why are cars allowed in the National Arbortetum? Why? Why? WHYYYY?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no longer a tram because funding was cut.

I think it's really cute that someone thinks FONA will get more donations if it's pedestrianized, though. I'm sure that's why OP hasn't donated yet.

The place operates on fumes.

I mean, all the more reason to revitalize it and make it a more attractive place for what DC clearly wants - pedestrian-focused areas for recreation. It's not hard to see this trend, from Beach Drive to Navy Yard to the Wharf to RFK Fields.

It's what you clearly want. Only a narcissist would assume that is what the city writ large wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because they don't care about seeing the trees or gardens - they want to drive in for a selfie or photo op for social media, then drive out.

After hundreds of trips to the arboretum, the only times I've ever encountered many cars were during azalea season and yes, the people in them were generally older. Not exactly the thirsty type.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no longer a tram because funding was cut.

I think it's really cute that someone thinks FONA will get more donations if it's pedestrianized, though. I'm sure that's why OP hasn't donated yet.

The place operates on fumes.

I mean, all the more reason to revitalize it and make it a more attractive place for what DC clearly wants - pedestrian-focused areas for recreation. It's not hard to see this trend, from Beach Drive to Navy Yard to the Wharf to RFK Fields.

It's what you clearly want. Only a narcissist would assume that is what the city writ large wants.

Right. There's no interest in increasing and improving car-free recreation areas in DC and the US in general. None at all!

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/2/16842086/prospect-park-car-free-2018-photos
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/6/27/17507830/central-park-new-york-car-free
https://ggwash.org/view/79613/spotted-on-car-free-beach-drive-thousands-of-bicyclists-and-pedestrians-629-dogs-one-cat-and-one-bird

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no longer a tram because funding was cut.

I think it's really cute that someone thinks FONA will get more donations if it's pedestrianized, though. I'm sure that's why OP hasn't donated yet.

The place operates on fumes.

I mean, all the more reason to revitalize it and make it a more attractive place for what DC clearly wants - pedestrian-focused areas for recreation. It's not hard to see this trend, from Beach Drive to Navy Yard to the Wharf to RFK Fields.

It's what you clearly want. Only a narcissist would assume that is what the city writ large wants.

Right. There's no interest in increasing and improving car-free recreation areas in DC and the US in general. None at all!

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/2/16842086/prospect-park-car-free-2018-photos
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/6/27/17507830/central-park-new-york-car-free
https://ggwash.org/view/79613/spotted-on-car-free-beach-drive-thousands-of-bicyclists-and-pedestrians-629-dogs-one-cat-and-one-bird

Sure. But is a federally-funded research facility a likely place for it to happen?

Good luck in your quest, OP. If it happens, maybe you can work on DC statehood next!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no longer a tram because funding was cut.

I think it's really cute that someone thinks FONA will get more donations if it's pedestrianized, though. I'm sure that's why OP hasn't donated yet.

The place operates on fumes.

I mean, all the more reason to revitalize it and make it a more attractive place for what DC clearly wants - pedestrian-focused areas for recreation. It's not hard to see this trend, from Beach Drive to Navy Yard to the Wharf to RFK Fields.

It's what you clearly want. Only a narcissist would assume that is what the city writ large wants.

Right. There's no interest in increasing and improving car-free recreation areas in DC and the US in general. None at all!

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/2/16842086/prospect-park-car-free-2018-photos
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/6/27/17507830/central-park-new-york-car-free
https://ggwash.org/view/79613/spotted-on-car-free-beach-drive-thousands-of-bicyclists-and-pedestrians-629-dogs-one-cat-and-one-bird

Sure. But is a federally-funded research facility a likely place for it to happen?

Good luck in your quest, OP. If it happens, maybe you can work on DC statehood next!

It's a research and education facility open to the public, and other aspects of its public function are frequently put on the table, from the design of the gate, to reopening the MD gate, to the fence design. limiting car circulation is a totally appropriate thing to consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no longer a tram because funding was cut.

I think it's really cute that someone thinks FONA will get more donations if it's pedestrianized, though. I'm sure that's why OP hasn't donated yet.

The place operates on fumes.

