Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So DC should give up its precious right-of-way for the exclusive use of people who don't even live here, who only need that stretch of road for a few minutes a day at 7AM and 5PM?

Tax-paying DC residents and business owners should take a complete back seat to commuters?

Short answer is yes, DC should be encouraging people to commute into the city efficiently and effectively. That’s the way the economy works. Congestion is bad because it hinders the free movement of goods and people. Intentionally causing congestion is highly illogical and will only harm DCs economy. Committing public resources to mass transit is the most effective and efficient means to support movement of people. Reserving significant public resources, such as public right of way, for low efficiency transport is obviously wasteful. Your utopian vision of a an effectively walled city that makes outsiders unwelcome is pure folly. If you consider entropy, following the path of least resistance will give you a good understanding of the outcome.

It's not up to commuters, it's up to those who live in DC and the ones who run the businesses in DC. If THEY thought movement for their goods and services was in jeopardy, we'd be hearing a very different tune. But we aren't. Obviously they don't think it's that big of a problem.

Go ahead, lobby for more and better mass transit. Convince those who think metro lines are a "boondoggle" - to me, their arguments are hardly convincing considering the massive boom in residential, retail and office space that happened at each and every Silver Line station after cynics said "boondoggle, not worth it, too expensive, yadda yadda." They were obviously wrong and there is in fact huge economic benefit meriting investment.

But adding lanes for cars is not the answer. Commuting in personal vehicles, a single person, making a trip every morning and every afternoon, is one of the lowest efficiency modes of transport possible. Metro bus drivers know how to make their way around the city, and for them, personal vehicles are far more of an issue than bikes and bike lanes are. I would also support expanding other options as well, such as vanpools, ride sharing, e-bikes etc. I think any cabbie or cab company that isn't taking advantage of technology (taxi hailing apps etc) that can optimize trips needs to be. But individual drivers in their own personal cars need to be discouraged.

Except for bike lanes? How is setting aside all these bike lanes for a few hundred white guys who are really into bikes an efficient use of resources? There are bike lanes that I have *never* seen someone use. How is that a good use of resources? We'd be better off using that space for parking cars.

Stop with the "few hundred" nonsense. The data you are citing does not even remotely give an accurate portrayal. I live and work in DC and see a lot of people using the bike lanes.

This is funny. This guy says don’t trusts DDOTDC’s own data, the same agency busy throwing up bike lanes left and right, because he just knows the truth.

This is what it boils down to really, fact-free evangelism for a hobby.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's this really pernicious and kind of ridiculous idea in the city government that, if they make driving unpleasant enough, then people will give up their cars and turn to bikes or buses or whatnot. Um, that's not going to happen. Ever. You might as well be trying to encourage people to take pogo sticks to work. People will just avoid the parts of the city where it's too hard to get around. Or vote out the politicians who are trying to make traffic worse.

The response seems to be "just use public transit." Except that Metro is in a death spiral, and no one seems to know how to fix it.

There seems to be a willful, collective ignorance right now regarding Metro's disastrous ridership and financial condition. The only way to fix it may very well be to force people ride metro... at least the rail part.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So DC should give up its precious right-of-way for the exclusive use of people who don't even live here, who only need that stretch of road for a few minutes a day at 7AM and 5PM?

Tax-paying DC residents and business owners should take a complete back seat to commuters?

Short answer is yes, DC should be encouraging people to commute into the city efficiently and effectively. That’s the way the economy works. Congestion is bad because it hinders the free movement of goods and people. Intentionally causing congestion is highly illogical and will only harm DCs economy. Committing public resources to mass transit is the most effective and efficient means to support movement of people. Reserving significant public resources, such as public right of way, for low efficiency transport is obviously wasteful. Your utopian vision of a an effectively walled city that makes outsiders unwelcome is pure folly. If you consider entropy, following the path of least resistance will give you a good understanding of the outcome.

It's not up to commuters, it's up to those who live in DC and the ones who run the businesses in DC. If THEY thought movement for their goods and services was in jeopardy, we'd be hearing a very different tune. But we aren't. Obviously they don't think it's that big of a problem.

Go ahead, lobby for more and better mass transit. Convince those who think metro lines are a "boondoggle" - to me, their arguments are hardly convincing considering the massive boom in residential, retail and office space that happened at each and every Silver Line station after cynics said "boondoggle, not worth it, too expensive, yadda yadda." They were obviously wrong and there is in fact huge economic benefit meriting investment.

But adding lanes for cars is not the answer. Commuting in personal vehicles, a single person, making a trip every morning and every afternoon, is one of the lowest efficiency modes of transport possible. Metro bus drivers know how to make their way around the city, and for them, personal vehicles are far more of an issue than bikes and bike lanes are. I would also support expanding other options as well, such as vanpools, ride sharing, e-bikes etc. I think any cabbie or cab company that isn't taking advantage of technology (taxi hailing apps etc) that can optimize trips needs to be. But individual drivers in their own personal cars need to be discouraged.

