Connecticut Ave bike lanes are back!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

Narrator: Offices are a contracting enterprise right now because so many are WFH. That has nothing to do with driving/commuting. That is just as true in Tysons and Columbia as it is in downtown DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

The smart play by the city is to make it easier to get downtown and make the downtown environment attractive enough to make people want to go and linger. Bike lanes on Connecticut may or may not fit that goal, but getting metro back to pre-pandemic functionality would be a big step in the right direction. I don't think its coincidental that the bike lane push came while metro was cratering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

Narrator: Offices are a contracting enterprise right now because so many are WFH. That has nothing to do with driving/commuting. That is just as true in Tysons and Columbia as it is in downtown DC.

Even remote workers need to head to the office sometimes, whether for in person meetings, lunches, dinners, etc. If DC makes that trip harder, DC will lose out. I note that DC's population remains well below the 1950s and 1960s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

Narrator: Offices are a contracting enterprise right now because so many are WFH. That has nothing to do with driving/commuting. That is just as true in Tysons and Columbia as it is in downtown DC.

Right, that’s why I said it “will encourage” if the city makes driving “harder” (i.e., not the current state). Maybe that narrator can learn some reading comprehension.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

The smart play by the city is to make it easier to get downtown and make the downtown environment attractive enough to make people want to go and linger. Bike lanes on Connecticut may or may not fit that goal, but getting metro back to pre-pandemic functionality would be a big step in the right direction. I don't think its coincidental that the bike lane push came while metro was cratering.

The bike lane push started way back in 2018 despite zero demand at the time. The data was collected just before the pandemic started and did not support what they wanted. A second push was made during the pandemic when the numbers changed. Car volume down, bicycle volume now measurable, and accident numbers up because of a complete lack of traffic enforcement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

There are a group of people who think that people and particularly businesses will willingly accept increased inconvenience, when all evidence to the contrary and behavioral economics says the opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let me get this straight...

Save Conn Ave pushed for years to get the bike lanes taken out of this project. They seem to have succeeded on that. But to what end exactly?

This stupid road is going to be 4 travel lanes at all times now. This isn't an improvement over the other idea, this is bullshit. My commute is going to get longer now driving from just north of the border through Conn because someone wants to park their car on the street outside of their apartment during rush hour? This is absurd. Even more absurd than the asinine bike lanes idea.

Can we just cancel all of this crap and go back to what we had before the pandemic. Yes, the reversible was confusing, but it worked when it was there and traffic moved freely.

I don't see why you can't just take the Metro or a bus.

Wasn't that the suggestion for people who want to bike but don't like what it's like now?

PP here. Metro takes nearly 2 to 3 times as long is why, because I have to get a ride to Bethesda and then red line plus either transfer or walk a lot to my office which is off yellow/green. Driving there is just vastly quicker, even if it is more expensive. When the purple line comes, it won't change this to make it better.

This is the unfortunate reality, which is that DC public transit still sucks.

And the increasing crime, disorder and uncleanliness on Metro doesn't help the service and ridership challenges, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's another fun tidbit directly from the hard data.

The prevalence of accidents is directly related to rush hour. In otherwords, not speed but congestion.

During rush hour, the likelihood of an accident is greater on Connecticut than Wisconsin. Outside of rush hour the liklihood was less. Although it should be noted that those numbers are not weighted for volume and Connecticut has higher volume. The most common accident involved left turns during rush hour.

Many localities ban most left turns from major roadways during rush hour. DDOT should consider more of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

The smart play by the city is to make it easier to get downtown and make the downtown environment attractive enough to make people want to go and linger. Bike lanes on Connecticut may or may not fit that goal, but getting metro back to pre-pandemic functionality would be a big step in the right direction. I don't think its coincidental that the bike lane push came while metro was cratering.

Metro is actually better now than before the pandemic. The trains are ontime, plentiful and it is a pleasure to ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

Narrator: Offices are a contracting enterprise right now because so many are WFH. That has nothing to do with driving/commuting. That is just as true in Tysons and Columbia as it is in downtown DC.

Even remote workers need to head to the office sometimes, whether for in person meetings, lunches, dinners, etc. If DC makes that trip harder, DC will lose out. I note that DC's population remains well below the 1950s and 1960s.