I mean, all the more reason to revitalize it and make it a more attractive place for what DC clearly wants - pedestrian-focused areas for recreation. It's not hard to see this trend, from Beach Drive to Navy Yard to the Wharf to RFK Fields.

It's what you clearly want. Only a narcissist would assume that is what the city writ large wants.

Right. There's no interest in increasing and improving car-free recreation areas in DC and the US in general. None at all!

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/2/16842086/prospect-park-car-free-2018-photos
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/6/27/17507830/central-park-new-york-car-free
https://ggwash.org/view/79613/spotted-on-car-free-beach-drive-thousands-of-bicyclists-and-pedestrians-629-dogs-one-cat-and-one-bird

Sure. But is a federally-funded research facility a likely place for it to happen?

Good luck in your quest, OP. If it happens, maybe you can work on DC statehood next!

It's a research and education facility open to the public, and other aspects of its public function are frequently put on the table, from the design of the gate, to reopening the MD gate, to the fence design. limiting car circulation is a totally appropriate thing to consider.

Sure, totally appropriate to consider it. And then it should be rejected because your proposed changes make it less open and accessible to the public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of the year this argument is pointless because there are simply not that many people at the park. If you walk, you don't deal with many cars and they mostly go slow. And most of the people who drive are simply doing it to reach the more far flung areas of the park and are respectful of low speed limits and look out for pedestrians and bikes.

It's just that in the spring, you get lots of people who visit the park infrequently (including tourists) showing up to see the most crowded part of the park and not observing any of the unspoken rules of the arboretum, like minimizing driving. If you go there a lot, you know that you can park at the visitors center and walk to almost everywhere you want to go on accessible trails. The only real exception are the Asian gardens which are a bit of a hike if you have mobility issues, children, or limited time, so many people will drive over there if that's the focus of your visit.

But no one drives, parks to look an "an azalea" then drives to look at a dogwood, etc., as a PP mentioned. That kind of behavior, and accompanying entitlement, only happens during azaleas and to a lesser extent on summer weekends. For those of us who have been visiting the Arboretum for years, especially if you live in NE where it is more accessible than the mall or waterfront areas, this really isn't an issue most of the time. Like everything in DC, you just have to learn to work around the tourists and crowds in the high season. It's one of the costs of living in this lovely city with so many free amenities.

It seems to be working out fine for most of us, present OP excluded.

It's not working out fine for me. I've been in the area 20 years, and I've never been to the Arboretum, because the transit/walking/biking access is lousy.

[Anonymous]

It seems like the best solution would be:
— bring back the tram; and maybe
— add it to a shuttle or circulator route (although with the rise of ride share it seems like inability to get there would be less of an issue).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me guess OP. You are a millennial who doesn’t have a car and you live in one of the gentrified neighborhood in north east that is convenient walking or biking distance to the Arboretum. Am I right?

Bonus points for admitting that you are a fairly recent arrival to the district of Columbia and this is your first home that you’ve purchased

To add, just as you’re tired of cars in your new pandemic walking routine, people like me, who’ve been going there for years,
are so bummed that throngs of millennials have “discovered “ the once-quiet place. We’re dismayed that you clog it up consistently with off-leash rescue dogs and shouty loud preschoolers and babies climbing in the trees which is clearly inappropriate.

We have to coexist now and so do you

\

Guess what - the fact that you have been going there for years doesn't give you any more or less right to it.

Large urban parks are going car-free everywhere; so it only makes sense to consider it for the National Arboretum as well. I'm sorry, but no, you don't have the right to get in your car, drive 1/3 mile to see an azalea, then get back in your car and drive another 1/3 mile to see a dogwood. That is giving a huge amount of priority to cars. The parking lots obviously need to be consolidated and car traffic limited to access to the parking lots.

Actually we do. It’s designed that way. So you can piss and moan all you want, but until the design is changed, people have the right to drive on the roads that connect the different areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of the year this argument is pointless because there are simply not that many people at the park. If you walk, you don't deal with many cars and they mostly go slow. And most of the people who drive are simply doing it to reach the more far flung areas of the park and are respectful of low speed limits and look out for pedestrians and bikes.

