Reply to D.C. needs to get a lot more car friendly

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If the subway is going to be unusable, and everyone is fine with that, then we need to accommodate people where they are -- in cars.

There are going to be far more people on the roads and that means we need a lot more parking, more emphasis on easing traffic, etc. Ridership on the subway is down 75 percent from pre-pandemic levels.

I didnt used to drive all that much, but now with the subway basically in moth balls, I drive everywhere.

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This. [/quote]

People driving in cities suffer from problems of geometry- if more people are in cars then the only way to make more room for them is to take space from something else. You want parking?  I have never driven into a pay lot in DC and not been able to find a spot so I aside you want on street parking. Ok, that takes a lane away from driving. Do you want to close the sidewalks then so that cars can go there?  If you really want to be able to drive I. The fort you should advocate for more public transportation so that fewer people are in cars. 30 people can fit on a bus that takes up the space of three cars. Would you really prefer those people be in 30 cars?[/quote]

I think what drivers want is a return to what they had: ample street parking. In recent years, these spaces have been intentionally reduced. First city spaces were stripped to install city bikes, which could easily be installed on sidewalks as well. Then parking was removed for food trucks. Then parking was removed for bike lanes. These were existing spaces that worked fine. All the spaces on Connecticut Ave NW (on the Zoo side) have been removed for no explicable reason. While public transportation does make sense in most instances, it certainly isn't the most desirable way to commute during a pandemic. [/quote]

Parking spaces are necessary but you also need to realize that they are subsidized from tax dollars of people with and without cars for the storage of cars on public land.  Deciding that the best use of public land and tax dollars for convenient car storage is what you are doing when you complain about parking.

And as with anything, if you build it, they will come. If you build lots of parking and widen roads to accommodate cars, you will get more cars. If you build a safe connected bike route, you will get more bikes on the road and more cars off the road.
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Wishful thinking. Last time I checked barely anyone uses the bike lanes.[/quote]

How are you determining this? Most of the time I look out my window at home, no one is driving down the street, either. I wouldn't say it was a waste of money for them to have paved it, though.[/quote]

The continual build out of bike infrastructure is not justified based on the low overall number of bikes utilizing the lanes, you would think there are at least 100,000 bike commuters based on the build out and that is nowhere near true.  Meanwhile more and more cars continue to use roads and lanes are shrinking.  Supply and demand isn't being followed at all.   [/quote]

You'd think the subway being practically mothballed would be a huge pick up opportunity for biking. I mean, thousands and thousands of people suddenly looking for a new way to get around? Instead, they've turned to...cars. What a surprise. People just aren't into bikes, no matter how much money the government spends....  [/quote]

CaBi and other bike shares are highly utilized. [/quote]
This is a demonstrably false statement. Usage of Capital Bikeshare fell 50% pre-COVID (2019) and then fell substantially more during COVID (2020). Bikeshare membership has increased slightly from the COVID depths, primarily by DC providing free 30 day membership, but it is still 15% below 2019.[/quote]

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