Options for opposing Connecticut Avenue changes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

DC is the only place I've lived in where people give zero shits about impaired driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not just the Spandex Shanes and the other WABA advocates who are hopping mad. The smart growth lobby (Ward 3 Vision, Cleveland Park Smart Growth, etc) are also mighty upset on "X." Ditto their allies that they recruited and elected to the ANCs. In the past Bowser often has taken their side, but perhaps now she finds the urgent need to support actual, struggling local businesses in DC more compelling than the GGW echo chamber and their vibrant urbanist vision to remake Ward 3.

This Bike Lobby? The group with two black guys, three women, one older dude and one younger dude? All totally look like white middle aged dentists rocking lycra and 10,000 dura-ace bikes from Scott to me!

The blue hair. Always the blue hair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

Cracking down on impaired driving would be the fastest way to make streets safer but it doesn’t lend itself to building more bike lanes so the bike nazis don’t care about those deaths

I fully agree on cracking down on drivers as a potentially effective deterrent.

The streets would also be safer if cyclists made a modest effort to make themselves visible at night. I dont think they realize how hard it can be for drivers to see them once the sun goes down.

Pedestrians and bikes have not gotten any darker over the last 20 years, if anything, they've become more visible.

The issue is that drivers can barely see anything smaller than a car when driving at night. One reason is that drivers have gotten older. Another is they are now sitting high up in an SUV, which creates blind spots that they wouldn't have in a shorter vehicle. Vehicle lights have also gotten brighter (4,000 Lumen vs the old 700 Lumen), which makes it harder to see anything darker than a road flare.

Drivers won't drive smaller vehicles, slow down as they get older, or even stop driving after dark, but they expect pedestrians and cyclists to light themselves up like a mobile rave.

TL;DR: Everything is always drivers' fault, and cyclists shouldn't have to do anything, ever, that they don't want to do.

In essence, yes. People are choosing larger vehicles, with worse visibility, hitting more pedestrians then blaming the pedestrians.

https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/vehicles-with-higher-more-vertical-front-ends-pose-greater-risk-to-pedestrians

"Whatever their nose shape, pickups, SUVs and vans with a hood height greater than 40 inches are about 45 percent more likely to cause fatalities in pedestrian crashes than cars and other vehicles with a hood height of 30 inches or less and a sloping profile"

"Pedestrian crash deaths have risen 80 percent since hitting their low in 2009. Nearly 7,400 walkers — more than 20 people a day — lost their lives in 2021 after being struck by a vehicle. While speeding and poorly designed infrastructure have helped fuel the increase, many safety advocates have also drawn a connection to the growing portion of the U.S. vehicle fleet made up of pickups and SUVs.

Over the past 30 years, the average U.S. passenger vehicle has gotten about 4 inches wider, 10 inches longer, 8 inches taller and 1,000 pounds heavier. Many vehicles are more than 40 inches tall at the leading edge of the hood. On some large pickups, the hoods are almost at eye level for many adults."

And yet not a single proposal to do anything about that. Instead we got a tax that exempts the heaviest vehicles on the roads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

Cracking down on impaired driving would be the fastest way to make streets safer but it doesn’t lend itself to building more bike lanes so the bike nazis don’t care about those deaths

I fully agree on cracking down on drivers as a potentially effective deterrent.

The streets would also be safer if cyclists made a modest effort to make themselves visible at night. I dont think they realize how hard it can be for drivers to see them once the sun goes down.

Pedestrians and bikes have not gotten any darker over the last 20 years, if anything, they've become more visible.

The issue is that drivers can barely see anything smaller than a car when driving at night. One reason is that drivers have gotten older. Another is they are now sitting high up in an SUV, which creates blind spots that they wouldn't have in a shorter vehicle. Vehicle lights have also gotten brighter (4,000 Lumen vs the old 700 Lumen), which makes it harder to see anything darker than a road flare.

Drivers won't drive smaller vehicles, slow down as they get older, or even stop driving after dark, but they expect pedestrians and cyclists to light themselves up like a mobile rave.

TL;DR: Everything is always drivers' fault, and cyclists shouldn't have to do anything, ever, that they don't want to do.