It's just that in the spring, you get lots of people who visit the park infrequently (including tourists) showing up to see the most crowded part of the park and not observing any of the unspoken rules of the arboretum, like minimizing driving. If you go there a lot, you know that you can park at the visitors center and walk to almost everywhere you want to go on accessible trails. The only real exception are the Asian gardens which are a bit of a hike if you have mobility issues, children, or limited time, so many people will drive over there if that's the focus of your visit.

But no one drives, parks to look an "an azalea" then drives to look at a dogwood, etc., as a PP mentioned. That kind of behavior, and accompanying entitlement, only happens during azaleas and to a lesser extent on summer weekends. For those of us who have been visiting the Arboretum for years, especially if you live in NE where it is more accessible than the mall or waterfront areas, this really isn't an issue most of the time. Like everything in DC, you just have to learn to work around the tourists and crowds in the high season. It's one of the costs of living in this lovely city with so many free amenities.

It seems to be working out fine for most of us, present OP excluded.

It's not working out fine for me. I've been in the area 20 years, and I've never been to the Arboretum, because the transit/walking/biking access is lousy.

It's wildly implausible that the transit/walking/biking access (that you somehow know know all about despite never having been there) has stopped you from visiting over the last 20 years. Among other things, you could have gone at an off peak time if you were really interested in going but somehow turned off by the access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no longer a tram because funding was cut.

I think it's really cute that someone thinks FONA will get more donations if it's pedestrianized, though. I'm sure that's why OP hasn't donated yet.

The place operates on fumes.

I mean, all the more reason to revitalize it and make it a more attractive place for what DC clearly wants - pedestrian-focused areas for recreation. It's not hard to see this trend, from Beach Drive to Navy Yard to the Wharf to RFK Fields.

It's what you clearly want. Only a narcissist would assume that is what the city writ large wants.

Right. There's no interest in increasing and improving car-free recreation areas in DC and the US in general. None at all!

https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/2/16842086/prospect-park-car-free-2018-photos
https://ny.curbed.com/2018/6/27/17507830/central-park-new-york-car-free
https://ggwash.org/view/79613/spotted-on-car-free-beach-drive-thousands-of-bicyclists-and-pedestrians-629-dogs-one-cat-and-one-bird

Sure. But is a federally-funded research facility a likely place for it to happen?

Good luck in your quest, OP. If it happens, maybe you can work on DC statehood next!

It's a research and education facility open to the public, and other aspects of its public function are frequently put on the table, from the design of the gate, to reopening the MD gate, to the fence design. limiting car circulation is a totally appropriate thing to consider.

Sure, totally appropriate to consider it. And then it should be rejected because your proposed changes make it less open and accessible to the public.

so cars have to be able to drive through the whole thing to be accessible? do you think it’s like a safari, where you can only watch the azaleas from your car window? I’m just dumbfounded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of the year this argument is pointless because there are simply not that many people at the park. If you walk, you don't deal with many cars and they mostly go slow. And most of the people who drive are simply doing it to reach the more far flung areas of the park and are respectful of low speed limits and look out for pedestrians and bikes.

It's just that in the spring, you get lots of people who visit the park infrequently (including tourists) showing up to see the most crowded part of the park and not observing any of the unspoken rules of the arboretum, like minimizing driving. If you go there a lot, you know that you can park at the visitors center and walk to almost everywhere you want to go on accessible trails. The only real exception are the Asian gardens which are a bit of a hike if you have mobility issues, children, or limited time, so many people will drive over there if that's the focus of your visit.

But no one drives, parks to look an "an azalea" then drives to look at a dogwood, etc., as a PP mentioned. That kind of behavior, and accompanying entitlement, only happens during azaleas and to a lesser extent on summer weekends. For those of us who have been visiting the Arboretum for years, especially if you live in NE where it is more accessible than the mall or waterfront areas, this really isn't an issue most of the time. Like everything in DC, you just have to learn to work around the tourists and crowds in the high season. It's one of the costs of living in this lovely city with so many free amenities.

It seems to be working out fine for most of us, present OP excluded.

It's not working out fine for me. I've been in the area 20 years, and I've never been to the Arboretum, because the transit/walking/biking access is lousy.

