Options for opposing Connecticut Avenue changes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

Incidentally, this is how the NRA controls our gun laws. They swarm meetings with legislators that most people had no idea were even happening. They then claim what they want is widely supported because no one spoke against it at the meeting that, again, was only attended by their people. By the time, regular folks learn what is happening, it's too late....

This is also a time honored way legislators pass legislation. They announce plans at the last minute and then pass it before the opposition has a chance to organize. If you air a proposal out, you're just increasing the chances it will be killed.

Good thing that's not what happened here, as been explained over and over again on this thread.

What seems clear from this thread is that a lot of people feel ambushed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

Incidentally, this is how the NRA controls our gun laws. They swarm meetings with legislators that most people had no idea were even happening. They then claim what they want is widely supported because no one spoke against it at the meeting that, again, was only attended by their people. By the time, regular folks learn what is happening, it's too late....

This is also a time honored way legislators pass legislation. They announce plans at the last minute and then pass it before the opposition has a chance to organize. If you air a proposal out, you're just increasing the chances it will be killed.

Good thing that's not what happened here, as been explained over and over again on this thread.

What seems clear from this thread is that a lot of people feel ambushed.

How you feel is not relevant to what actually happened. This is like the people who "feel" like the election was stolen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the ANCs actually cared about homeowners they would have had 50 meetings on rising crime in their districts and how the mayor is stacking apartments with homeless and mentally ill. The fact that so much time has been devoted to bicycles is completely dystopian.

I don’t disagree. But the endless public meetings on bike lanes are due to the public input process being legally required. I would love it if DDOT had more discretion/political backing to just act. BTW our ANC has regular meetings w police and not many people attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

Incidentally, this is how the NRA controls our gun laws. They swarm meetings with legislators that most people had no idea were even happening. They then claim what they want is widely supported because no one spoke against it at the meeting that, again, was only attended by their people. By the time, regular folks learn what is happening, it's too late....

This is also a time honored way legislators pass legislation. They announce plans at the last minute and then pass it before the opposition has a chance to organize. If you air a proposal out, you're just increasing the chances it will be killed.

Good thing that's not what happened here, as been explained over and over again on this thread.

What seems clear from this thread is that a lot of people feel ambushed.

How you feel is not relevant to what actually happened. This is like the people who "feel" like the election was stolen.

Uh, huh. Empathy, not to mention logic, is not your strong suit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:have you ever looked at anc election results? hardly anyone votes for these people. there are contests where barely 100 votes are even cast. we had better turnout in my high school elections.

our anc representative routinely ignores what his constituents want. he's a leftwing nut job who seems to think he knows better than everyone else. probably why he lost his reelection race.

Hardly anyone votes for city council members either. Even the mayoral race doesnt get much participation. That's how unrepresentative extremists end up controlling our government. They're the only ones who showed up to vote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

Incidentally, this is how the NRA controls our gun laws. They swarm meetings with legislators that most people had no idea were even happening. They then claim what they want is widely supported because no one spoke against it at the meeting that, again, was only attended by their people. By the time, regular folks learn what is happening, it's too late....

This is also a time honored way legislators pass legislation. They announce plans at the last minute and then pass it before the opposition has a chance to organize. If you air a proposal out, you're just increasing the chances it will be killed.

Good thing that's not what happened here, as been explained over and over again on this thread.

What seems clear from this thread is that a lot of people feel ambushed.

How you feel is not relevant to what actually happened. This is like the people who "feel" like the election was stolen.

Uh, huh. Empathy, not to mention logic, is not your strong suit.

Well, there has been an endless stream of ANC and DDOT meetings on this so I guess paying attention is not yours

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

Incidentally, this is how the NRA controls our gun laws. They swarm meetings with legislators that most people had no idea were even happening. They then claim what they want is widely supported because no one spoke against it at the meeting that, again, was only attended by their people. By the time, regular folks learn what is happening, it's too late....

The NRA controls gun laws by buying politicians in states with low populations that have senators with an influence on congress that are disproportionate to the population of the US. I don't think the NRA is making arguments that their positions are popular, unless "popular" means "supported by people who like to wrap the flag around themselves and call themselves patriots"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:have you ever looked at anc election results? hardly anyone votes for these people. there are contests where barely 100 votes are even cast. we had better turnout in my high school elections.

our anc representative routinely ignores what his constituents want. he's a leftwing nut job who seems to think he knows better than everyone else. probably why he lost his reelection race.

Hardly anyone votes for city council members either. Even the mayoral race doesnt get much participation. That's how unrepresentative extremists end up controlling our government. They're the only ones who showed up to vote.

