Killer Queen is a 10-player arcade game designed to get you off of your phone and playing with strangers. In one D.C. bar, dedicated fans are trying to get new players hooked.
A protected bike lane running through the heart of D.C. will live to see another day.
On Tuesday, a federal judge stopped the Trump administration’s plans to remove the two-way bike lane running along 15th Street NW between Constitution Avenue and the Tidal Basin, sparing the popular cyclist thoroughfare only days before work was slated to begin.
In a 61-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson called the decision to remove the bike lane “arbitrary and capricious,” and said that in its zeal to remove the three-quarter-mile lane the Trump administration had not followed the same extensive federal process that was undertaken to install it in 2021.
The decision is a small but symbolic win for cyclists and D.C. officials alike, who have been engaged in an increasingly intense fight with the federal government over who makes the final decision on all manner of things in the city. But it’s also not the final word: While the ruling spares the bike lane for now, it also allows the Trump administration to continue pursuing its removal in the future.
Still, cycling advocates cheered the news.
"The National Mall is a place where people bike, and walk, to see the history of this country. This decision is a win for all of us — for safety, for progress through this corridor, and for the beauty of this area. We are ecstatic about this decision,” said Elizabeth Kiker, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, which brought the lawsuit in late March shortly after the National Park Service announced its plans to remove the bike lane.
NPS officials claimed the bike lane should be removed because it increased traffic along 15th Street as it crosses the National Mall, and that additional capacity for cars would be needed for the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the large-scale events for America’s 250th birthday this year. Data from the D.C. Department of Transportation, however, found that traffic actually moved slightly faster along the stretch after the bike lane was installed, and that crashes and injuries declined significantly.
In her ruling, Jackson accused NPS and other federal agencies of essentially trying to shortcut the administrative process that regularly requires public input and extensive evidence for all manner of government actions. She said the “proffered justifications for the action are vague” and failed to address why removing the lane is even necessary.
“Even if one assumes that making room for more cars is a policy choice outside of the Court’s purview, where is the factual or statistical underpinning for the conclusion that traffic will flow more smoothly if the lanes are restored?” she asked. “That it makes sense to cut off the critical link that enables commuters, recreational cyclists, and tourists alike to make the entire journey into the city without cars, even though the Park Service specifically encouraged them to do so this year in its pre-festival promotional materials?”
Jackson also took issue with the federal government’s failure to address the safety of cyclists and other road users, and with claims that removing the bike comported with Trump’s push to beautify D.C.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it is not up to the Court to quibble with the federal government about whether helmeted cyclists in spandex or automobiles fitted with exhaust pipes are more pleasing to look at,” she wrote. “But nowhere does the National Park Service explain how the removal of the lanes advances these stated objectives, even if one assumes that they are legitimate policy choices.”
Jackson didn’t issue a permanent injunction that would fully stop the possibility of the bike lane being removed, though, but rather told NPS that if it wanted to continue pursuing the issue it would have to jump through all the usual administrative hoops and properly justify why such a removal is needed.
It remains unclear whether NPS will pursue this option; we’ve asked for a response to the ruling but haven’t yet heard back. But supporters of the bike lane are celebrating.
“This is great news. I share the relief felt by many D.C.-area commuters and visitors to our nation’s capital,” wrote Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia), whose district is connected to D.C. via the 15th Street bike lane, on social media after the ruling. “I urged NPS to immediately halt their proposed removal because this bike lane improves safety and reduces commute times. It’s good to see the court keep it in place.”
Martin is a longtime reporter and editor in D.C. He formerly worked for WAMU 88.5 and DCist.com, and has contributed to the Washington City Paper and other publications. He's been in D.C. for 25 years, and tries to ride his bike everywhere he can.
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