At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds reportedly called for a moratorium on new bike lanes last night—a policy that would be a major blow to the growing population of cycling denizens in D.C. And that’s true, but only to a point, says her spokesman.

At a Ward 3 forum for the Democratic at-large councilmember candidates, the incumbent said she opposed bike lanes in District neighborhoods because they eliminate needed parking spaces, according to Greater Greater Washington.

But Bonds spokesman David Meadows says the councilmember isn’t in favor of an all-encompassing moratorium, just an end to new bike lanes on narrow residential streets. Bonds supports bike lanes in “major thoroughfares,” Meadows says, but would not clarify what constitutes a narrow street.

At last night’s forum, Bonds also called for an up-to-date comprehensive bike-lane plan. “A lot of the residents are not educated on ‘where are the lanes, and where are they going? And is there going to be one on my street, and what do I do?'” Meadows said. “I think that is the concern, that the majority of the residents are just unaware of the policy of the bike lanes in the city and of the lanes themselves.” (DDOT plans to release a draft of its moveDC plan, which is an “initiative to develop a coordinated, multimodal long range transportation plan, addressing all modes of transportation,” this spring.)

Also on the topics of Bonds and bikes: In response to a question at the Ward 3 forum, Bonds said she was in support of requiring bikes to have license plates. Meadows wouldn’t comment on the idea.

Additional reporting by Will Sommer

Photo by Darrow Montgomery