Breakfast links: Good reporting, bad reporting

by David Alpert • November 11, 2009 9:34 am

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Press on 270, Corridor Cities: Michael Dresser has another suggestion if the Montgomery Council wants to build reversible lanes on I-270: one reversible bus lane. (Baltimore Sun) ... One bus lane each way might have some advantages, too. The Post, WTOP, and Examiner also cover it; the Examiner's Bill Myers talks most about the 270 controversy and gets good quotes.

Jumping on the anti-cycling press bandwagon: DCist discusses the anti-bicyclist slant of that WTOP piece about Fenty's bicycle team. WashCycle summarizes the other press follow-up; Fox 5 thinks athletic bicyclists should all confine themselves to the Mount Vernon Trail where they "won't disturb traffic."

Congress Heights on the what?: Speaking of Fox 5, they ripped off Congress Heights on the Rise's scoop: She discovered that Marion Barry is filming a pilot for a reality show, but got no mention on the Fox story.

Mall, Capital Crescent make the finals: The National Mall and Capital Crescent Trail made it to the finals of Google's contest to decide where to send the Street View Trike. (Google LatLong)

Walking doesn't move cars, so what's the point?: Here's one reason Houston is the eighth worst large metro for pedestrians: They don't believe walking is transportation. One Harris County Commissioner's spokesman said, "The county does not do sidewalks; it's not what gets cars from point A to point B." I didn't know cars did office jobs and shopped at stores in Texas. (Houston Chronicle)

Not a "flop": Former Governor Parris Glendening agrees that Maryland Smart Growth could be stronger, but takes exception to the Post headline calling it a "flop." Maryland Secretary of Planning Richard Eberhart Hall says O'Malley is trying to strengthen it after neglect by the Ehrlich Administration. (Post)

No photos or we'll put you on a hit list: LA sheriffs detain a photographer for shooting pictures in the LA Metro and standing up for his rights when questioned. They threaten to send his name to the FBI's "hit list." The photographer does seem to be spoiling for a fight, but the police should know photographers' rights. (Steve Davis)

And...: The Zoning Commission has approved mixed-use projects at Fort Totten and Brookland Metro stations (Post) ... DDOT hopes to start a pay-by-phone parking pilot in Dupont Circle by the end of the year (WTOP) ... A Northern Virginia Streetcar Coalition is kicking off November 18th.

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7 comments Share	— tags: Adrian Fenty, bicycling, Brookland, Capital Crescent Trail, civil liberties, Corridor Cities Transitway, DDOT, Fort Totten, Google, Houston, I-270, links, Los Angeles, Marion Barry, Martin O'Malley, Maryland, Montgomery, pay by phone, pedestrians, photography, press, Smart Growth, streetcars, Texas, The Mall, Zoning Commission

Presidential candidates on transit, cycling and walking (Jan 31, 2008)

Comments

Fox 5 thinks athletic bicyclists should all confine themselves to the Mount Vernon Trail where they "won't disturb traffic."

I wish those pesky cars shold confine themselves to parking lots. That way, they won't disturb traffic.

I wish newscasters would confine themselves to newscasting. They way, they won't disturb journalism.

I wish tv stations would confine commercials to their studios. That way, they won't disturb programming.

by Jasper on Nov 11, 2009 10:01 am

It doesn't matter if the photographer is spoiling for a fight, and in fact one can only hope someone, somewhere will fight for our freedoms. The cop was clearly wrong about MTA's policy, and whether you can detain someone for being suspicious (you can't; they have to be suspected of a SPECIFIC crime). Can you imagine if cops had the right to handcuff you because they thought that somehow someway you might in the future do something illegal, without any supporting evidence?

by Michael on Nov 11, 2009 10:53 am

Where would the HOV lanes on 270 dump out to? Seems like it would lead to yet another bottleneck (unless made for buses only, but we know what happens to those).

by NikolasM on Nov 11, 2009 11:04 am

It is a dick move for drivers who are slowing down traffic by driving significantly below the speed limit not to occasionally pull onto a shoulder (if there is one) and allow the other cars to go by...and it's just as dick a move for bikers not to do the same...and equally dick of drivers not to be patient with cyclists who have no room to occasionally pull aside without stopping.

Whether biking, driving, or walking, some deference and mutual respect for others is crucial. Most roads are meant for cars, bikes, and sometimes pedestrians or crosswalks -- and we all need to share them rather than claim superiority for one form of transportation over another. In other words, stop being self-righteous in your car, on your bike, or in your shoes...and be nice!

And it's not that the mayor bikes on roads (other than highways which are restricted to cars only for safety reasons) that's problematic...it's that he gets to be shielded from getting a ticket for biking on those few restricted areas, and from having to show any courtesy to others on the road, by abusing police resources for non-official purposes. If his team was just biking on roads (other than highways), and minding their own business, WTOP and the public wouldn't ever have jumped on this "issue" in the first place.

by indiecognition on Nov 11, 2009 1:36 pm

glad to see Parris Glendening back in the news, he was great for Virginia's econ development when he was MD governor, is he planning a comeback?

by David Gross on Nov 11, 2009 5:25 pm

David Gross- glad to see Parris Glendening back in the news, he was great for Virginia's econ development when he was MD governor, is he planning a comeback?

re: Yep Parris Glendenning(and possibly O'Malley) is very popular among Vrginians. Because of Glendenning most of the High Paying Suburban Jobs have choosen to locate in Virginia instead of Maryland. Glendenning is a typical Self Maryland Hating Southern Good Ol' Boy.............

by Alex on Nov 12, 2009 2:12 am

FWIW, I was seriously confronted by transit police in Phoenix for taking photos of a bus terminal. He said that the City of Phoenix has specific policies. Whether or not those policies are legal from a first amendment standpoint is something else (cf. Photographers Rights handout), but I wasn't in the position of desiring to make a stand on Constitutional law in Arizona.

by Richard Layman on Nov 12, 2009 7:45 am