Options for opposing Connecticut Avenue changes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No parent would dream of putting a young child in a car without a car seat (and you'll be cited by the police if you don't). And yet these people who put young children on bikes and go toodling off into traffic are like "I'll just be careful!" I mean, what? And how is this even legal?

Didn’t you already post this?

No. But I did see some people doing some insane stuff with their kids on bikes during rush hour. You'd think child protective services would have something to say about this.

You are late to the thread with this line of argument.

And if you cared about neighborhood kids on bikes, you would argue in favor of protected bikes lanes to - you know - protect them. And you would slow down and obey traffic laws.

There's no one with less regard for traffic laws than people on bikes. I almost hit one the other day. I had to slam on the breaks to avoid him. If I had killed him, there's no way I would have been cited.

That’s funny, when I posted once about having to slam on the brakes my bike, which sent me crashing to the ground, to avoid hitting a kid who ran out into the road between two parked cars in front of me, everyone told me it was proof cyclists are dangerous, too, and yet here’s someone doing the same thing in a car as proof of the same thing?

If you had to slam on the brakes so hard that it sent you crashing to the ground, you were going far too fast for the conditions.

“The conditions” here being that a kid ran out into the street 2 feet in front of me? Sure, I guess. I was probably going 9 mph. If you had to stop a car suddenly and it only had two wheels, you’d probably crash that, too — maintaining balance in an unexpected stop is difficult. The kid was fine and the only damage was to me/my helmet, so the whole thing was a nothingburger. I was just amused to see the exact same thing happening in a car as proof that bikes are dangerous somehow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone directs me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone directs me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

There is already "traffic"; there is already cut through traffic. This isn't going to make it worse for people who walk and bike. There is no evidence it will make it worse for people who drive, either. Just your hyperbole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone directs me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

There is already "traffic"; there is already cut through traffic. This isn't going to make it worse for people who walk and bike. There is no evidence it will make it worse for people who drive, either. Just your hyperbole.

What if hyperbole is all he has?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

E-bikes are a thing for rich people. The pool of people who will use these lanes is narrow: young, able-bodied, rich enough to buy an ebike, and with uncomplicated lives (ie, they’re not transporting kids to sports practice after work or picking up the family groceries.)

Almost everything you assume is wrong. E-bikes are much cheaper than cars yet are supposedly only for the rich. They are precisely designed for those not young, fit, or “able-bodied” enough to use regular bikes. Plenty of elderly people use them. Plenty of people with “complicated lives” use them to carry out all manner of errands. That your small mind and limited knowledge cannot fathom how people in the city are actually living is not an argument.

Oh please tell us how old people are really into bike lanes. Especially people in hospice, right? How about the blind and disabled? THEY LOVE BIKE LANES. [/quote
]
Taking a blind person as the rear rider on a tandem is a really cool thing.

Or are you suggesting that blind people are driving normally? That would explains few things about DC drivers...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone directs me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

Fully agree with PP. This is going to be a disaster. I'm so sick of the bike lane bullies. There are about 0-20 people biking on Connecticut Ave at any given time. You've got Beach Dr. and Rock Creek Park bike path that are a great and safer alternative to Connecticut Ave. The Connecticut Ave bike lanes are unnecessary and will end up being redone with two years of implementation, wasting all of our tax dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

So drivers will need to slow down, stop at stop signs, yield to pedestrians. You know, obey the laws.

Remember, the speed limit in residential areas in DC is 20 mph. Pls make a note.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone direc ts me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

There is already "traffic"; there is already cut through traffic. This isn't going to make it worse for people who walk and bike. There is no evidence it will make it worse for people who drive, either. Just your hyperbole.

How does significantly increasing something not make it worse. You've spent pages and hours saying that cars are death machines and inherently dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists. DDOT isays that the majority (around 75%) of the traffic volume reduced on Connecticut by permanently eliminating two lanes will end up on the neighborhood side streets. The very places people currently walk and bike. You say that it will all disappear because of the magic of induced demand (supply side economics btw).