It's an issue in every one party town. If you don't have two competitive parties, then the general election is meaningless. The only election that matters are the primaries, in which very few people vote and the ones that do are mostly the wingnuts. It's how right wing nutjobs come to power in places like Texas and it's how left wing nutjobs come to power in places like Washington D.C

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These lanes all sound great on paper. But here’s the thing, in order for them to not be a total nightmare it will require the city to provide traffic enforcement all day, every weekday to prevent trucks and cars from double parking? Does anyone think that will actually happen? Of course not. If you go out to CT Ave right NOW you will find at least five delivery trucks, postal trucks, contractors and rude people with their blinking lights on. Has DDOT committed resources to mitigate this?

Imagine how dangerous that is for cars and bikes.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:So the city's policy is to build as much housing as possible, to accommodate more people, but reduce the capacity of roads to handle their cars?

Can we do the opposite?

Make people's lives better by making it easier to get around, and discourage more people from moving here?

You should visit Houston sometime. Massive roads down there. Lots of low density housing. You should love it.

you know dc is one of the most densely populated cities in the western hemisphere, right?

The point was that the poster seems to want DC to be a very different city. The city they seem to want is probably best represented by Houston, which builds massive freeways just for the hell of it. I moved to DC because I like density and I like being able to get around without driving everywhere. Other people like that about DC too.

"the city they seem to want."

sweetie, i'm the pp and ive been in dc longer than you've been alive. I know you just moved here from shitty town, indiana and you have all the answers and know all about life in the big city, but maybe you should keep quiet and let the adults talk.

The "adults" are the ones who brought us the car-dependent auto-centric neighborhoods. It has proven to be a disaster in terms of land use, ecology and environmental sustainability, much less transportation policy. As such, you might want to sit this one out and let the rest of us implement something that works for the broader society and not the single family homeowners who take up more space with their inefecient use of land and public space with their inefficient auto-centric built environment.

NP. Except the adults in the room who own single family homes in the District make more money, pay more in taxes and essentially keep this city going. You realize that without ys your city goes to sh*t, right?

How utterly pathetic can you get? Just because you own a SFH doesn't make you any better - or give your voice any more importance - than those who don't. Those drunk homeless people you complain about have the same vote you do. You are not better than them or anyone else. I'm embarrassed to share a city with you. It's folk that you that give us - Ward 3 homeowners - a bad name.

Actually i was a NP and never mentioned homeless but hey, newsflash, homeless people don’t vote.

Says who? Says you? They are entitled to vote. They are entitled to participate in ANC meetings. They are entitled to an opinion. And, in not laboring under the ridiculous assumption that owning a home gives them some priveleged position in society, are doing a hell of a lot better than you are.

Actually i don’t feel more important or privileged at all and despite your idiotic conclusions have tremendous empathy for those with less. I was pointing out 2 obvious ( or rather what should be obvious points) 1- if you drive out high earning tax paying residents DC goes to sh*t like it was in the 80’s and 90’s and (2) homeless people without an ID or proof of residence are not “entitled” to vote nor is it my experience that they attend ANC meetings. Grow up and work on your critical reasoning skills.

Nice backpedaling, clown. Claiming that your voice is more important because you own your home is a sad, sad move. And thinking that a majority of your fellow home owners agree with your positions is foolish. I'd love to be at the meeting where you stand up, voice your opinion and then claim that it carries extra weight because you, uh, own your home. Please give us a heads up so we can be there to witness.

No one of course has more than a single vote, whether they own a home or a car or neither. But being a homeowner myself, I am opposed to these changes. Traffic in fact has NOT gotten worse over the last multiple decades, and I have been driving CT Avenue since the 1980s. Of course, there will be an occasional accident but no evidence exists that a rampant problem exists. Moreover, as a PP mentioned, driving high income taxpayers out of DC will hurt. DC has done well financially over the last few decades primarily due to the high income taxpayers. At the Federal level, the top 1% pays roughly 40% of all income taxes, and the top 50% pay over 95% of all income taxes. Simply stated, DC's social programs depend on the high income taxpayers remaining in DC. No money, no social programs.

Easy to say when you are driving a car. Now imagine you are on a bike and the pedestrians don't want you on the sidewalk and the cars don't want you on the road. In other words look at this beyond the view from your cars' dashboard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

Incidentally, this is how the NRA controls our gun laws. They swarm meetings with legislators that most people had no idea were even happening. They then claim what they want is widely supported because no one spoke against it at the meeting that, again, was only attended by their people. By the time, regular folks learn what is happening, it's too late....

