a statement confirming that there have been no other changes. All applications for renewal shall include the permit number for the permit being renewed. The application fee for renewal shall be the fee established in section 225 of this Title. The annual permit fee for a renewed permit shall be fifty dollars ($50).
3306.10 Violations of this section shall subject the Bus Operator committing the violation to the following:
(a) Picking up passengers in the right-of-way without a permit or outside of the stops approved as part of a valid permit:
$100 per stop
(b) Dropping off passengers in the right-of-way without a permit or outside of the stops approved as part of a valid permit:
$100 per stop
(c) Traveling on a route outside of the routes approved as part of a valid permit:
$100 per trip
(d) Installing a sign or pole in the right-of-way without a permit or outside of the locations approved as part of a valid permit:
$100 per sign or pole per day plus any cost incurred by the Department to remove the sign
3306.11 In addition to the fines listed in § 3306.10, the Department may suspend or revoke a permit issued under this section to the Permittee subject to the fine(s), regardless of whether the violation for which the fine was issued arose from operations under the permit subject to suspension or revocation. The Department shall provide notice, in writing, at least fifteen (15) calendar days before such a suspension or revocation may become effective. Notice may be provided by mailing by first class mail to the address provided pursuant to § 3306.3 or emailing to the email address provided pursuant to § 3306.3.
3306.12 Prior to the issuance of a permit by the Department, an approved applicant shall hold harmless and indemnify the District and its officers, agents, and employees from all suits, claims, charges, and judgments to which the District and its officers, agents, and employees may be subject on account of the issuance of a Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit under this section, the operation of bus services, or injury to any person or damage to any property, including the property of the District of Columbia arising in connection with the Permittee’s actions or operations.
3306.13 Payment in full of the annual permit fee, including payment for any signs approved pursuant to § 3306.7, shall be made to the District prior to the issuance of the Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit.
3306.14 The Department may revoke a Bus Operator’s Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit and require the Permittee to remove its signs and poles from the public space if the Bus Operator fails to pay in full its annual permit renewal fee, including fees for any signs approved pursuant to § 3306.7. If a Bus Operator fails to remove a sign or pole the Department may remove the sign or pole. Such removal by the Department shall be done in accordance with § 3306.15 and may subject the Permittee to the fines and penalties listed in § 3306.10.
3306.15 The District shall not incur any liability for removing a Bus Operator’s signs or poles. The company whose signs or poles are removed shall be liable to the Department for the costs of the removal and shall be subject to the fines and penalties listed in § 3306.10.
3306.16 A Bus Operator already providing service in the District on the effective date of this chapter shall have until sixty (60) days after the effective date of these regulations to apply for and receive a Bus Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit.
3306.17 Each sign posted in public space by a Bus Operator, and its associated pole or structure, if installed by the Bus Operator, that does not receive a Bus Sign Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit within sixty (60) days after the effective date of this section must be removed by the Bus Operator.
3306.18 If the Bus Operator fails to remove a sign, pole, or structure subject to removal under § 3306.17, the Bus Operator shall be subject to the fines and penalties provided in § 3306.10.
3306.19 Starting sixty (60) days after the effective date of this section, a Bus Operator sign in public space that does not receive a Bus Sign Right-of-Way Occupancy Permit may be removed by the Department. The District shall not incur any liability for removing such a sign, and the Bus Operator shall be liable to the Department for the costs of any such removal.
Section 3399, DEFINITIONS, is amended to read as follows:
3399.1 When used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed below:
Act – The Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Support Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-198).
Commuter bus – a public or private vehicle having a seating capacity of more than fifteen (15) passengers, exclusive of the driver, that is used primarily to transport passengers in the morning from locations outside of the District to stops within the District and to transport passengers in the afternoon and evening from stops within the District to locations outside of the District and whose passengers use this transportation primarily to travel between their residences and their work.
Component device -- any type of communications equipment which alone, or as part of a communications network, is used to record, receive, store, or transmit information or data.
Department – District Department of Transportation
Occupy -- to use public space, a public right-of-way, or a public structure by the installation, construction, reconstruction, excavation, repair, maintenance, or operation of any object, structure, equipment, or facilities owned by the Person, (including but not limited to pipes, stand-alone conduits, tunnels, posts, or wires), in, over, under, along, through, on, across, or above the public rights-of-way under the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia Government for any purpose whatsoever.
Bus Operator – a person that operates a bus service, whether directly or through contractors.
Person - an individual, utility, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, entity, or organization of any kind.
Personalized Paver - an engraved sidewalk treatment that is inscribed with the name or likeness of an individual or entity.
Public rights-of-way - the public rights-of-way and public space as those terms are defined in the Act.
Public Transit Agency - a municipal corporation or government agency (and its agents) that operates a bus, train, van, streetcar, trolley, subway, or rail vehicle for use by the general public.
Stand-alone conduit - conduit that is not housed inside other conduit.
Sightseeing bus - a public or private vehicle having a seating capacity of more than fifteen (15) passengers, exclusive of the driver, that is used for sightseeing and touring purposes, traveling a regular route at scheduled times and with specific stop(s) at which it is available to the general public for boarding or discharging, and used to transport passengers principally between multiple destinations of historic, cultural, architectural, or societal interest within the District of Columbia.
Shuttle bus - a public or private vehicle having a seating capacity of more than fifteen (15) passengers, exclusive of the driver, that travels a regular route at scheduled times and with specific stop(s) at which it is available to a limited group, such as employees of a particular business or students attending a particular academic institution, for boarding or discharging.
Tour bus – a public or private vehicle having a seating capacity of more than fifteen (15) passengers, exclusive of the driver, that is used for sightseeing and touring purposes, not available to the general public during its operation, and used to transport passengers principally from one destination to another and back to the original destination.
Any person interested in commenting on the subject matter in this proposed rulemaking action may file comments in writing, not later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, with Karina Ricks, Associate Director, Department, 2000 14th Street, N.W., 7th Floor, Washington, DC 20009. Comments may also be sent electronically to Policy.DDOT@dc.gov. Additional copies of this proposal are available, at cost, by writing to the above address, and are available electronically, at no cost, on the Department’s web site at www.ddot.dc.gov.
