Will DC resume commuter traffic patterns in the fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well, there's more than one way traffic can get worse, isn't there? One is obviously is you increase the number of cars. The other is if you decreases the capacity of streets to accommodate traffic. The latter is what happens when you add bike lanes -- you reduce the amount of car traffic the road can handle. You can end up with worse traffic even if the total number of cars has declined.

But the purpose of the transportation system isn't to move cars. It's to move people.

Most people in DC drive (and remember: most commuters in DC actually live in Maryland or Virginia).

So, first of all, while it's true that most people in DC drive, it's not true that most people drive for all or even most of their trips.

Second of all, many people in DC do not drive.

And third of all, so what? They drive now, therefore driving must be the transportation priority now and forevermore? Nope.

As for commuters from Maryland and Virginia who are currently driving, if they don't like the driving conditions in DC, then they can adjust their behavior accordingly. DC has no responsibility to operate its transportation system to benefit commuters from Maryland and Virginia over its own residents.

I'm the OP again, and the bolded is just dumb. I live on a busy street in MD that gets a ton of commuter traffic from NIH and elsewhere. I wish it were different but the reality is if you live near a major locus of employment, those employees have to have some way to get to their jobs. Of course MoCo and the state of MD have to operate a transportation system that enables commuters reach to those facilities. Ideally, that design also benefits those of us who live nearby, by preventing massive traffic jams or cars speeding through neighborhoods with elementary schools. I would never advocate that the state or the county block cars (including many DC commuters) from reaching NIH simply because I'd prefer more peace and quiet - that's the bargain I made when deciding to live in a congested area.

If you live in DC and you don't want anyone from the neighboring jurisdictions commuting by car into the city, it's probably time to move to West Virginia or some other rural environment.

We have a right not to have our main street be a commuter highway. Of people want to drive, they are welcome to. There are alternatives as well - bus, subway, car pooling, uber, biking, scooter, walking, whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I'm the OP again, and the bolded is just dumb. I live on a busy street in MD that gets a ton of commuter traffic from NIH and elsewhere. I wish it were different but the reality is if you live near a major locus of employment, those employees have to have some way to get to their jobs. Of course MoCo and the state of MD have to operate a transportation system that enables commuters reach to those facilities. Ideally, that design also benefits those of us who live nearby, by preventing massive traffic jams or cars speeding through neighborhoods with elementary schools. I would never advocate that the state or the county block cars (including many DC commuters) from reaching NIH simply because I'd prefer more peace and quiet - that's the bargain I made when deciding to live in a congested area.

If you live in DC and you don't want anyone from the neighboring jurisdictions commuting by car into the city, it's probably time to move to West Virginia or some other rural environment.

People can still drive into DC for work. Nobody is stopping them. The people on this thread are merely complaining that it will be less convenient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm the OP again, and the bolded is just dumb. I live on a busy street in MD that gets a ton of commuter traffic from NIH and elsewhere. I wish it were different but the reality is if you live near a major locus of employment, those employees have to have some way to get to their jobs. Of course MoCo and the state of MD have to operate a transportation system that enables commuters reach to those facilities. Ideally, that design also benefits those of us who live nearby, by preventing massive traffic jams or cars speeding through neighborhoods with elementary schools. I would never advocate that the state or the county block cars (including many DC commuters) from reaching NIH simply because I'd prefer more peace and quiet - that's the bargain I made when deciding to live in a congested area.

If you live in DC and you don't want anyone from the neighboring jurisdictions commuting by car into the city, it's probably time to move to West Virginia or some other rural environment.

If only there were ways to get into DC from Maryland and Virginia that didn't involve driving there in a car by yourself.

[Anonymous]

Why are people arguing here instead of providing public comment to DDOT? It would have a much bigger impact, particularly considering that no decision has been made yet and any decision is at least 6 months away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people arguing here instead of providing public comment to DDOT? It would have a much bigger impact, particularly considering that no decision has been made yet and any decision is at least 6 months away.