This is also a time honored way legislators pass legislation. They announce plans at the last minute and then pass it before the opposition has a chance to organize. If you air a proposal out, you're just increasing the chances it will be killed.

Good thing that's not what happened here, as been explained over and over again on this thread.

What seems clear from this thread is that a lot of people feel ambushed.

How you feel is not relevant to what actually happened. This is like the people who "feel" like the election was stolen.

Uh, huh. Empathy, not to mention logic, is not your strong suit.

Well, there has been an endless stream of ANC and DDOT meetings on this so I guess paying attention is not yours

How many meetings are appropriate is obviously in the eye of the beholder. But what seems like plenty to a bored 30-year old with no kids and not really any real responsibilities in life will look very different to -- well, just about everyone else (as this thread indicates).

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the city's policy is to build as much housing as possible, to accommodate more people, but reduce the capacity of roads to handle their cars?

Can we do the opposite?

Make people's lives better by making it easier to get around, and discourage more people from moving here?

You should visit Houston sometime. Massive roads down there. Lots of low density housing. You should love it.

you know dc is one of the most densely populated cities in the western hemisphere, right?

The point was that the poster seems to want DC to be a very different city. The city they seem to want is probably best represented by Houston, which builds massive freeways just for the hell of it. I moved to DC because I like density and I like being able to get around without driving everywhere. Other people like that about DC too.

"the city they seem to want."

sweetie, i'm the pp and ive been in dc longer than you've been alive. I know you just moved here from shitty town, indiana and you have all the answers and know all about life in the big city, but maybe you should keep quiet and let the adults talk.

The "adults" are the ones who brought us the car-dependent auto-centric neighborhoods. It has proven to be a disaster in terms of land use, ecology and environmental sustainability, much less transportation policy. As such, you might want to sit this one out and let the rest of us implement something that works for the broader society and not the single family homeowners who take up more space with their inefecient use of land and public space with their inefficient auto-centric built environment.

NP. Except the adults in the room who own single family homes in the District make more money, pay more in taxes and essentially keep this city going. You realize that without ys your city goes to sh*t, right?

How utterly pathetic can you get? Just because you own a SFH doesn't make you any better - or give your voice any more importance - than those who don't. Those drunk homeless people you complain about have the same vote you do. You are not better than them or anyone else. I'm embarrassed to share a city with you. It's folk that you that give us - Ward 3 homeowners - a bad name.

Actually i was a NP and never mentioned homeless but hey, newsflash, homeless people don’t vote.

Says who? Says you? They are entitled to vote. They are entitled to participate in ANC meetings. They are entitled to an opinion. And, in not laboring under the ridiculous assumption that owning a home gives them some priveleged position in society, are doing a hell of a lot better than you are.

Actually i don’t feel more important or privileged at all and despite your idiotic conclusions have tremendous empathy for those with less. I was pointing out 2 obvious ( or rather what should be obvious points) 1- if you drive out high earning tax paying residents DC goes to sh*t like it was in the 80’s and 90’s and (2) homeless people without an ID or proof of residence are not “entitled” to vote nor is it my experience that they attend ANC meetings. Grow up and work on your critical reasoning skills.

Nice backpedaling, clown. Claiming that your voice is more important because you own your home is a sad, sad move. And thinking that a majority of your fellow home owners agree with your positions is foolish. I'd love to be at the meeting where you stand up, voice your opinion and then claim that it carries extra weight because you, uh, own your home. Please give us a heads up so we can be there to witness.

No one of course has more than a single vote, whether they own a home or a car or neither. But being a homeowner myself, I am opposed to these changes. Traffic in fact has NOT gotten worse over the last multiple decades, and I have been driving CT Avenue since the 1980s. Of course, there will be an occasional accident but no evidence exists that a rampant problem exists. Moreover, as a PP mentioned, driving high income taxpayers out of DC will hurt. DC has done well financially over the last few decades primarily due to the high income taxpayers. At the Federal level, the top 1% pays roughly 40% of all income taxes, and the top 50% pay over 95% of all income taxes. Simply stated, DC's social programs depend on the high income taxpayers remaining in DC. No money, no social programs.

When you sink your life savings into a house, and you attend the local church, and you send your kids to the local public schools then yeah, the ANCs should listen a little more to you over a 20 something renter who will probably move to Cleveland or Richmond in a year or two.

\

If there are 100 people like you and 2500 people who are renters, then you don't believe in one person, one vote. Move to Russia.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the city's policy is to build as much housing as possible, to accommodate more people, but reduce the capacity of roads to handle their cars?

Can we do the opposite?

Make people's lives better by making it easier to get around, and discourage more people from moving here?

You should visit Houston sometime. Massive roads down there. Lots of low density housing. You should love it.

you know dc is one of the most densely populated cities in the western hemisphere, right?

The point was that the poster seems to want DC to be a very different city. The city they seem to want is probably best represented by Houston, which builds massive freeways just for the hell of it. I moved to DC because I like density and I like being able to get around without driving everywhere. Other people like that about DC too.

"the city they seem to want."

sweetie, i'm the pp and ive been in dc longer than you've been alive. I know you just moved here from shitty town, indiana and you have all the answers and know all about life in the big city, but maybe you should keep quiet and let the adults talk.

The "adults" are the ones who brought us the car-dependent auto-centric neighborhoods. It has proven to be a disaster in terms of land use, ecology and environmental sustainability, much less transportation policy. As such, you might want to sit this one out and let the rest of us implement something that works for the broader society and not the single family homeowners who take up more space with their inefecient use of land and public space with their inefficient auto-centric built environment.

NP. Except the adults in the room who own single family homes in the District make more money, pay more in taxes and essentially keep this city going. You realize that without ys your city goes to sh*t, right?

How utterly pathetic can you get? Just because you own a SFH doesn't make you any better - or give your voice any more importance - than those who don't. Those drunk homeless people you complain about have the same vote you do. You are not better than them or anyone else. I'm embarrassed to share a city with you. It's folk that you that give us - Ward 3 homeowners - a bad name.

Actually i was a NP and never mentioned homeless but hey, newsflash, homeless people don’t vote.

Says who? Says you? They are entitled to vote. They are entitled to participate in ANC meetings. They are entitled to an opinion. And, in not laboring under the ridiculous assumption that owning a home gives them some priveleged position in society, are doing a hell of a lot better than you are.

Actually i don’t feel more important or privileged at all and despite your idiotic conclusions have tremendous empathy for those with less. I was pointing out 2 obvious ( or rather what should be obvious points) 1- if you drive out high earning tax paying residents DC goes to sh*t like it was in the 80’s and 90’s and (2) homeless people without an ID or proof of residence are not “entitled” to vote nor is it my experience that they attend ANC meetings. Grow up and work on your critical reasoning skills.

Nice backpedaling, clown. Claiming that your voice is more important because you own your home is a sad, sad move. And thinking that a majority of your fellow home owners agree with your positions is foolish. I'd love to be at the meeting where you stand up, voice your opinion and then claim that it carries extra weight because you, uh, own your home. Please give us a heads up so we can be there to witness.

No one of course has more than a single vote, whether they own a home or a car or neither. But being a homeowner myself, I am opposed to these changes. Traffic in fact has NOT gotten worse over the last multiple decades, and I have been driving CT Avenue since the 1980s. Of course, there will be an occasional accident but no evidence exists that a rampant problem exists. Moreover, as a PP mentioned, driving high income taxpayers out of DC will hurt. DC has done well financially over the last few decades primarily due to the high income taxpayers. At the Federal level, the top 1% pays roughly 40% of all income taxes, and the top 50% pay over 95% of all income taxes. Simply stated, DC's social programs depend on the high income taxpayers remaining in DC. No money, no social programs.

Easy to say when you are driving a car. Now imagine you are on a bike and the pedestrians don't want you on the sidewalk and the cars don't want you on the road. In other words look at this beyond the view from your cars' dashboard.

So what you're saying is...people on bikes are a tiny minority? And everyone hates them? And wishes they would just go away? Hmmm. Interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come on, we all know that the original poster is a liar. Everyone in the neighborhood has know about this for nearly 2 year. If they haven't that means they just moved here last week.

Not true. I've been asking my neighbors, we all lived her for over 20 years. No one knew about it. We used to get newsletters from our ANC rep, but those stopped a while back.

+1 We live on the corridor and just learned of it last week. My neighbors on either side had not heard of it either.

On my block, we knew. You are not paying attention and that is on you. If you want a voice, you need to tune in to your community.

Bullshit. I talk to my neighbors regularly. The discussion was primarily based on adding housing. Nobody knew that there was this cockamamie plan to eliminate two lanes of Commecticut and intentionally cause a clusterf@ck because it makes no sense and does not logically correlate with increasing housing density on the corridor.

There were hundreds involved in each of the public meetings. Somehow, they knew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I've learned here after 63 pages is that the anti bike crowd thinks that their voice is so important that it supercedes their local ANCs, and that complaining on an anonymous message born is the more meaningful type of activism

and the councilmember and the mayor