Putting aside that fantasy and sticking with DDOT's numbers. As you rightly point out, the mere presence of a moving vehicle increases potential risk. That means you are asking children, who do bike on the side streets but dont and will not bike on Connecticut, to take on significantly higher risk in order to lower the risk for hypothetical bicyclists. That traffic will be focused on side streets and will double to triple their current rate. The hypothetical bicyclists meanwhile will all be single rider adults because of the congestion, which under this scenario is increased by 25%. I think it's disgusting that you arguing that this somehow protects children while under your own rubric you are putting them in constant mortal danger. There is nothing you seemingly won't say or claim in your zeal. I do not think that is right.

Traffic does not disappear. It adapts. It belongs on Connecticut and not the side streets. Side streets where we've tended to put elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

So drivers will need to slow down, stop at stop signs, yield to pedestrians. You know, obey the laws.

Remember, the speed limit in residential areas in DC is 20 mph. Pls make a note.

But since, according to you, they don't and won't. That means that you believe that you are creating a child death trap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

No parent would dream of putting a young child in a car without a car seat (and you'll be cited by the police if you don't). And yet these people who put young children on bikes and go toodling off into traffic are like "I'll just be careful!" I mean, what? And how is this even legal?

Didn’t you already post this?

No. But I did see some people doing some insane stuff with their kids on bikes during rush hour. You'd think child protective services would have something to say about this.

You are late to the thread with this line of argument.

And if you cared about neighborhood kids on bikes, you would argue in favor of protected bikes lanes to - you know - protect them. And you would slow down and obey traffic laws.

There's no one with less regard for traffic laws than people on bikes. I almost hit one the other day. I had to slam on the breaks to avoid him. If I had killed him, there's no way I would have been cited.

That’s funny, when I posted once about having to slam on the brakes my bike, which sent me crashing to the ground, to avoid hitting a kid who ran out into the road between two parked cars in front of me, everyone told me it was proof cyclists are dangerous, too, and yet here’s someone doing the same thing in a car as proof of the same thing?

If you had to slam on the brakes so hard that it sent you crashing to the ground, you were going far too fast for the conditions.

“The conditions” here being that a kid ran out into the street 2 feet in front of me? Sure, I guess. I was probably going 9 mph. If you had to stop a car suddenly and it only had two wheels, you’d probably crash that, too — maintaining balance in an unexpected stop is difficult. The kid was fine and the only damage was to me/my helmet, so the whole thing was a nothingburger. I was just amused to see the exact same thing happening in a car as proof that bikes are dangerous somehow.

I had a similar experience a few years ago. A woman ran out from between parked cars right in front of my bike. I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting her and went over my handlebars. I was too shaken up to say anything to her and so just picked myself up and went on my way. That's been the only experience where I've crashed trying to avoid a pedestrian, but every few weeks I'll have to take evasive action to avoid someone doing something erratic in contravention of cross signals or whatnot. Like the PP, such experiences have not given me any great desire to tell all and sundry about how pedestrians are such scofflaws with no regard for their safety or anyone else's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone directs me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

Nice anecdote, bro. But there also happens to be decades of evidence which demonstrates the elimination of not just travel lanes but entire highways leads to changes in driver behavior that, in sum, do not produce the kind of carmaggedon that the opponents of these lanes would have you believe will come to pass. There may be an increase in cut through traffic in the short-term as drivers adjust to the new patterns, but experience suggests that the overall effect in equilibrium will be negligible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone direc ts me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

There is already "traffic"; there is already cut through traffic. This isn't going to make it worse for people who walk and bike. There is no evidence it will make it worse for people who drive, either. Just your hyperbole.

How does significantly increasing something not make it worse. You've spent pages and hours saying that cars are death machines and inherently dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists. DDOT isays that the majority (around 75%) of the traffic volume reduced on Connecticut by permanently eliminating two lanes will end up on the neighborhood side streets. The very places people currently walk and bike. You say that it will all disappear because of the magic of induced demand (supply side economics btw).

Putting aside that fantasy and sticking with DDOT's numbers. As you rightly point out, the mere presence of a moving vehicle increases potential risk. That means you are asking children, who do bike on the side streets but dont and will not bike on Connecticut, to take on significantly higher risk in order to lower the risk for hypothetical bicyclists. That traffic will be focused on side streets and will double to triple their current rate. The hypothetical bicyclists meanwhile will all be single rider adults because of the congestion, which under this scenario is increased by 25%. I think it's disgusting that you arguing that this somehow protects children while under your own rubric you are putting them in constant mortal danger. There is nothing you seemingly won't say or claim in your zeal. I do not think that is right.

Traffic does not disappear. It adapts. It belongs on Connecticut and not the side streets. Side streets where we've tended to put elementary schools.

And once again you can't produce a single study to back up your preposterous claims. Forgive the rest of us for siding with the wealth of studies that have shown that bike lanes improve everyone's safety over those who have a hard time distinguishing between transportation planning and macroeconomics.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone directs me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

Fully agree with PP. This is going to be a disaster. I'm so sick of the bike lane bullies. There are about 0-20 people biking on Connecticut Ave at any given time. You've got Beach Dr. and Rock Creek Park bike path that are a great and safer alternative to Connecticut Ave. The Connecticut Ave bike lanes are unnecessary and will end up being redone with two years of implementation, wasting all of our tax dollars.

"Bike lane bullies". "Wasting all of our tax dollars". This stuff needs to be saved for posterity.

You wouldn't happen to be a driver, would you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are at least two posters posting about safety concerns with kids in traffic on bikes - I was one and not the other. Toodling around the hill on your cargo ebike is very different than riding down the 4 plus lane CT Ave - I don't see how that is safe for kids. What if they fall off and run into traffic. What if another bike hits you and the child goes flying - it is insanity and not necessary if you can afford a 2-3k bike you can afford a much safer bus pass. Little children don't belong in a big road unless they are in a vehicle of some kind. on bike paths or neighborhood streets sure.

As a parent it's upsetting because the children didn't get a choice in being put in a really dangerous situation. They are victims of their parent's poor judgment.

I can’t recall of any children who were killed or even injured in DC as a result of their parents daring to transport them on bikes. However, there were multiple young children killed last year by drivers who couldn’t control their speed. Allie Hart, killed on a crosswalk by a driver contracted to the city, was one. If yo care, you may read a memorial to her here: https://twitter.com/lambda_calculus/status/1569432531145048067?s=46&t=Lzk5o5OewfFwu4t2TIky8A

If we lived in a city where children and adults alike weren’t being killed by bad driving, then maybe we could have a different conversation. But we don’t. If you care at all about saving the lives of people in this city, you will understand why traffic calming infrastructure - of which bike lanes are but one example - are urgently needed.

Which brings us back to the absolute fact that this plan will triple traffic on the very residential side streets that children walk and bike on today. In other words, this plan decreases safety substantially.

Let me guess . . . you have absolutely no evidence to support such an assertion. Of course because all the evidence points to the opposite effect.

Children walk and cross on arterial streets too. Look up where children where killed or maimed by cars in DC in 2021 and that fact will be painfully apparent to you.

It’s very sad that people like you believe that the convenience of your commute should trump the safety of DC adults and children alike.

If you do not think that reducing the lanes on CT Ave will not lead to more traffic in the residential areas, then you are not in touch with reality. I have driven thru multiple residential areas in multiple cities solely because my phone directs me there. Moreover, I am aware of dead end streets in the DMV that receive a bizarre amount of cars because their phones direct those drivers there.

Fully agree with PP. This is going to be a disaster. I'm so sick of the bike lane bullies. There are about 0-20 people biking on Connecticut Ave at any given time. You've got Beach Dr. and Rock Creek Park bike path that are a great and safer alternative to Connecticut Ave. The Connecticut Ave bike lanes are unnecessary and will end up being redone with two years of implementation, wasting all of our tax dollars.

because it is unsafe. if it were safe, there would be many more, most of them casual cyclists, neighbors who want to shop and support the businesses