There is like one or two people arguing against bike lanes and ending the reversible lanes. They have likely already provided comment even though they live in MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people arguing here instead of providing public comment to DDOT? It would have a much bigger impact, particularly considering that no decision has been made yet and any decision is at least 6 months away.

There is like one or two people arguing against bike lanes and ending the reversible lanes. They have likely already provided comment even though they live in MD.

And the pro-bike lane people are pretending that bike lanes are a fait accompli. It’s not at all. A lot of DC residents drive as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well, there's more than one way traffic can get worse, isn't there? One is obviously is you increase the number of cars. The other is if you decreases the capacity of streets to accommodate traffic. The latter is what happens when you add bike lanes -- you reduce the amount of car traffic the road can handle. You can end up with worse traffic even if the total number of cars has declined.

But the purpose of the transportation system isn't to move cars. It's to move people.

Most people in DC drive (and remember: most commuters in DC actually live in Maryland or Virginia).

Most people in MD and VA drive.

Most people in DC don't. A lot do, but not most.

In 2019, there were 360,000 cars registered with the city. Probably tens, if not hundreds, of thousands more that aren't registered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm the OP again, and the bolded is just dumb. I live on a busy street in MD that gets a ton of commuter traffic from NIH and elsewhere. I wish it were different but the reality is if you live near a major locus of employment, those employees have to have some way to get to their jobs. Of course MoCo and the state of MD have to operate a transportation system that enables commuters reach to those facilities. Ideally, that design also benefits those of us who live nearby, by preventing massive traffic jams or cars speeding through neighborhoods with elementary schools. I would never advocate that the state or the county block cars (including many DC commuters) from reaching NIH simply because I'd prefer more peace and quiet - that's the bargain I made when deciding to live in a congested area.

If you live in DC and you don't want anyone from the neighboring jurisdictions commuting by car into the city, it's probably time to move to West Virginia or some other rural environment.

People can still drive into DC for work. Nobody is stopping them. The people on this thread are merely complaining that it will be less convenient.

A lot of folks in North Cleveland Park and Cleveland Park are worried about the impacts on neighborhood streets from diverted traffic resulting from constraining Connecticut Ave. so significantly. They worry about the safety of kids walking to local schools as more traffic uses 34th/Reno.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
One of the things I have noticed over the past decade is a penchant in all walks of life to relearn why things are the way they are. In this case, I guess DC is determined to relearn the purpose of arterials.

The purpose of arterials is to move lots of cars fast through an area. Which is great, if you're in one of those cars, but terrible for basically everything else. DC has evidently decided to reprioritize the everything else. It's high time.

So better to gridlock arterial traffic and then flush more diverted traffic through local and collectors streets??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm the OP again, and the bolded is just dumb. I live on a busy street in MD that gets a ton of commuter traffic from NIH and elsewhere. I wish it were different but the reality is if you live near a major locus of employment, those employees have to have some way to get to their jobs. Of course MoCo and the state of MD have to operate a transportation system that enables commuters reach to those facilities. Ideally, that design also benefits those of us who live nearby, by preventing massive traffic jams or cars speeding through neighborhoods with elementary schools. I would never advocate that the state or the county block cars (including many DC commuters) from reaching NIH simply because I'd prefer more peace and quiet - that's the bargain I made when deciding to live in a congested area.

If you live in DC and you don't want anyone from the neighboring jurisdictions commuting by car into the city, it's probably time to move to West Virginia or some other rural environment.

People can still drive into DC for work. Nobody is stopping them. The people on this thread are merely complaining that it will be less convenient.

A lot of folks in North Cleveland Park and Cleveland Park are worried about the impacts on neighborhood streets from diverted traffic resulting from constraining Connecticut Ave. so significantly. They worry about the safety of kids walking to local schools as more traffic uses 34th/Reno.