You mean like stop for red lights, obey other DC traffic laws, and not harass pedestrians on the sidewalks?!

Then reinstating traffic enforcement would seem to be the obvious solution. Instead traffic rules for bicyclists were eliminated.

It has never been about safety.

More like it’s about entitlement.

Yes, an entitlement to ride high and run people over.

[Anonymous]

Isn’t Connecticut Ave what the commuter traffic and the trucks are supposed to use? It’s designated as most major arterial in the area. Diverting truck and vehicle traffic into narrower neighborhood streets will make those streets much less safe and create more gridlock and vehicle/bike/pedestrian conflicts, not fewer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good for Bowser. It was a ridiculous plan.

She listened to the public. People don't want this. Now, can we delete this awful thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t Connecticut Ave what the commuter traffic and the trucks are supposed to use? It’s designated as most major arterial in the area. Diverting truck and vehicle traffic into narrower neighborhood streets will make those streets much less safe and create more gridlock and vehicle/bike/pedestrian conflicts, not fewer.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

DC is the only place I've lived in where people give zero shits about impaired driving.

We've turned traffic enforcement over to cameras. Alcoholics and pot heads rejoice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

DC is the only place I've lived in where people give zero shits about impaired driving.

We've turned traffic enforcement over to cameras. Alcoholics and pot heads rejoice!

The Cleveland Park ANC by resolution specifically asked that traffic enforcement be transferred from MPD to DDOT. So that was awesome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

DC is the only place I've lived in where people give zero shits about impaired driving.

We've turned traffic enforcement over to cameras. Alcoholics and pot heads rejoice!

Too bad that they don't have enforcement cameras with sniffer sensors for pot fumes. One can smell pungent pot fumes wafting from a vehicle from 50 feet away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

DC is the only place I've lived in where people give zero shits about impaired driving.

We've turned traffic enforcement over to cameras. Alcoholics and pot heads rejoice!

The Cleveland Park ANC by resolution specifically asked that traffic enforcement be transferred from MPD to DDOT. So that was awesome.

Did Commissioner Sauleh Siddiqui write that awesome and equitable resolution?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

DC is the only place I've lived in where people give zero shits about impaired driving.

We've turned traffic enforcement over to cameras. Alcoholics and pot heads rejoice!

The Cleveland Park ANC by resolution specifically asked that traffic enforcement be transferred from MPD to DDOT. So that was awesome.

The Cleveland Park ANC is so embarrassing. Didn't they also demand that all rental housing should be free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn’t Connecticut Ave what the commuter traffic and the trucks are supposed to use? It’s designated as most major arterial in the area. Diverting truck and vehicle traffic into narrower neighborhood streets will make those streets much less safe and create more gridlock and vehicle/bike/pedestrian conflicts, not fewer.

Exactly.

Too sensible, apparently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

DC is the only place I've lived in where people give zero shits about impaired driving.

We've turned traffic enforcement over to cameras. Alcoholics and pot heads rejoice!

The Cleveland Park ANC by resolution specifically asked that traffic enforcement be transferred from MPD to DDOT. So that was awesome.

Did Commissioner Sauleh Siddiqui write that awesome and equitable resolution?

Beau, I think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of hyperventilating here, but traffic deaths are quite rare. We have about 40 per year. Don't forget the denominator! That's out of billions of trips.

The police say about 25 percent of those deaths are caused by speeding.

Another 25 percent are the fault of someone who wasn't driving, ie the pedestrian, cyclist, etc.

Another quarter are because the driver was drunk or stoned.

The rest are because of medical emergencies or otherwise unknown causses.

The easiest thing we could do is have the police get back into the traffic enforcement businesses (instead of relying on cameras) and have them hunt down impaired drivers.

DC is the only place I've lived in where people give zero shits about impaired driving.

We've turned traffic enforcement over to cameras. Alcoholics and pot heads rejoice!

The Cleveland Park ANC by resolution specifically asked that traffic enforcement be transferred from MPD to DDOT. So that was awesome.

Did Commissioner Sauleh Siddiqui write that awesome and equitable resolution?

Beau, I think.

The guy who ran for city council as a "progressive" but his campaign manager was a Trumper.