Options for opposing Connecticut Avenue changes?

[Anonymous]

Right - someone has to be in very good shape to ride a bike all the way up CT ave. Which is why so few people do v.s. the riders down in the center of town. You could commute down CT ave and then take a bus or metro with the bike back up the hill - not sure how likely that scenario is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess what I don’t understand is that if you scroll through the Twitter feeds of the pro bike lane crowd it’s filled with hysterical, border line self congratulatory “gotcha” tweets filled with pics cars, contractors, construction workers, first responders, etc. parked illegally in bike lanes all over the city. Along with pictures of broken and blighted bike lane infrastructure and desperate calls for 311 to fix things. But you somehow think CT will be any different? Thanks to your good reporting we already know how this will go. No thank you.

What it proves is that curb access is actually very important to economic activity in the city and taking this important public resource and giving it over to a small handful of cyclists doesn’t seem very wise.

There will be 24/7 curb access on one side of the street, something that doesn't exist today.

Almost all of the business have some form of alley or rear access, if needed. These days, those are barely used.

So disabled individuals have to use the rear alley entrance now?

I'm all for biking for those who can. I am concerned that this plan does not discuss our residents with disabilities and mobility impaired elderly or their needs and concerns. Is there an ADA compliance study with this plan. I can't find one. Does this account for accessible passenger loading zones from the street?

https://ada-update.com/2020/08/19/bike-lanes-can-create-disability-barriers/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc resident here. This won’t affect my commute at all. I still won’t bike to work (too far and would take too long), and I will either take the bus or the metro to get downtown, or drive during non rush hour

I do feel for Maryland commuters

And anyone on a north south side street. Or a cut thru between conn and reno. Yes traffic will calm. But if that becomes gridlock things could get stupid pretty fast.

Yes yes, cars are bad. I agree! And we are in a new age where many office workers can be more flexible in their routines. But roads do help hundreds of thousands of people get to their jobs, prop up the tax base, allow families to get activities. So it is an important balance.

hope I am wrong and tons of people do bike conn ave. And traffic adjusts and a new safer equilibrium reached. Bookmarking this thread for review later …

The biggest problem with those cut throughs is the number of parks and schools, from nursery to college, along that road with students who mostly walk to school, many of whom cross Reno. I can think of 15 schools off the top of my head. There are not crossing lights at all of these intersections (only a few), unlike along Connecticut and Wisconsin. I'm glad they are finally putting speed bumps near the schools, but there are so many accidents at the Reno intersections as it is. Cars belong on the main roads of Connecticut and Wisconsin. Even there, we have a lot of schools and parks: 9 along upper Connecticut and 8 along upper Wisconsin.

The problem with the cut throughs is the drivers driving too fast and badly.

So we should intentionally triple the amount of them?

No, we should install more speed bumps and deploy cameras pointed at intersections. Punish the bad drivers and force them to slow down until they follow the law. Or go drive on CT Ave.

If we all chip in and buy you and your 10 friends condos downtown will you just go away? This is a shakedown right? Parents spent 1.5 years distracted during the pandemic trying to homeschool their kids and meanwhile like 20 renters along Connecticut Ave and their ANC pals are pushing through bike lanes and weed dispensaries while no one is looking.

The bike lane proposal is wildly popular to most everyone it has been presented to. There are like 20 people on two listserve and now this thread, who are opposed to them, oh and the GOP candidate for Ward 3. I guess you should go support him and his anti-Choice, pro-Christian agenda.

If you only present it to people predisposed to like it, of course it will be popular. I checked with neighbors at a street party and no one knew about this. Our ANC rep is useless and MIA.

Did you consider running for the ANC to replace them? Or is it more satisfying to go on anonymous forums to make up stuff than to have to suffer the actual consequences for presenting uninformed and often illogical opinion in public?

Well it seems like there are no consequences for ANC commissioners presenting uninformed and illogical opinions in private. Induced demand! Traffic will magically disappear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right - someone has to be in very good shape to ride a bike all the way up CT ave. Which is why so few people do v.s. the riders down in the center of town. You could commute down CT ave and then take a bus or metro with the bike back up the hill - not sure how likely that scenario is

E-bikes are a thing, and they have become quite popular. I would assume that most individuals who would be doing that commute on a regular basis will just use e-bikes to make the hill climb easier. Over here on the Hill, cargo e-bikes that are set up to transport children are very popular as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actual tweet 4 hours ago from pro-bike self proclaimed “urbanist”:

“This is a delivery driver from @DoorDash or something, @DDOTDC and @DCDPW. This isn’t working. #bikedc”

This isn’t working already and now you want to bring the fun to Connecticut Ave?

Paint does not constitute a PROTECTED bike lane. We need more PBLs in DC, which doesn't have very much of it, but it is what is proposed for Connecticut Avenue, so thank you for making the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc resident here. This won’t affect my commute at all. I still won’t bike to work (too far and would take too long), and I will either take the bus or the metro to get downtown, or drive during non rush hour

I do feel for Maryland commuters

And anyone on a north south side street. Or a cut thru between conn and reno. Yes traffic will calm. But if that becomes gridlock things could get stupid pretty fast.

Yes yes, cars are bad. I agree! And we are in a new age where many office workers can be more flexible in their routines. But roads do help hundreds of thousands of people get to their jobs, prop up the tax base, allow families to get activities. So it is an important balance.

hope I am wrong and tons of people do bike conn ave. And traffic adjusts and a new safer equilibrium reached. Bookmarking this thread for review later …

The biggest problem with those cut throughs is the number of parks and schools, from nursery to college, along that road with students who mostly walk to school, many of whom cross Reno. I can think of 15 schools off the top of my head. There are not crossing lights at all of these intersections (only a few), unlike along Connecticut and Wisconsin. I'm glad they are finally putting speed bumps near the schools, but there are so many accidents at the Reno intersections as it is. Cars belong on the main roads of Connecticut and Wisconsin. Even there, we have a lot of schools and parks: 9 along upper Connecticut and 8 along upper Wisconsin.

The problem with the cut throughs is the drivers driving too fast and badly.

So we should intentionally triple the amount of them?

No, we should install more speed bumps and deploy cameras pointed at intersections. Punish the bad drivers and force them to slow down until they follow the law. Or go drive on CT Ave.

If we all chip in and buy you and your 10 friends condos downtown will you just go away? This is a shakedown right? Parents spent 1.5 years distracted during the pandemic trying to homeschool their kids and meanwhile like 20 renters along Connecticut Ave and their ANC pals are pushing through bike lanes and weed dispensaries while no one is looking.

The bike lane proposal is wildly popular to most everyone it has been presented to. There are like 20 people on two listserve and now this thread, who are opposed to them, oh and the GOP candidate for Ward 3. I guess you should go support him and his anti-Choice, pro-Christian agenda.

If you only present it to people predisposed to like it, of course it will be popular. I checked with neighbors at a street party and no one knew about this. Our ANC rep is useless and MIA.

The meetings were widely publicized, were publicly available on zoom and the comment period from DDOT was open for months. If people feel it wasn't widely publicized, that isn't the fault of DDOT or the ANCs who did the publicizing.

I mean, there was a 100 page thread about this very issue in this very forum a year ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city has had bike lanes for more than a decade, and the government has bent over backwards to promote them, and yet biking remains the least popular means of transportation.

Surveys show biking is less popular than driving, taking the subway, riding the bus, taking a cab/uber, walking, carpooling and commuter rail

It's surprising that the city has put so much effort into promoting bike lanes (they even pay teachers to bike), for so long, and still it hasn't really caught on.

I guess maybe it only appeals to a small segment of the population.

It would appeal to more if there were a concerted and connected network. That is why Connecticut Avenue is so important. It provides the straightest and flatest path from uptown, through the several commercial areas, to downtown. It connects residents with business and schools.

Flattest?!?!?!

Flat enough to have been viable for the streetcar that prompted its construction, so yes. It is a relatively flat road.

Connecticut Ave. goes from below the fall line up to just below the highest point in DC: from sea level to just under 5000 feet above sea level. Have you ever been to DC?

