Transportation
Opposing a Bike Lane on the Grounds of 'Religious Freedom'
What the United House of Prayer in Washington, D.C., really means is “free parking.”
Some drivers and retailers will use just about any excuse to oppose a bike lane, but the United House of Prayer in Washington, D.C., just took things up a notch by bringing God into the mix.
The church recently denounced plans for a protected bike lane along 6th Street NW on the grounds that such a street design would violate the congregation’s “constitutionally protected rights of religious freedom and equal protection of the laws,” according to a letter sent to the District Department of Transportation on UHP’s behalf. The problem isn’t so much the cyclists themselves as the loss of free street parking for congregants. Perry Stein at The Washington Post has the details: