Options for opposing Connecticut Avenue changes?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

Incidentally, this is how the NRA controls our gun laws. They swarm meetings with legislators that most people had no idea were even happening. They then claim what they want is widely supported because no one spoke against it at the meeting that, again, was only attended by their people. By the time, regular folks learn what is happening, it's too late....

This is also a time honored way legislators pass legislation. They announce plans at the last minute and then pass it before the opposition has a chance to organize. If you air a proposal out, you're just increasing the chances it will be killed.

Good thing that's not what happened here, as been explained over and over again on this thread.

What seems clear from this thread is that a lot of people feel ambushed.

How you feel is not relevant to what actually happened. This is like the people who "feel" like the election was stolen.

Uh, huh. Empathy, not to mention logic, is not your strong suit.

Well, there has been an endless stream of ANC and DDOT meetings on this so I guess paying attention is not yours

How many meetings are appropriate is obviously in the eye of the beholder. But what seems like plenty to a bored 30-year old with no kids and not really any real responsibilities in life will look very different to -- well, just about everyone else (as this thread indicates).

Hilarious how people who claim they can't spare a few minutes to show up to a discussion during a virtual ANC meeting or DDOT consultation manage to find hours to whine on here.

The ageism is very tired, especially when it spouted by those advocating against measures that are being put in place to undo damage to public safety and the environment made by the older generations.

Stop the bullshit. There is no benefit to safety in this plan. Instead it creates safety problems on the side streets. Similarly there is no environmental benefit. Traffic does not disappear.

I wonder why parents might have more time during the day than early evening. I can't quite put my finger on it but there might be some glaringly obvious reason that there's more time for parents at 2pm than 7pm.

+1. ANC 3C had a Traffic Committee meeting on Wednesday night: at the same time as the Hearst elementary Back To School Night. This city is so hostile to families. Of course no one on the ANC has kids so they would not have known that. There are multiple families on our block who are making plans to leave in the spring. There was always a social contract to living here. Families would make the best with mediocre schools in exchange for a reasonable level of public safety and a manageable commute. That contract has been broken.

There’s so much to unpack in this. Social contract? Mediocre schools? Nobody is begging you to stay in a W3 renovated school

You’re probably too young to remember DC and NYC in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Have you ever lived in a city once the families flee? The tax base collapses. Not enough money to pay already demoralized police. Businesses leave. It’s a hell scape. Go up to Baltimore and ride your little bike around after dark to see your future.

Families are fleeing because of ... traffic safety initatives? Who what now? We all know why families actually flee DC: schools.

NP. I’m not fleeing but here’s why DH and I decided after 20 years of living in DC that we will leave as soon as our son graduates from HS - rather than invest and retire here as we initially planned:
1- random and violent crime steadily increase with our leaders completely inept at handling the situation 2- DC govt is so incompetent it’s embarrassing and after 20 years we are just done 3- despite being a priority to receive a Covid shot back in 2020 based on my employment I literally couldn’t get vaccinated and had to drive to Hagerstown to get vaccinated because apparently I’m the wrong color and live in the wrong ward 4- downtown has become an embarrassing joke - marijuana zombies walking around at 8 am, homeless encampments taking over all public spaces, and severely mentally ill aggressivelt walking around angry and disturbed (freaking normal working people like me out 5- alarming increase of carjackings, home invasions and stolen cars in our neigh with little response from the MPD 5- horrible public schools which I have funded for 20 years through my property taxes even though my children attend independent schools 6- unreliable and embarrassingly slow public transportation 7- a Union Station that was actually nice when I first moved here that is now a sh*thole and 7- a new annoying group of “want to be city”dwellers fresh out of Ohio who think the city’s biggest problem is establishing a bike path that at best 50-100 people will use on any given day.

Since you reported my last one I’ll try this. It’s super silly to think that threatening to leave (or actually leaving) is an effective response to being out voted on something. Just one less person against the proposal so thanks!

Have no idea what you are referring to. I haven’t decided where I stood on bike lanes but after reading this thread I’m happy with my decision to leave. Not a referendum as much as it is a nice but bittersweet feeling knowing that it is time to go. The trajectory when I first moved to DC was definitely up. Now’s it’s clearly down and its going down fast.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

Incidentally, this is how the NRA controls our gun laws. They swarm meetings with legislators that most people had no idea were even happening. They then claim what they want is widely supported because no one spoke against it at the meeting that, again, was only attended by their people. By the time, regular folks learn what is happening, it's too late....

This is also a time honored way legislators pass legislation. They announce plans at the last minute and then pass it before the opposition has a chance to organize. If you air a proposal out, you're just increasing the chances it will be killed.