Except for bike lanes? How is setting aside all these bike lanes for a few hundred white guys who are really into bikes an efficient use of resources? There are bike lanes that I have *never* seen someone use. How is that a good use of resources? We'd be better off using that space for parking cars.

Stop with the "few hundred" nonsense. The data you are citing does not even remotely give an accurate portrayal. I live and work in DC and see a lot of people using the bike lanes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's this really pernicious and kind of ridiculous idea in the city government that, if they make driving unpleasant enough, then people will give up their cars and turn to bikes or buses or whatnot. Um, that's not going to happen. Ever. You might as well be trying to encourage people to take pogo sticks to work. People will just avoid the parts of the city where it's too hard to get around. Or vote out the politicians who are trying to make traffic worse.

The response seems to be "just use public transit." Except that Metro is in a death spiral, and no one seems to know how to fix it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So DC should give up its precious right-of-way for the exclusive use of people who don't even live here, who only need that stretch of road for a few minutes a day at 7AM and 5PM?

Tax-paying DC residents and business owners should take a complete back seat to commuters?

Short answer is yes, DC should be encouraging people to commute into the city efficiently and effectively. That’s the way the economy works. Congestion is bad because it hinders the free movement of goods and people. Intentionally causing congestion is highly illogical and will only harm DCs economy. Committing public resources to mass transit is the most effective and efficient means to support movement of people. Reserving significant public resources, such as public right of way, for low efficiency transport is obviously wasteful. Your utopian vision of a an effectively walled city that makes outsiders unwelcome is pure folly. If you consider entropy, following the path of least resistance will give you a good understanding of the outcome.

It's not up to commuters, it's up to those who live in DC and the ones who run the businesses in DC. If THEY thought movement for their goods and services was in jeopardy, we'd be hearing a very different tune. But we aren't. Obviously they don't think it's that big of a problem.

Go ahead, lobby for more and better mass transit. Convince those who think metro lines are a "boondoggle" - to me, their arguments are hardly convincing considering the massive boom in residential, retail and office space that happened at each and every Silver Line station after cynics said "boondoggle, not worth it, too expensive, yadda yadda." They were obviously wrong and there is in fact huge economic benefit meriting investment.

But adding lanes for cars is not the answer. Commuting in personal vehicles, a single person, making a trip every morning and every afternoon, is one of the lowest efficiency modes of transport possible. Metro bus drivers know how to make their way around the city, and for them, personal vehicles are far more of an issue than bikes and bike lanes are. I would also support expanding other options as well, such as vanpools, ride sharing, e-bikes etc. I think any cabbie or cab company that isn't taking advantage of technology (taxi hailing apps etc) that can optimize trips needs to be. But individual drivers in their own personal cars need to be discouraged.

Except for bike lanes? How is setting aside all these bike lanes for a few hundred white guys who are really into bikes an efficient use of resources? There are bike lanes that I have *never* seen someone use. How is that a good use of resources? We'd be better off using that space for parking cars.

Anonymous wrote:There's this really pernicious and kind of ridiculous idea in the city government that, if they make driving unpleasant enough, then people will give up their cars and turn to bikes or buses or whatnot. Um, that's not going to happen. Ever. You might as well be trying to encourage people to take pogo sticks to work. People will just avoid the parts of the city where it's too hard to get around. Or vote out the politicians who are trying to make traffic worse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So DC should give up its precious right-of-way for the exclusive use of people who don't even live here, who only need that stretch of road for a few minutes a day at 7AM and 5PM?

Tax-paying DC residents and business owners should take a complete back seat to commuters?

Short answer is yes, DC should be encouraging people to commute into the city efficiently and effectively. That’s the way the economy works. Congestion is bad because it hinders the free movement of goods and people. Intentionally causing congestion is highly illogical and will only harm DCs economy. Committing public resources to mass transit is the most effective and efficient means to support movement of people. Reserving significant public resources, such as public right of way, for low efficiency transport is obviously wasteful. Your utopian vision of a an effectively walled city that makes outsiders unwelcome is pure folly. If you consider entropy, following the path of least resistance will give you a good understanding of the outcome.

It's not up to commuters, it's up to those who live in DC and the ones who run the businesses in DC. If THEY thought movement for their goods and services was in jeopardy, we'd be hearing a very different tune. But we aren't. Obviously they don't think it's that big of a problem.

Go ahead, lobby for more and better mass transit. Convince those who think metro lines are a "boondoggle" - to me, their arguments are hardly convincing considering the massive boom in residential, retail and office space that happened at each and every Silver Line station after cynics said "boondoggle, not worth it, too expensive, yadda yadda." They were obviously wrong and there is in fact huge economic benefit meriting investment.

But adding lanes for cars is not the answer. Commuting in personal vehicles, a single person, making a trip every morning and every afternoon, is one of the lowest efficiency modes of transport possible. Metro bus drivers know how to make their way around the city, and for them, personal vehicles are far more of an issue than bikes and bike lanes are. I would also support expanding other options as well, such as vanpools, ride sharing, e-bikes etc. I think any cabbie or cab company that isn't taking advantage of technology (taxi hailing apps etc) that can optimize trips needs to be. But individual drivers in their own personal cars need to be discouraged.

