Reply to Alexandria Flooding - Is there a Plan?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Not wetlands, not some overgrown stream, not an infill housing site that won’t appreciable add to runoff in the area (and is the city’s responsibility and interest anyway). And certainly not the other stupid priorities of the city, from a bike lane no one uses (and I’m an avid cyclist), to hitting a useless racial equality officer.[/quote]

People who describe themselves as "avid cyclists" generally do oppose bike infrastructure. It's a weird phenomenon.[/quote]

I ride daily and I’m 100% opposed to bike lanes. [/quote]

Well, there you go. You're an "avid cyclist."

In contrast, people who are NOT avid cyclists generally support efforts to make it more convenient and comfortable for all kinds of people to go places by bike.[/quote]
There is zero evidence that induced demand for cycling is a real phenomenon. What we have right now are cohort effects. There was a large generational population of people in their 20s who maybe cycled at university and perhaps continued cycling as they moved to cities for their first jobs. Now that this cohort is approaching early middle age (35+) and forming households, interest in cycling will decline. In 10 years the political winds will shift to meet demand of middle aged parents and a lot of these bike lanes will be ripped up to ease congestion. [/quote]

"Induced demand" is fundamental to how transportation infrastructure works. People switch preferences based on what is most available, affordable, and accessible. That's why you can't cut service and raise fares to fix metro budget issues - demand vanishes as it compares worse to driving. That's also why widening highways doesn't make traffic better long term.

Also, as a 35 year old I'm cracking up at the idea that transportation policy is based on my generation's preferences, because literally nothing else in local or national politics is. I biked to work up until age 35, enjoying Del Ray's fantastic bike connections to DC, and picking a kid up from day care by bike...and then i moved out because I can't afford a home in Del Ray. Policy is not made around young renters.[/quote]

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