Breakfast links: End of the world as we know it

Development

Breakfast links: End of the world as we know it

by David Alpert • October 16, 2008 8:37 am

Photo by Anomalily on Flickr.

OMG 140 people might live on Wisconsin! City Paper shows a flyer warning people of traffic mayhem if the Giant project is built on Wisconsin Avenue in McLean Gardens. In an email to the Cleveland Park list, opponent Nancy MacWood wrote, "I think many of us have assumed that we would absorb some of the District's move to attract new residents. ... But frankly no one contemplated the amount of new residential units that Giant is proposing." Given the many supporters, I think quite a few people contemplated just that.

Is it ever OK to hit back at cars? Reacting to the driver who intentionally hit a bicyclist around 14th and Constitution, DCist asks, "Is there ever a case when it might be appropriate for bikers to hit back at drivers? ... Do you all think responding to vehicular assault by banging your fist down on a trunk is so wrong? And what about a well-placed U-lock to a tail light? Where do you draw the line?" WashCycle says don't do it, and I agree. (If it's a robotically controlled car, on the other hand...)

In an economic crisis, come here: BusinessWeek made a top ten list of the best cities during a recession. Number one: Arlington. Number two: Washington, DC. Via Consumerist.

Keep arguing about the height limit: Ryan Avent gives an economic take on the height limit and its opportunity cost. BeyondDC thinks we should raise the limit in targeted areas outside downtown; Avent argues for including downtown.

Meanwhile in Maryland: Some Montgomery County employees want so badly to drive SUVs, despite the county's policies requiring less polluting cars, that they've resorted to renting SUVs on the county's dime; some Bethesda residents oppose everything; Edmonston building a "green street"; Accokeek doesn't need another strip mall.

9 comments Share	— tags: Arlington, bicycling, Cleveland Park, DC, economics, environment, height limit, links, Maryland, Montgomery, road rage, Smart Growth, sprawl, Wisconsin Giant

Fight for your right for a vibrant Wisconsin Avenue (Jan 21, 2009)
ANC and residents debate loading, parking for Wisconsin Giant (Dec 16, 2008)
Wisconsin Ave Giant is a great project (Jun 3, 2008)
No Office Monoculture Area (Mar 6, 2008)
Three projects to watch (Feb 4, 2008)

Comments

Makes you think what Edmonston Mayor Adam Ortiz could have done on the Prince George's County Council, If only he'd been elected in the special earlier this year...

by Patrick T. Metz on Oct 16, 2008 9:31 am

Please do NOT hit back at cars. When I was learning how to drive in surburban McLean (in a Surburban, actually, during the gas-guzzling SUV days of the 1990s), a biker hit back at me. We were on a two-lane road, and, when I was trying to pass him, he sped up, banged his fist on the side of the car, and started shaking his fist angrily in the air. As a fledgling driver, who was taking all of the appropriate precautions to pass the biker, I was terrified that I had actually hit him.

Most drivers are not bike-hunting maniacs: just like bikers, we are trying to get from point A to B. And while raising awareness to share the road is a good thing, there are better ways than throwing yourself at a moving vehicle. Remember that cars are basically weapons, so don't make stupid mistakes to prove a point.

by Nick on Oct 16, 2008 10:02 am

PS - I'm in no way suggesting that it's okay for driver's to intentionally hit bikers. That person needs some serious help, and if he doesn't go to jail, should never be allowed to drive again.

by Nick on Oct 16, 2008 10:07 am

Most drivers are not bike-hunting maniacs: just like bikers, we are trying to get from point A to B.

Of course "most drivers" are respectful. There are some drivers who aren't. Is it okay for a cyclist to intentionally hit a car in retaliation?

Let's try a thought-experiment: if I'm walking along, and you--a stranger--come running out of the bushes, yelling, with your fist cocked back, and I kick you as hard as I can in the kneecap, have I done wrong?

My actions may not have been smart, safe, or even legal. But I would say, yes, that action was justified.

I think the big problem is the actions of aggressive drivers are given a pass. This is because 1) most drivers don't see intentional close-passing, verbal threats, or even running a cyclist off the road as something cyclists should expect--the price of riding in the road--and not an assault; and 2) for all the press that "outlaw cyclists" get, *most* cyclists are cowed and timid creatures who think that riding in the gutter is going to somehow keep them safe.

by ibc on Oct 16, 2008 10:35 am

When riding on a bike path, has anyone ever experienced indignation from people walking along the path when being passed? ... even after you've expressed a polite "on your left" ... sometimes especially after you've expressed your polite "on your left"? ....

I think it's human nature to resent someone faster/larger than you coming within close range of you ... if they don't basically reduce their speed/size down to yours. I've notice that when walking my dog, she'll get down low when "saying hi" to smaller dogs in our path. She doesn't want to scare them ... even though they have no real or logical reason to be afraid of her.

by Lance on Oct 16, 2008 11:05 am

You raise a good point with your thought experiment, but I think that the two experiences aren't fully analogous. While a stranger running out of the bushes is somewhat unexpected, I'm not sure that a driver (or a biker) weaving in and out of traffic is. Aggressive reactions, from either party, just seems like another justification for road rage. It's not appropriate for a driver to pull out a gun and gun someone down who cuts him off, so why would it be appropriate for a biker to react irrationally to an aggressive driver?

I agree that right now the system favors drivers, but that's because cyclists/drivers share roads that were built for cars. Until better systems are developed, I'm not sure how to address sharing the road/shifting the balance. I think it's important to recognize that both sides are often to blame for these issues and both sides are uncomfortable with each other: drivers need to open their eyes and realize that they are sharing the road, but bikers need to realize that drivers aren't used to them and can make them feel uneasy.

Anyway, didn't mean this to become a big debate. Maybe the best approach would be events where bikers/drivers can mingle and listen to each others frustrations.

by Nick on Oct 16, 2008 11:25 am

That's a good point, Lance.

by Nick on Oct 16, 2008 11:25 am

Lance, your dog sounds super sweet and like an ambassador among canines. My dog could never have that roll. She is aloof at best to other dogs and prefers humans.

I have had a bad ped experience only once. It was different than what you describe. The guy was standing in the middle of the path with binoculars looking up and blocking the path with himself and his stroller. I rang and rang. i stopped on the path 20 ft from him and continued to ring. Finally he took the binoculars off his face and looked at me and yelled epithets at me. I went around on the grass and he yelled after me as I rode away "come back here!" Other than that I have not had bad experiences with peds on trails although i make a habit of slowing down for peds because I know it is disconcerting to have a biker whizz by at fast speed. Also its for my own protection. I don't want to hit them as much as they don't want to be hit by me.

I have not retaliated against an agressive driver even though I have fantasized about it. Part of it is that when your life is threatened you get a spike of adrenaline that spurs action while repressing rational thinking.

by Bianchi on Oct 16, 2008 1:33 pm

As a pedestrian I hit a car this morning with my bagged up WP on my way to work...the driver (VA plates) was backing into a cross walk downtown with about 5 people in the cross walk.Driver stopped and yelled at me for hitting his car...the fact that he was about to hit PEOPLE didn't seem to matter.

by Adams Morgan on Oct 16, 2008 4:22 pm