The plan to re-open the MD Ave entrance would create much better access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of the year this argument is pointless because there are simply not that many people at the park. If you walk, you don't deal with many cars and they mostly go slow. And most of the people who drive are simply doing it to reach the more far flung areas of the park and are respectful of low speed limits and look out for pedestrians and bikes.

It's just that in the spring, you get lots of people who visit the park infrequently (including tourists) showing up to see the most crowded part of the park and not observing any of the unspoken rules of the arboretum, like minimizing driving. If you go there a lot, you know that you can park at the visitors center and walk to almost everywhere you want to go on accessible trails. The only real exception are the Asian gardens which are a bit of a hike if you have mobility issues, children, or limited time, so many people will drive over there if that's the focus of your visit.

But no one drives, parks to look an "an azalea" then drives to look at a dogwood, etc., as a PP mentioned. That kind of behavior, and accompanying entitlement, only happens during azaleas and to a lesser extent on summer weekends. For those of us who have been visiting the Arboretum for years, especially if you live in NE where it is more accessible than the mall or waterfront areas, this really isn't an issue most of the time. Like everything in DC, you just have to learn to work around the tourists and crowds in the high season. It's one of the costs of living in this lovely city with so many free amenities.

It seems to be working out fine for most of us, present OP excluded.

It's not working out fine for me. I've been in the area 20 years, and I've never been to the Arboretum, because the transit/walking/biking access is lousy.

Well now you are talking about two different things. I was talking about transit within the arboretum, where I do not feel (as someone who visits 10-20x per year) that car access in the park is an issue except during the handful of times during the year when it is very crowded.

But I agree access TO the arboretum by pedestrians, cyclists, and mass transit could be much better. We live very close but usually drive because we don’t feel comfortable with our DD biking on Bladensburg. I don’t love it either, to be honest. I’d love if there were bus access to the park and i really look forward to them reopening the MD Ave entrance because that will enable us to simply walk there most of the time.

But that’s not OP’s lament.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of the year this argument is pointless because there are simply not that many people at the park. If you walk, you don't deal with many cars and they mostly go slow. And most of the people who drive are simply doing it to reach the more far flung areas of the park and are respectful of low speed limits and look out for pedestrians and bikes.

It's just that in the spring, you get lots of people who visit the park infrequently (including tourists) showing up to see the most crowded part of the park and not observing any of the unspoken rules of the arboretum, like minimizing driving. If you go there a lot, you know that you can park at the visitors center and walk to almost everywhere you want to go on accessible trails. The only real exception are the Asian gardens which are a bit of a hike if you have mobility issues, children, or limited time, so many people will drive over there if that's the focus of your visit.

But no one drives, parks to look an "an azalea" then drives to look at a dogwood, etc., as a PP mentioned. That kind of behavior, and accompanying entitlement, only happens during azaleas and to a lesser extent on summer weekends. For those of us who have been visiting the Arboretum for years, especially if you live in NE where it is more accessible than the mall or waterfront areas, this really isn't an issue most of the time. Like everything in DC, you just have to learn to work around the tourists and crowds in the high season. It's one of the costs of living in this lovely city with so many free amenities.

It seems to be working out fine for most of us, present OP excluded.

It's not working out fine for me. I've been in the area 20 years, and I've never been to the Arboretum, because the transit/walking/biking access is lousy.

Well now you are talking about two different things. I was talking about transit within the arboretum, where I do not feel (as someone who visits 10-20x per year) that car access in the park is an issue except during the handful of times during the year when it is very crowded.

But I agree access TO the arboretum by pedestrians, cyclists, and mass transit could be much better. We live very close but usually drive because we don’t feel comfortable with our DD biking on Bladensburg. I don’t love it either, to be honest. I’d love if there were bus access to the park and i really look forward to them reopening the MD Ave entrance because that will enable us to simply walk there most of the time.

But that’s not OP’s lament.

OP here. You honestly don’t think it would be better if cars were restricted to traveling between 2-3 parking lots on the northern road?

[Anonymous]

It's a mile one way from the visitor center parking lot to the Asian Collection, so you're at 2 miles round trip with a hill before you even step foot into the paths. There are plenty of people who cannot walk that, and it's not because they are lazy AF.