Good thing that's not what happened here, as been explained over and over again on this thread.

What seems clear from this thread is that a lot of people feel ambushed.

How you feel is not relevant to what actually happened. This is like the people who "feel" like the election was stolen.

Uh, huh. Empathy, not to mention logic, is not your strong suit.

Well, there has been an endless stream of ANC and DDOT meetings on this so I guess paying attention is not yours

How many meetings are appropriate is obviously in the eye of the beholder. But what seems like plenty to a bored 30-year old with no kids and not really any real responsibilities in life will look very different to -- well, just about everyone else (as this thread indicates).

Hilarious how people who claim they can't spare a few minutes to show up to a discussion during a virtual ANC meeting or DDOT consultation manage to find hours to whine on here.

The ageism is very tired, especially when it spouted by those advocating against measures that are being put in place to undo damage to public safety and the environment made by the older generations.

Stop the bullshit. There is no benefit to safety in this plan. Instead it creates safety problems on the side streets. Similarly there is no environmental benefit. Traffic does not disappear.

I wonder why parents might have more time during the day than early evening. I can't quite put my finger on it but there might be some glaringly obvious reason that there's more time for parents at 2pm than 7pm.

+1. ANC 3C had a Traffic Committee meeting on Wednesday night: at the same time as the Hearst elementary Back To School Night. This city is so hostile to families. Of course no one on the ANC has kids so they would not have known that. There are multiple families on our block who are making plans to leave in the spring. There was always a social contract to living here. Families would make the best with mediocre schools in exchange for a reasonable level of public safety and a manageable commute. That contract has been broken.

There’s so much to unpack in this. Social contract? Mediocre schools? Nobody is begging you to stay in a W3 renovated school

You’re probably too young to remember DC and NYC in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Have you ever lived in a city once the families flee? The tax base collapses. Not enough money to pay already demoralized police. Businesses leave. It’s a hell scape. Go up to Baltimore and ride your little bike around after dark to see your future.

Families are fleeing because of ... traffic safety initatives? Who what now? We all know why families actually flee DC: schools.

NP. I’m not fleeing but here’s why DH and I decided after 20 years of living in DC that we will leave as soon as our son graduates from HS - rather than invest and retire here as we initially planned:
1- random and violent crime steadily increase with our leaders completely inept at handling the situation 2- DC govt is so incompetent it’s embarrassing and after 20 years we are just done 3- despite being a priority to receive a Covid shot back in 2020 based on my employment I literally couldn’t get vaccinated and had to drive to Hagerstown to get vaccinated because apparently I’m the wrong color and live in the wrong ward 4- downtown has become an embarrassing joke - marijuana zombies walking around at 8 am, homeless encampments taking over all public spaces, and severely mentally ill aggressivelt walking around angry and disturbed (freaking normal working people like me out 5- alarming increase of carjackings, home invasions and stolen cars in our neigh with little response from the MPD 5- horrible public schools which I have funded for 20 years through my property taxes even though my children attend independent schools 6- unreliable and embarrassingly slow public transportation 7- a Union Station that was actually nice when I first moved here that is now a sh*thole and 7- a new annoying group of “want to be city”dwellers fresh out of Ohio who think the city’s biggest problem is establishing a bike path that at best 50-100 people will use on any given day.

Since you reported my last one I’ll try this. It’s super silly to think that threatening to leave (or actually leaving) is an effective response to being out voted on something. Just one less person against the proposal so thanks!

Have no idea what you are referring to. I haven’t decided where I stood on bike lanes but after reading this thread I’m happy with my decision to leave. Not a referendum as much as it is a nice but bittersweet feeling knowing that it is time to go. The trajectory when I first moved to DC was definitely up. Now’s it’s clearly down and its going down fast.

Yep, home values skyrocketing and development all over. Clearly a town on the decline

[Anonymous]

DC has had protected bike lanes for almost 15 years. It has spend billions of dollars building up the bike lane infrastructure. The city *pays* people to ride bikes.

And yet biking remains the least popular method of transportation in the city. The number of people who do it is a rounding error.

The amount of money the city spends on something so few people use is remarkable.

Just imagine what the city could do if it spent all that time and energy and money on a form of transportation that people actually want.

[Anonymous]

twenty percent of children in dc live in poverty. that's a problem that could literally be solved by just giving them money. instead we spend absurd amounts of money subsidizing the hobby of a few hundred white guys in spandex. boggles the mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:twenty percent of children in dc live in poverty. that's a problem that could literally be solved by just giving them money. instead we spend absurd amounts of money subsidizing the hobby of a few hundred white guys in spandex. boggles the mind.