Connecticut Avenue from Woodley Park to Chevy Chase was the issue at hand. It was built to host a streetcar line and as such, is a relatively subtle grade between those two points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right - someone has to be in very good shape to ride a bike all the way up CT ave. Which is why so few people do v.s. the riders down in the center of town. You could commute down CT ave and then take a bus or metro with the bike back up the hill - not sure how likely that scenario is

they have these new fangled devices called ebikes. google it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc resident here. This won’t affect my commute at all. I still won’t bike to work (too far and would take too long), and I will either take the bus or the metro to get downtown, or drive during non rush hour

I do feel for Maryland commuters

And anyone on a north south side street. Or a cut thru between conn and reno. Yes traffic will calm. But if that becomes gridlock things could get stupid pretty fast.

Yes yes, cars are bad. I agree! And we are in a new age where many office workers can be more flexible in their routines. But roads do help hundreds of thousands of people get to their jobs, prop up the tax base, allow families to get activities. So it is an important balance.

hope I am wrong and tons of people do bike conn ave. And traffic adjusts and a new safer equilibrium reached. Bookmarking this thread for review later …

The biggest problem with those cut throughs is the number of parks and schools, from nursery to college, along that road with students who mostly walk to school, many of whom cross Reno. I can think of 15 schools off the top of my head. There are not crossing lights at all of these intersections (only a few), unlike along Connecticut and Wisconsin. I'm glad they are finally putting speed bumps near the schools, but there are so many accidents at the Reno intersections as it is. Cars belong on the main roads of Connecticut and Wisconsin. Even there, we have a lot of schools and parks: 9 along upper Connecticut and 8 along upper Wisconsin.

The problem with the cut throughs is the drivers driving too fast and badly.

So we should intentionally triple the amount of them?

No, we should install more speed bumps and deploy cameras pointed at intersections. Punish the bad drivers and force them to slow down until they follow the law. Or go drive on CT Ave.

If we all chip in and buy you and your 10 friends condos downtown will you just go away? This is a shakedown right? Parents spent 1.5 years distracted during the pandemic trying to homeschool their kids and meanwhile like 20 renters along Connecticut Ave and their ANC pals are pushing through bike lanes and weed dispensaries while no one is looking.

The bike lane proposal is wildly popular to most everyone it has been presented to. There are like 20 people on two listserve and now this thread, who are opposed to them, oh and the GOP candidate for Ward 3. I guess you should go support him and his anti-Choice, pro-Christian agenda.

If you only present it to people predisposed to like it, of course it will be popular. I checked with neighbors at a street party and no one knew about this. Our ANC rep is useless and MIA.

Did you consider running for the ANC to replace them? Or is it more satisfying to go on anonymous forums to make up stuff than to have to suffer the actual consequences for presenting uninformed and often illogical opinion in public?

Well it seems like there are no consequences for ANC commissioners presenting uninformed and illogical opinions in private. Induced demand! Traffic will magically disappear.

Still doesn't understand the term 'induced demand'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc resident here. This won’t affect my commute at all. I still won’t bike to work (too far and would take too long), and I will either take the bus or the metro to get downtown, or drive during non rush hour

I do feel for Maryland commuters

And anyone on a north south side street. Or a cut thru between conn and reno. Yes traffic will calm. But if that becomes gridlock things could get stupid pretty fast.

Yes yes, cars are bad. I agree! And we are in a new age where many office workers can be more flexible in their routines. But roads do help hundreds of thousands of people get to their jobs, prop up the tax base, allow families to get activities. So it is an important balance.

hope I am wrong and tons of people do bike conn ave. And traffic adjusts and a new safer equilibrium reached. Bookmarking this thread for review later …

The biggest problem with those cut throughs is the number of parks and schools, from nursery to college, along that road with students who mostly walk to school, many of whom cross Reno. I can think of 15 schools off the top of my head. There are not crossing lights at all of these intersections (only a few), unlike along Connecticut and Wisconsin. I'm glad they are finally putting speed bumps near the schools, but there are so many accidents at the Reno intersections as it is. Cars belong on the main roads of Connecticut and Wisconsin. Even there, we have a lot of schools and parks: 9 along upper Connecticut and 8 along upper Wisconsin.

