NPS: Beach Drive May Stay Closed to Traffic During the Summer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

Ok but people working for a living are not commuting by car on beach drive at 11am that much either.

[Anonymous]

The Connectuct Avenue bike lanes is about more than commuting downtown. It is also about being able to get from one neighborhood to another safely.

[Anonymous]

Uh, no one is "riding an elliptical" anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

Ok but people working for a living are not commuting by car on beach drive at 11am that much either.

Of course they are. Which is why the road was busy enough that NPS spent $33m to rehab it a few years ago. Why was the MD portion of Beach Drive re-opened last year (it had been closed during the pandemic too.) Because it's needed for car traffic and there's very little recreational use on weekdays anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

Ok but people working for a living are not commuting by car on beach drive at 11am that much either.

Of course they are. Which is why the road was busy enough that NPS spent $33m to rehab it a few years ago. Why was the MD portion of Beach Drive re-opened last year (it had been closed during the pandemic too.) Because it's needed for car traffic and there's very little recreational use on weekdays anyway.

It’s quite notable that the NPS report doesn’t bother to provide a count of users. I’m sure the number is small and dwindling.

None of these people demanding that it stay closed are out there cycling midday in January.

I agree with the person above who mentioned user fees. If it’s going to stay closed as a park, then they should charge walkers and cyclists $15 per entry like at Shenandoah or make them buy an annual pass. Because if it’s going to be solely a park for recreational use, that’s how NPS manages national parks for recreational use. In fact, they should also do this at other national parkland throughout the area, including Hains Point and the C&O tow path. Pay up folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Connectuct Avenue bike lanes is about more than commuting downtown. It is also about being able to get from one neighborhood to another safely.

They have to account for and address traffic diversion. How does it help getting from one neighborhoo to another safely when neighborhood streets become less safe because of commuter traffic diverted from the main arterial ?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

Ok but people working for a living are not commuting by car on beach drive at 11am that much either.

Of course they are. Which is why the road was busy enough that NPS spent $33m to rehab it a few years ago. Why was the MD portion of Beach Drive re-opened last year (it had been closed during the pandemic too.) Because it's needed for car traffic and there's very little recreational use on weekdays anyway.

It’s quite notable that the NPS report doesn’t bother to provide a count of users. I’m sure the number is small and dwindling.

None of these people demanding that it stay closed are out there cycling midday in January.

I agree with the person above who mentioned user fees. If it’s going to stay closed as a park, then they should charge walkers and cyclists $15 per entry like at Shenandoah or make them buy an annual pass. Because if it’s going to be solely a park for recreational use, that’s how NPS manages national parks for recreational use. In fact, they should also do this at other national parkland throughout the area, including Hains Point and the C&O tow path. Pay up folks.

It's not closed as a park. It's open as a park. You can walk, bike, and drive and park you car in it. It's closed as a through road in the north/south direction (you can still use it to go crosstown).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

Ok but people working for a living are not commuting by car on beach drive at 11am that much either.

Of course they are. Which is why the road was busy enough that NPS spent $33m to rehab it a few years ago. Why was the MD portion of Beach Drive re-opened last year (it had been closed during the pandemic too.) Because it's needed for car traffic and there's very little recreational use on weekdays anyway.

It’s quite notable that the NPS report doesn’t bother to provide a count of users. I’m sure the number is small and dwindling.

None of these people demanding that it stay closed are out there cycling midday in January.

I agree with the person above who mentioned user fees. If it’s going to stay closed as a park, then they should charge walkers and cyclists $15 per entry like at Shenandoah or make them buy an annual pass. Because if it’s going to be solely a park for recreational use, that’s how NPS manages national parks for recreational use. In fact, they should also do this at other national parkland throughout the area, including Hains Point and the C&O tow path. Pay up folks.

It's not closed as a park. It's open as a park. You can walk, bike, and drive and park you car in it. It's closed as a through road in the north/south direction (you can still use it to go crosstown).

Anything to avoid being managed as NPS manages other parks. The park you want RCP to be costs $15. The park RCP used to be that you don’t want is free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

If this is so, than why did they build roads?

[Anonymous]

Toll the drivers on weekdays and you’d make a ton more money. So few recreational users, after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

Ok but people working for a living are not commuting by car on beach drive at 11am that much either.

Of course they are. Which is why the road was busy enough that NPS spent $33m to rehab it a few years ago. Why was the MD portion of Beach Drive re-opened last year (it had been closed during the pandemic too.) Because it's needed for car traffic and there's very little recreational use on weekdays anyway.

It’s quite notable that the NPS report doesn’t bother to provide a count of users. I’m sure the number is small and dwindling.

None of these people demanding that it stay closed are out there cycling midday in January.

I agree with the person above who mentioned user fees. If it’s going to stay closed as a park, then they should charge walkers and cyclists $15 per entry like at Shenandoah or make them buy an annual pass. Because if it’s going to be solely a park for recreational use, that’s how NPS manages national parks for recreational use. In fact, they should also do this at other national parkland throughout the area, including Hains Point and the C&O tow path. Pay up folks.

It's not closed as a park. It's open as a park. You can walk, bike, and drive and park you car in it. It's closed as a through road in the north/south direction (you can still use it to go crosstown).