Cycling causes child poverty now? Just when we thought this thread couldn't possibly get any more batshit, you grace us and proceed to blow our minds. I, for one, am entertained. Please carry on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:have you ever looked at anc election results? hardly anyone votes for these people. there are contests where barely 100 votes are even cast. we had better turnout in my high school elections.

our anc representative routinely ignores what his constituents want. he's a leftwing nut job who seems to think he knows better than everyone else. probably why he lost his reelection race.

Our ANC guy represents no one but himself. He does not give a whit about what his constituents think. It is the opposite of representative government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has had protected bike lanes for almost 15 years. It has spend billions of dollars building up the bike lane infrastructure. The city *pays* people to ride bikes.

And yet biking remains the least popular method of transportation in the city. The number of people who do it is a rounding error.

The amount of money the city spends on something so few people use is remarkable.

Just imagine what the city could do if it spent all that time and energy and money on a form of transportation that people actually want.

Forms of transportation? How about a form of transportation that can get you back to reality?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:have you ever looked at anc election results? hardly anyone votes for these people. there are contests where barely 100 votes are even cast. we had better turnout in my high school elections.

our anc representative routinely ignores what his constituents want. he's a leftwing nut job who seems to think he knows better than everyone else. probably why he lost his reelection race.

Our ANC guy represents no one but himself. He does not give a whit about what his constituents think. It is the opposite of representative government.

Sounds like they should be easy for you to defeat them, as is your right in a representative democracy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:twenty percent of children in dc live in poverty. that's a problem that could literally be solved by just giving them money. instead we spend absurd amounts of money subsidizing the hobby of a few hundred white guys in spandex. boggles the mind.

Cycling causes child poverty now? Just when we thought this thread couldn't possibly get any more batshit, you grace us and proceed to blow our minds. I, for one, am entertained. Please carry on.

The government has a limited amount of resources. Every dollar it spends on one thing is a dollar that it can't spend on another thing. We all know that white guys have more pull with the government than poor black children so here we are. Sucks. Public money should go to the neediest not to whoever has the most influence with the dumb asses who run our government.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:twenty percent of children in dc live in poverty. that's a problem that could literally be solved by just giving them money. instead we spend absurd amounts of money subsidizing the hobby of a few hundred white guys in spandex. boggles the mind.

Cycling causes child poverty now? Just when we thought this thread couldn't possibly get any more batshit, you grace us and proceed to blow our minds. I, for one, am entertained. Please carry on.

The government has a limited amount of resources. Every dollar it spends on one thing is a dollar that it can't spend on another thing. We all know that white guys have more pull with the government than poor black children so here we are. Sucks. Public money should go to the neediest not to whoever has the most influence with the dumb asses who run our government.

DC just ran a budget surplus, which means it literally has more money than it knows what to do with. Despite what you may believe, urban amenities like bike lanes increase property values, attract high income earners, and help the city generate additional revenues for doing things like alleviate child poverty. If the city was forced to make a choice, I would agree with you, but it doesn't and so I don't. Building infrastructure that saves lives - even those who are slightly better off - is not a waste of public money. It'd be even better if it could be built in Ward 8, but Trayon don't want it so it can't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:have you ever looked at anc election results? hardly anyone votes for these people. there are contests where barely 100 votes are even cast. we had better turnout in my high school elections.

our anc representative routinely ignores what his constituents want. he's a leftwing nut job who seems to think he knows better than everyone else. probably why he lost his reelection race.

Our ANC guy represents no one but himself. He does not give a whit about what his constituents think. It is the opposite of representative government.

Sounds like they should be easy for you to defeat them, as is your right in a representative democracy

PP here. Yep, he's gone. Lost his primary. He's a stereotypical ANC guy -- young, white, lefty, thinks he knows better than everyone else and can just impose his views on his constituents, despite the fact that he initially won election with maybe 150 votes (it is amazing how little support these people win office with). Now, his political career is probably over, and everyone is better for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:twenty percent of children in dc live in poverty. that's a problem that could literally be solved by just giving them money. instead we spend absurd amounts of money subsidizing the hobby of a few hundred white guys in spandex. boggles the mind.

Cycling causes child poverty now? Just when we thought this thread couldn't possibly get any more batshit, you grace us and proceed to blow our minds. I, for one, am entertained. Please carry on.

The government has a limited amount of resources. Every dollar it spends on one thing is a dollar that it can't spend on another thing. We all know that white guys have more pull with the government than poor black children so here we are. Sucks. Public money should go to the neediest not to whoever has the most influence with the dumb asses who run our government.