Except for bike lanes? How is setting aside all these bike lanes for a few hundred white guys who are really into bikes an efficient use of resources? There are bike lanes that I have *never* seen someone use. How is that a good use of resources? We'd be better off using that space for parking cars.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So DC should give up its precious right-of-way for the exclusive use of people who don't even live here, who only need that stretch of road for a few minutes a day at 7AM and 5PM?

Tax-paying DC residents and business owners should take a complete back seat to commuters?

Short answer is yes, DC should be encouraging people to commute into the city efficiently and effectively. That’s the way the economy works. Congestion is bad because it hinders the free movement of goods and people. Intentionally causing congestion is highly illogical and will only harm DCs economy. Committing public resources to mass transit is the most effective and efficient means to support movement of people. Reserving significant public resources, such as public right of way, for low efficiency transport is obviously wasteful. Your utopian vision of a an effectively walled city that makes outsiders unwelcome is pure folly. If you consider entropy, following the path of least resistance will give you a good understanding of the outcome.

It's not up to commuters, it's up to those who live in DC and the ones who run the businesses in DC. If THEY thought movement for their goods and services was in jeopardy, we'd be hearing a very different tune. But we aren't. Obviously they don't think it's that big of a problem.

Go ahead, lobby for more and better mass transit. Convince those who think metro lines are a "boondoggle" - to me, their arguments are hardly convincing considering the massive boom in residential, retail and office space that happened at each and every Silver Line station after cynics said "boondoggle, not worth it, too expensive, yadda yadda." They were obviously wrong and there is in fact huge economic benefit meriting investment.

But adding lanes for cars is not the answer. Commuting in personal vehicles, a single person, making a trip every morning and every afternoon, is one of the lowest efficiency modes of transport possible. Metro bus drivers know how to make their way around the city, and for them, personal vehicles are far more of an issue than bikes and bike lanes are. I would also support expanding other options as well, such as vanpools, ride sharing, e-bikes etc. I think any cabbie or cab company that isn't taking advantage of technology (taxi hailing apps etc) that can optimize trips needs to be. But individual drivers in their own personal cars need to be discouraged.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So DC should give up its precious right-of-way for the exclusive use of people who don't even live here, who only need that stretch of road for a few minutes a day at 7AM and 5PM?

Tax-paying DC residents and business owners should take a complete back seat to commuters?

Short answer is yes, DC should be encouraging people to commute into the city efficiently and effectively. That’s the way the economy works. Congestion is bad because it hinders the free movement of goods and people. Intentionally causing congestion is highly illogical and will only harm DCs economy. Committing public resources to mass transit is the most effective and efficient means to support movement of people. Reserving significant public resources, such as public right of way, for low efficiency transport is obviously wasteful. Your utopian vision of a an effectively walled city that makes outsiders unwelcome is pure folly. If you consider entropy, following the path of least resistance will give you a good understanding of the outcome.

It's not up to commuters, it's up to those who live in DC and the ones who run the businesses in DC. If THEY thought movement for their goods and services was in jeopardy, we'd be hearing a very different tune. But we aren't. Obviously they don't think it's that big of a problem.

Go ahead, lobby for more and better mass transit. Convince those who think metro lines are a "boondoggle" - to me, their arguments are hardly convincing considering the massive boom in residential, retail and office space that happened at each and every Silver Line station after cynics said "boondoggle, not worth it, too expensive, yadda yadda." They were obviously wrong and there is in fact huge economic benefit meriting investment.

But adding lanes for cars is not the answer. Commuting in personal vehicles, a single person, making a trip every morning and every afternoon, is one of the lowest efficiency modes of transport possible. Metro bus drivers know how to make their way around the city, and for them, personal vehicles are far more of an issue than bikes and bike lanes are. I would also support expanding other options as well, such as vanpools, ride sharing, e-bikes etc. I think any cabbie or cab company that isn't taking advantage of technology (taxi hailing apps etc) that can optimize trips needs to be. But individual drivers in their own personal cars need to be discouraged.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So DC should give up its precious right-of-way for the exclusive use of people who don't even live here, who only need that stretch of road for a few minutes a day at 7AM and 5PM?

Tax-paying DC residents and business owners should take a complete back seat to commuters?

Short answer is yes, DC should be encouraging people to commute into the city efficiently and effectively. That’s the way the economy works. Congestion is bad because it hinders the free movement of goods and people. Intentionally causing congestion is highly illogical and will only harm DCs economy. Committing public resources to mass transit is the most effective and efficient means to support movement of people. Reserving significant public resources, such as public right of way, for low efficiency transport is obviously wasteful. Your utopian vision of a an effectively walled city that makes outsiders unwelcome is pure folly. If you consider entropy, following the path of least resistance will give you a good understanding of the outcome.