Anything to avoid being managed as NPS manages other parks. The park you want RCP to be costs $15. The park RCP used to be that you don’t want is free.

Which park costs $15 that I want RCP to be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

Ok but people working for a living are not commuting by car on beach drive at 11am that much either.

Of course they are. Which is why the road was busy enough that NPS spent $33m to rehab it a few years ago. Why was the MD portion of Beach Drive re-opened last year (it had been closed during the pandemic too.) Because it's needed for car traffic and there's very little recreational use on weekdays anyway.

It’s quite notable that the NPS report doesn’t bother to provide a count of users. I’m sure the number is small and dwindling.

None of these people demanding that it stay closed are out there cycling midday in January.

I agree with the person above who mentioned user fees. If it’s going to stay closed as a park, then they should charge walkers and cyclists $15 per entry like at Shenandoah or make them buy an annual pass. Because if it’s going to be solely a park for recreational use, that’s how NPS manages national parks for recreational use. In fact, they should also do this at other national parkland throughout the area, including Hains Point and the C&O tow path. Pay up folks.

It's not closed as a park. It's open as a park. You can walk, bike, and drive and park you car in it. It's closed as a through road in the north/south direction (you can still use it to go crosstown).

Anything to avoid being managed as NPS manages other parks. The park you want RCP to be costs $15. The park RCP used to be that you don’t want is free.

Which park costs $15 that I want RCP to be?

Restricted access national parks charge user fees. You don’t just get to cycle or even walk into NPS restricted access parks, including Shenandoah NP or Assateague Island National Seashore. Want a restricted access park? Pay up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Suck it drivers. Parks are for people not cars. I hope they close every single road in Rock Creek Park to cars and only allow bikes and public transit.

I’m fine with that. And major arterials are for moving traffic, not expansive bike lanes. Bikers can use closed Beach Dr to their heart’s content.

Except that's not DDOT's policy

They can’t constrain an arterial like Connecticut Ave and close Beach Drive at the same time. Traffic won’t magically go away. More likely it will cut through neighborhoods looking for a route around the main road congestion.

This. Closing Beach Drive on weekdays hurts far more DC residents than it helps. Most people have to work for a living - they're not using their elliptical bike on Beach Drive at 11am on a Wednesday. Close Beach => more traffic on Conn Ave => more traffic on NWDC residential streets => fewer weekday commuters into DC => fewer patrons for downtown businesses AND fewer jobs. But hey a few UMC bikers will have the roadway all to themselves, just a few years after $33m in our tax dollars were spent in rehabilitating Beach Drive for cars as well as recreational use.

Ok but people working for a living are not commuting by car on beach drive at 11am that much either.

Of course they are. Which is why the road was busy enough that NPS spent $33m to rehab it a few years ago. Why was the MD portion of Beach Drive re-opened last year (it had been closed during the pandemic too.) Because it's needed for car traffic and there's very little recreational use on weekdays anyway.

It’s quite notable that the NPS report doesn’t bother to provide a count of users. I’m sure the number is small and dwindling.

None of these people demanding that it stay closed are out there cycling midday in January.

I agree with the person above who mentioned user fees. If it’s going to stay closed as a park, then they should charge walkers and cyclists $15 per entry like at Shenandoah or make them buy an annual pass. Because if it’s going to be solely a park for recreational use, that’s how NPS manages national parks for recreational use. In fact, they should also do this at other national parkland throughout the area, including Hains Point and the C&O tow path. Pay up folks.

It's not closed as a park. It's open as a park. You can walk, bike, and drive and park you car in it. It's closed as a through road in the north/south direction (you can still use it to go crosstown).

Anything to avoid being managed as NPS manages other parks. The park you want RCP to be costs $15. The park RCP used to be that you don’t want is free.

Which park costs $15 that I want RCP to be?

Restricted access national parks charge user fees. You don’t just get to cycle or even walk into NPS restricted access parks, including Shenandoah NP or Assateague Island National Seashore. Want a restricted access park? Pay up.

C&O canal is free but you can't drive the length of it. You can drive across it at several points though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
There is an actual report written by NPS which explains why they proposed this option and the other alternatives. I suggest that you go and read it. The DCist article willfully misinterprets that report and it looks like you have been manipulated as a result. This just shows the power of bad journalism. NPS never said that reopening Beach Dr was necessary because there were too many non motorized park users. They said that the non motorized users that accessed the park via the closed Beach Dr were breaking park rules and causing environmental impacts which were likely higher during winter months and lower during summer months[i].

Oh, scary. Non motorized users are "breaking park rules" and "causing environmental impacts". Compared to operators of internal combustion engine 2 ton steel death mobiles traveling 45 mph through the park.

#DefundNationalParkService
#DisbandParkPolice

Internal combustion vehicles dont weight two tons anymore and are made mostly of plastic nowadays. EV's on the other hand weigh close to two tons because of the batteries. Batteries for which the extraction of materials cause lots of environmental damage (lithium) and human rights abuses (cobalt). They're also not recyclable and are hazardous waste when they stop charging after 10 years.

EVs are not a panacea. They cause more damage to the roads, are far more dangerous for pedestrians, have their own significant environmental problems, and are currently unaffordable for the masses. I support the transition to EVs but pretending that they without sin while ICE cars are irredeemably evil is asinine and privileged nonsense.