DC just ran a budget surplus, which means it literally has more money than it knows what to do with. Despite what you may believe, urban amenities like bike lanes increase property values, attract high income earners, and help the city generate additional revenues for doing things like alleviate child poverty. If the city was forced to make a choice, I would agree with you, but it doesn't and so I don't. Building infrastructure that saves lives - even those who are slightly better off - is not a waste of public money. It'd be even better if it could be built in Ward 8, but Trayon don't want it so it can't.

THIS IS AWESOME.

I have *never* heard of a trickle down economics theory of bike lanes. You sound like a modern day Ronald Reagan. So you're saying we should spend billions of dollars subsidizing the hobby of a handful of white guys from Palisades because the real beneficiaries are...poor black kids living in poverty? Do tell. And please explain that to everyone you meet, especially African Americans.

(Also, all a budget surplus means is that revenues exceed expenditures. It doesnt say anything about how the money is being spent and which needs are or are not being met).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:twenty percent of children in dc live in poverty. that's a problem that could literally be solved by just giving them money. instead we spend absurd amounts of money subsidizing the hobby of a few hundred white guys in spandex. boggles the mind.

Cycling causes child poverty now? Just when we thought this thread couldn't possibly get any more batshit, you grace us and proceed to blow our minds. I, for one, am entertained. Please carry on.

The government has a limited amount of resources. Every dollar it spends on one thing is a dollar that it can't spend on another thing. We all know that white guys have more pull with the government than poor black children so here we are. Sucks. Public money should go to the neediest not to whoever has the most influence with the dumb asses who run our government.

DC just ran a budget surplus, which means it literally has more money than it knows what to do with. Despite what you may believe, urban amenities like bike lanes increase property values, attract high income earners, and help the city generate additional revenues for doing things like alleviate child poverty. If the city was forced to make a choice, I would agree with you, but it doesn't and so I don't. Building infrastructure that saves lives - even those who are slightly better off - is not a waste of public money. It'd be even better if it could be built in Ward 8, but Trayon don't want it so it can't.

THIS IS AWESOME.

I have *never* heard of a trickle down economics theory of bike lanes. You sound like a modern day Ronald Reagan. So you're saying we should spend billions of dollars subsidizing the hobby of a handful of white guys from Palisades because the real beneficiaries are...poor black kids living in poverty? Do tell. And please explain that to everyone you meet, especially African Americans.

(Also, all a budget surplus means is that revenues exceed expenditures. It doesnt say anything about how the money is being spent and which needs are or are not being met).

It's not trickle down economics, honey, but rather basic logic. The city can walk and chew gum at the same time. Bike lanes are some of the cheapest forms of infrastructure around. If you're actually worried about government waste, go after the insane amounts of money spent subsidizing the destruction done to DC roads by non-DC drivers who don't pay a cent in DC taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:have you ever looked at anc election results? hardly anyone votes for these people. there are contests where barely 100 votes are even cast. we had better turnout in my high school elections.

our anc representative routinely ignores what his constituents want. he's a leftwing nut job who seems to think he knows better than everyone else. probably why he lost his reelection race.

Our ANC guy represents no one but himself. He does not give a whit about what his constituents think. It is the opposite of representative government.

Sounds like they should be easy for you to defeat them, as is your right in a representative democracy

PP here. Yep, he's gone. Lost his primary. He's a stereotypical ANC guy -- young, white, lefty, thinks he knows better than everyone else and can just impose his views on his constituents, despite the fact that he initially won election with maybe 150 votes (it is amazing how little support these people win office with). Now, his political career is probably over, and everyone is better for it.

You just outed yourself as someone who knows nothing about and probably doesn't even live in DC. ANC reps are non-partisan and not subject to primaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:have you ever looked at anc election results? hardly anyone votes for these people. there are contests where barely 100 votes are even cast. we had better turnout in my high school elections.

our anc representative routinely ignores what his constituents want. he's a leftwing nut job who seems to think he knows better than everyone else. probably why he lost his reelection race.

Our ANC guy represents no one but himself. He does not give a whit about what his constituents think. It is the opposite of representative government.

Sounds like they should be easy for you to defeat them, as is your right in a representative democracy

PP here. Yep, he's gone. Lost his primary. He's a stereotypical ANC guy -- young, white, lefty, thinks he knows better than everyone else and can just impose his views on his constituents, despite the fact that he initially won election with maybe 150 votes (it is amazing how little support these people win office with). Now, his political career is probably over, and everyone is better for it.

ANCs don’t have primaries. They run without a party