The population in the 1950's and 60's were based on multigenerational households - 6-10 related people living in a house that today has 2-5 people. The DC population continues to grow, over 700,000 currently.

Yes, remote workers need to go into the office, sometimes. Maybe once a week, once a month? Not very often. The bike lane proposal for Connecticut Avenue, Concept C, was actually better for traffic flow than the current DDOT proposal for reasons already articulated. People who need to drive into the city via Connecticut Avenue should be opting for Concept C over what DDOT has proposed if they want easier access to downtown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So let me get this straight...

Save Conn Ave pushed for years to get the bike lanes taken out of this project. They seem to have succeeded on that. But to what end exactly?

This stupid road is going to be 4 travel lanes at all times now. This isn't an improvement over the other idea, this is bullshit. My commute is going to get longer now driving from just north of the border through Conn because someone wants to park their car on the street outside of their apartment during rush hour? This is absurd. Even more absurd than the asinine bike lanes idea.

Can we just cancel all of this crap and go back to what we had before the pandemic. Yes, the reversible was confusing, but it worked when it was there and traffic moved freely.

I don't see why you can't just take the Metro or a bus.

Wasn't that the suggestion for people who want to bike but don't like what it's like now?

PP here. Metro takes nearly 2 to 3 times as long is why, because I have to get a ride to Bethesda and then red line plus either transfer or walk a lot to my office which is off yellow/green. Driving there is just vastly quicker, even if it is more expensive. When the purple line comes, it won't change this to make it better.

This is the unfortunate reality, which is that DC public transit still sucks.

And the increasing crime, disorder and uncleanliness on Metro doesn't help the service and ridership challenges, either.

^^^ hasn't been on metro for a while and makes false claims

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

The smart play by the city is to make it easier to get downtown and make the downtown environment attractive enough to make people want to go and linger. Bike lanes on Connecticut may or may not fit that goal, but getting metro back to pre-pandemic functionality would be a big step in the right direction. I don't think its coincidental that the bike lane push came while metro was cratering.

The bike lane push started way back in 2018 despite zero demand at the time. The data was collected just before the pandemic started and did not support what they wanted. A second push was made during the pandemic when the numbers changed. Car volume down, bicycle volume now measurable, and accident numbers up because of a complete lack of traffic enforcement.

The bike lane push started in the 1980's when DDOT removed the bike/bus curb lane. Let's not have revisionist history please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was stupid on the part of DC. They should be making it harder to get into the city from the suburbs by car. Not easier. Increases the chances of people moving into the city and decreases the number of dangerous drivers.

Great idea! DC has not been the center of the DMV business community for decades. Your idea will have the opposite effect. It will encourage remote workers even more. If I am unable to drive into and park in DC for a lunch meeting or for dinner, I will not do so. There are plenty of entertainment options in the burbs.

It will also encourage businesses to further set up their offices outside of DC, which is exactly what the city doesn’t want. That’s the problem with the “let’s make driving harder” argument.

Narrator: Offices are a contracting enterprise right now because so many are WFH. That has nothing to do with driving/commuting. That is just as true in Tysons and Columbia as it is in downtown DC.

Even remote workers need to head to the office sometimes, whether for in person meetings, lunches, dinners, etc. If DC makes that trip harder, DC will lose out. I note that DC's population remains well below the 1950s and 1960s.

The population in the 1950's and 60's were based on multigenerational households - 6-10 related people living in a house that today has 2-5 people. The DC population continues to grow, over 700,000 currently.

Yes, remote workers need to go into the office, sometimes. Maybe once a week, once a month? Not very often. The bike lane proposal for Connecticut Avenue, Concept C, was actually better for traffic flow than the current DDOT proposal for reasons already articulated. People who need to drive into the city via Connecticut Avenue should be opting for Concept C over what DDOT has proposed if they want easier access to downtown.

lol. How convoluted.

People with kids didn’t yet leave for the suburbs because a lot of the suburbs weren’t built yet.

[Anonymous]

I want dedicated bus lanes with buses that circulate every 10 minutes. Works for commuters, works for shoppers. Moves more people than bikes do and maybe more than cars, depending on ridership.