The problem with the cut throughs is the drivers driving too fast and badly.

So we should intentionally triple the amount of them?

No, we should install more speed bumps and deploy cameras pointed at intersections. Punish the bad drivers and force them to slow down until they follow the law. Or go drive on CT Ave.

If we all chip in and buy you and your 10 friends condos downtown will you just go away? This is a shakedown right? Parents spent 1.5 years distracted during the pandemic trying to homeschool their kids and meanwhile like 20 renters along Connecticut Ave and their ANC pals are pushing through bike lanes and weed dispensaries while no one is looking.

The bike lane proposal is wildly popular to most everyone it has been presented to. There are like 20 people on two listserve and now this thread, who are opposed to them, oh and the GOP candidate for Ward 3. I guess you should go support him and his anti-Choice, pro-Christian agenda.

If you only present it to people predisposed to like it, of course it will be popular. I checked with neighbors at a street party and no one knew about this. Our ANC rep is useless and MIA.

Did you consider running for the ANC to replace them? Or is it more satisfying to go on anonymous forums to make up stuff than to have to suffer the actual consequences for presenting uninformed and often illogical opinion in public?

Well it seems like there are no consequences for ANC commissioners presenting uninformed and illogical opinions in private. Induced demand! Traffic will magically disappear.

Sometimes I think all drivers are irrational too, but no, history shows that they respond to incentives like everyone else and do switch to other modes or take less trips when driving becomes slower or otherwise less convenient. Of course, if you’re a shill for the AAA or just hopelessly addicted to your personal automobile, you may not want others to know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city has had bike lanes for more than a decade, and the government has bent over backwards to promote them, and yet biking remains the least popular means of transportation.

Surveys show biking is less popular than driving, taking the subway, riding the bus, taking a cab/uber, walking, carpooling and commuter rail

It's surprising that the city has put so much effort into promoting bike lanes (they even pay teachers to bike), for so long, and still it hasn't really caught on.

I guess maybe it only appeals to a small segment of the population.

It would appeal to more if there were a concerted and connected network. That is why Connecticut Avenue is so important. It provides the straightest and flatest path from uptown, through the several commercial areas, to downtown. It connects residents with business and schools.

Flattest?!?!?!

Flat enough to have been viable for the streetcar that prompted its construction, so yes. It is a relatively flat road.

Connecticut Ave. goes from below the fall line up to just below the highest point in DC: from sea level to just under 5000 feet above sea level. Have you ever been to DC?

Really? Pt. Reno, the highest point in DC, is 409 feet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The city has had bike lanes for more than a decade, and the government has bent over backwards to promote them, and yet biking remains the least popular means of transportation.

Surveys show biking is less popular than driving, taking the subway, riding the bus, taking a cab/uber, walking, carpooling and commuter rail

It's surprising that the city has put so much effort into promoting bike lanes (they even pay teachers to bike), for so long, and still it hasn't really caught on.

I guess maybe it only appeals to a small segment of the population.

It would appeal to more if there were a concerted and connected network. That is why Connecticut Avenue is so important. It provides the straightest and flatest path from uptown, through the several commercial areas, to downtown. It connects residents with business and schools.

Flattest?!?!?!

Flat enough to have been viable for the streetcar that prompted its construction, so yes. It is a relatively flat road.

Connecticut Ave. goes from below the fall line up to just below the highest point in DC: from sea level to just under 5000 feet above sea level. Have you ever been to DC?

Really? Pt. Reno, the highest point in DC, is 409 feet.

facts are irrelevant to these people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess what I don’t understand is that if you scroll through the Twitter feeds of the pro bike lane crowd it’s filled with hysterical, border line self congratulatory “gotcha” tweets filled with pics cars, contractors, construction workers, first responders, etc. parked illegally in bike lanes all over the city. Along with pictures of broken and blighted bike lane infrastructure and desperate calls for 311 to fix things. But you somehow think CT will be any different? Thanks to your good reporting we already know how this will go. No thank you.