We cannot have a simultaneous situation where the roads are already clogged that they cannot handle more cars while also being totally wide open such that people will be speeding putting pedestrians/kids on sidewalks at peril of cars shooting off the road and into them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well, we know what the city thinks about its small businesses, so I expect to see Connecticut narrowed down to one lane in each direction any day now with permanent bike lanes and with no street parking. In fact, DDOT will just drop the "Avenue" and rename it "Connecticut Way" or "Connecticut Lane."

Study after study has found that bike lanes are good for small businesses.

So you can stop worrying now.

The area business lobbying group stated in the post that their main objective was to end the reversible lanes and rush hour parking restrictions. The businesses support the bike lanes but not at the expense of parking.

And the residents told the businesses that they would stop supporting them if they didn't support the bike lanes. the residents also told DDOT and their elected officials they wanted the bike lanes, and a more pleasant main street rather than a commuter highway. DDOT and the elected officials agreed.

The overwhelming number of the businesses in the Cleveland Park commercial district weighed in to oppose the bike lanes on the avenue, because of the significant impact on critical street parking for their customers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
One of the things I have noticed over the past decade is a penchant in all walks of life to relearn why things are the way they are. In this case, I guess DC is determined to relearn the purpose of arterials.

The purpose of arterials is to move lots of cars fast through an area. Which is great, if you're in one of those cars, but terrible for basically everything else. DC has evidently decided to reprioritize the everything else. It's high time.

So better to gridlock arterial traffic and then flush more diverted traffic through local and collectors streets??

The road is already backed up in several spots during regular commuting hours such that people driving cars bail out into the neighborhoods. This isn't anything new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well, we know what the city thinks about its small businesses, so I expect to see Connecticut narrowed down to one lane in each direction any day now with permanent bike lanes and with no street parking. In fact, DDOT will just drop the "Avenue" and rename it "Connecticut Way" or "Connecticut Lane."

Study after study has found that bike lanes are good for small businesses.

So you can stop worrying now.

The area business lobbying group stated in the post that their main objective was to end the reversible lanes and rush hour parking restrictions. The businesses support the bike lanes but not at the expense of parking.

Which “business area lobbying group” are you referring to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well, we know what the city thinks about its small businesses, so I expect to see Connecticut narrowed down to one lane in each direction any day now with permanent bike lanes and with no street parking. In fact, DDOT will just drop the "Avenue" and rename it "Connecticut Way" or "Connecticut Lane."

Study after study has found that bike lanes are good for small businesses.

So you can stop worrying now.

The area business lobbying group stated in the post that their main objective was to end the reversible lanes and rush hour parking restrictions. The businesses support the bike lanes but not at the expense of parking.

And the residents told the businesses that they would stop supporting them if they didn't support the bike lanes. the residents also told DDOT and their elected officials they wanted the bike lanes, and a more pleasant main street rather than a commuter highway. DDOT and the elected officials agreed.

The overwhelming number of the businesses in the Cleveland Park commercial district weighed in to oppose the bike lanes on the avenue, because of the significant impact on critical street parking for their customers.

Except that unlike with the old configuration, there will be available parking on Connecticut Avenue at all times in the new plan. That is a more than fair trade off, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
One of the things I have noticed over the past decade is a penchant in all walks of life to relearn why things are the way they are. In this case, I guess DC is determined to relearn the purpose of arterials.

The purpose of arterials is to move lots of cars fast through an area. Which is great, if you're in one of those cars, but terrible for basically everything else. DC has evidently decided to reprioritize the everything else. It's high time.

So better to gridlock arterial traffic and then flush more diverted traffic through local and collectors streets??

The road is already backed up in several spots during regular commuting hours such that people driving cars bail out into the neighborhoods. This isn't anything new.

Wait. If this is already the case, imagine what the impact on the adjacent neighborhoods will be of cutting rush hour capacity by 50 percent on the Connecticut Ave arterial!