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DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
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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 (DPW) 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. & 2012 Supp.)), and Title VI of the Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Support Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-198; D.C. Official Code §§ 10-1141.01 et seq. (2008 Repl. & 2012 Supp.)), 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 (2009 Repl.)), hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt amendments to Chapter 12 (Sidewalks) of Title 24 (Public Space and Safety) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
These proposed rules will establish the Department’s policies and procedures to obtain a public space permit for a lay-by within the public right-of-way and adjacent to the public roadway and provides a process by which the Department may cancel a permit for an existing lay-by.
Final rulemaking action to adopt these amendments shall be taken in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of the notice in the D.C. Register.
Title 24, PUBLIC SPACE AND SAFETY, Chapter 12, SIDEWALKS, of the DCMR is amended as follows:
A new Section 1201 is added to read as follows:
1201 LAY-BYS: GENERAL PROVISIONS
1201.1 The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) shall approve a public space permit for a lay-by only when there is no parking lane and other options to safely pick up and drop off passengers are shown to be infeasible or impractical.
1201.2 In addition, a lay-by shall be approved only if:
(a) The property to be served by the lay-by is a commercial property, such as a hotel or hospital having a high demand for passenger pick-up and drop-off space at the building entrance; and
(b) An unobstructed, continuous pedestrian pathway of no less than ten feet (10 ft.) wide can be maintained on the public sidewalk adjacent to the proposed lay-by.
1201.3 No person shall construct a lay-by in public space:
(a) Without first obtaining a public space permit from the Director;
(b) For the purpose of parking motor vehicles; provided, motor vehicles may park temporarily in an approved lay-by in order to drop off or pick up passengers; or
(c) For the purpose of creating a commercial loading zone.
1201.4 A person shall apply for a public space permit for a lay-by by completing an application as provided by the Director. The following documentation shall accompany the application:
(a) A site plan showing the proposed lay-by that is drawn to scale per the latest site plan drawing requirements provided by the Director;
(b) A description of the existing or projected passenger pick-up and drop-off demand at the property and the specific right-of-way conditions on the street that warrant the construction of a permanent lay-by and why other options to safely pick-up and drop-off passengers, including private space or a curbside location in an adjacent parking lane, are infeasible or impractical; and
(c) Additional documentation as may be requested by the Director, such as a traffic impact study and photographs or illustrations showing the area intended for the proposed lay-by.
1201.5 When a lay-by is located adjacent to a travel lane intended for the movement of motor vehicle traffic, the lay-by shall be no more than ten feet (10 ft.) wide.
1201.6 When a lay-by is located adjacent to a travel lane intended for the movement of motor vehicle traffic, the combined width of the lay-by lane and the adjacent travel lane shall be no less than nineteen feet (19 ft.).
1201.7 When a lay-by must be located adjacent to a parking lane to accommodate wider vehicles or to allow additional pedestrian maneuvering space on the traffic side of the vehicle, the lay-by shall be no more than three feet (3 ft.) wide.
1201.8 When there is a privately funded streetscape project following the construction of a new building or the substantial rehabilitation of an existing building, the public space permit for any existing lay-by adjacent to the property shall expire. If the property owner desires a new lay-by, a request for a lay-by must be included as part of the public space permit application to perform the privately funded streetscape restoration project.
1201.9 If a person constructs a lay-by in public space without a permit, the person, at his or her own expense, shall remove the lay-by and restore the public space in accordance with the current DDOT Standard Specifications for Highways and Structures.
1201.10 When the Director determines that a lay-by should be removed to allow the public space to be used for another purpose which benefits the District, such as for a bus stop, the Director shall revoke the permit for a lay-by in public space and the person who constructed the lay-by shall remove the lay-by and restore the public space in accordance with the current DDOT Standard Specifications for Highways and Structures.
1201.11 Notwithstanding § 1201.11, if the lay-by is to be removed as part of a DDOT street reconstruction project, the Department may itself remove the lay-by and restore the public space instead of requiring the person who constructed the lay-by to remove the lay-by and restore the public space in accordance with the current DDOT Standard Specifications for Highways and Structures.
1201.12 If a lay-by that existed prior to the final publication of these rules was constructed without a public space permit, the person who constructed the lay-by shall apply for a public space permit under this section by October 1, 2014. If the permit is not approved, the person who constructed the lay-by shall remove the lay-by and restore the public space in accordance with the current DDOT Standard Specifications for Highways and Structures.
Section 1299, DEFINITIONS, is amended by inserting the following new definitions in alphabetical order:
Commercial Property – all taxable real property other than vacant land zoned for residential use, residential garages, and any improved property used primarily for residential dwelling purposes, including detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, row dwellings, flats, residential condominiums, cooperatives, and apartments.
Director – the Director of the District Department of Transportation.
Lay-by – a designated paved area located at the side of a main roadway and protruding beyond the gutter into the sidewalk area where vehicles can stop temporarily to pick-up or drop-off passengers.
Parking lane – the area of street, alongside the curb, where motor vehicles may lawfully park.
Pedestrian - a person traveling by foot or by wheelchair.
Substantial rehabilitation – the rehabilitation of an existing building when the estimated cost of the rehabilitation, as determined for the building permit, is fifty percent (50%) or more of the value of the building as shown in the records of the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue.
Travel lane - a roadway lane for the movement of vehicles traveling from one destination to another.
All persons interested in commenting on the subject matter in this proposed rulemaking may file comments in writing, not later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, with Samuel D. Zimbabwe, Associate Director, District Department of Transportation, 55 M Street, S.E., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20003. Comments may also be sent electronically to publicspace.policy@dc.gov. Copies of this proposal are available, at cost, by writing to the above address, and are also available electronically, at no cost, on the District Department of Transportation website at www.ddot.dc.gov.