What it proves is that curb access is actually very important to economic activity in the city and taking this important public resource and giving it over to a small handful of cyclists doesn’t seem very wise.

There will be 24/7 curb access on one side of the street, something that doesn't exist today.

Almost all of the business have some form of alley or rear access, if needed. These days, those are barely used.

So disabled individuals have to use the rear alley entrance now?

I'm all for biking for those who can. I am concerned that this plan does not discuss our residents with disabilities and mobility impaired elderly or their needs and concerns. Is there an ADA compliance study with this plan. I can't find one. Does this account for accessible passenger loading zones from the street?

https://ada-update.com/2020/08/19/bike-lanes-can-create-disability-barriers/

there weren’t ada spaces before when there was no parking during rush hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dc resident here. This won’t affect my commute at all. I still won’t bike to work (too far and would take too long), and I will either take the bus or the metro to get downtown, or drive during non rush hour

I do feel for Maryland commuters

And anyone on a north south side street. Or a cut thru between conn and reno. Yes traffic will calm. But if that becomes gridlock things could get stupid pretty fast.

Yes yes, cars are bad. I agree! And we are in a new age where many office workers can be more flexible in their routines. But roads do help hundreds of thousands of people get to their jobs, prop up the tax base, allow families to get activities. So it is an important balance.

hope I am wrong and tons of people do bike conn ave. And traffic adjusts and a new safer equilibrium reached. Bookmarking this thread for review later …

Having followed their arguments throughout the thread, this person (and potentially other like-minded posters) adhere to a peculiar theory that suggests that demand is one way street - that is, people want more when prices go down but never will want less if prices go up. It’s illogical and, in the specific sphere of urban roads, is belied by plenty of evidence. They seem to think that repeating themselves incessantly will make them believable.

The biggest problem with those cut throughs is the number of parks and schools, from nursery to college, along that road with students who mostly walk to school, many of whom cross Reno. I can think of 15 schools off the top of my head. There are not crossing lights at all of these intersections (only a few), unlike along Connecticut and Wisconsin. I'm glad they are finally putting speed bumps near the schools, but there are so many accidents at the Reno intersections as it is. Cars belong on the main roads of Connecticut and Wisconsin. Even there, we have a lot of schools and parks: 9 along upper Connecticut and 8 along upper Wisconsin.

The problem with the cut throughs is the drivers driving too fast and badly.

So we should intentionally triple the amount of them?

No, we should install more speed bumps and deploy cameras pointed at intersections. Punish the bad drivers and force them to slow down until they follow the law. Or go drive on CT Ave.

If we all chip in and buy you and your 10 friends condos downtown will you just go away? This is a shakedown right? Parents spent 1.5 years distracted during the pandemic trying to homeschool their kids and meanwhile like 20 renters along Connecticut Ave and their ANC pals are pushing through bike lanes and weed dispensaries while no one is looking.

The bike lane proposal is wildly popular to most everyone it has been presented to. There are like 20 people on two listserve and now this thread, who are opposed to them, oh and the GOP candidate for Ward 3. I guess you should go support him and his anti-Choice, pro-Christian agenda.

If you only present it to people predisposed to like it, of course it will be popular. I checked with neighbors at a street party and no one knew about this. Our ANC rep is useless and MIA.

Did you consider running for the ANC to replace them? Or is it more satisfying to go on anonymous forums to make up stuff than to have to suffer the actual consequences for presenting uninformed and often illogical opinion in public?

Well it seems like there are no consequences for ANC commissioners presenting uninformed and illogical opinions in private. Induced demand! Traffic will magically disappear.

Still doesn't understand the term 'induced demand'

[Anonymous]

The amount of people who will be willing to cart their kids to and from school on an e-bike cargo bike every day rain or shine through snow, 95 degree summer days, rain etc.. is very small. Where do you put your dog if you need to take them to the vet, where do you put all of your kids various sports stuff, This is totally impractical for most families