The highly unused ICC is a perfect case for lifting the speed limit to 80 MPH or so.

by charlie on Feb 1, 2012 8:59 am  

This appointment for the new Progressive Transit Administration chief should bear watching, on the one hand Greensboro, SC gained a minor reputation as a bike-friendly town in that state. On the other, he's an old dude from a smallish town in the Deep South. Apologies to Mr Jackson if I turn out to be wrong, but on paper at least, he doesn't exactly come across as a young Turk.

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 9:17 am  

Is he from Greenville, SC?

by Vik on Feb 1, 2012 9:49 am  

@ICC
Actualy the icc has decent usage I think I read somewhere anyway, but I am anoyed at the 55 mph limit in addition to the 4 or more cops that give out tickets on any given day.

There is no reason why it can not be 65, and I understand police need to inforce the speed limit but you also want to incourage people to pay $4 to take the road. Low speed limites and a high density of policy do not encourage this.

by Matt R on Feb 1, 2012 10:01 am  

Excuse me, oboe, but what's wrong with old dudes, exactly?

by jimble on Feb 1, 2012 10:01 am  

@Vik,

Doh, "Greenville."

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 10:12 am  

What on earth does GREENVILLE, South Carolina have in public transit that has ANY relation to one of the country's largest public transit systems????????

by Capt. Hilts on Feb 1, 2012 10:16 am  

In and of itself, nothing. The question is whether he's spent the overwhelming part of his career overseeing very traditional post-WWII DOT projects, and whether that's who we need in a position that calls for something of a visionary.

If you're 65 and you have a long history of revolutionary and creative work behind you, that's one thing. If you're 30 and you're an up-and-comer, that's another. But if you're pushing 60 and all your experience is in public bus service logistics, or some such, that's going to raise questions about how dynamic you'll be.

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 10:25 am  

Sorry, that was for @jimble. And, not that it matters, but I'm no spring chicken myself. Nor have I particularly distinguished myself in my field. Of course, I'm not expecting to get called up as head of New Product Development at Apple any time soon either.

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 10:27 am  

The DC Taxi Commission has issued an RFP for a vendor to provide GPS and credit card systems for every cab, but Mary Cheh and Tommy Wells prefer to set standards and let taxi owners choose.

Wait, I don't understand. How are councilmembers and DC government employees supposed to skim off a bunch of graft and quidpro quo campaign contributions if they don't get to pick a single vendor? Don't Cheh and Wells have any idea how this is supposed to work?

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 10:31 am  

Issuing an RFP for a single vendor for cabs will probably end up costing the industry less (economies of scale) and provide a unified system so that the taxi commission can keep tabs on the industry more easily.

How the heck is the taxi commission going to keep track of receipts, where cabs are picking people up, and the rest on a large scale if each individual operator has their own system with its own output? Individual owner-operators will get screwed when some company promises them a lower price on the system and then nickel-and-dimes them with extra fees so their system can interface with DCTC's requirements.

by MLD on Feb 1, 2012 11:03 am  

@oboe

From his bio, it appears that he's from Long Island and was educated there and has worked there and in Chicago, in addition to Greenville. So I think it's presumptuous to draw a conclusion about how he thinks based on his age or where he last worked.

by Vik on Feb 1, 2012 11:26 am  

Oboe, you really need to check yourself guy. It's ridiculous for you to suggest that someone's age and the fact they're from the south, should "bear watching." Clearly you've drank the "south is ignorant" kool-aid.

And if it's true that he has worked in major cities like Chi-town in addition to Long Island and Greenville, then you seriously need to question why you made such an instant judgment about the man.

by HogWash on Feb 1, 2012 11:53 am  

This guys resume seems appropriate. Far more so than the last guy who was a big blogger favorite.

What prior experience did Kubley have managing bus or streetcar programs before he got his job? His biggest accomplishment that I can tell from his time in his last job was running up six figures in MBA expenses, havng the District taxpayer foot the bill, then leaving the next year.

by freely on Feb 1, 2012 12:01 pm  

Oboe, you really need to check yourself guy...And if it's true that he has worked in major cities like Chi-town in addition to Long Island and Greenville, then you seriously need to question why you made such an instant judgment about the man.

Hmm. You might seriously ask the question why you're so sold on the guy. You're not Carl Jackson "in real life" are you?

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 12:33 pm  

Unlike you, I'm not sold on anything. You've never heard me intimate that someone's age and recent work location should "bear watching" wrt to their fitness for a job.

Your initial reaction was to look at him, where he came from, and then decide that something is likely wrong. That's your crap dude..not mine.

And weren't you the same person who argued that Gabe Klein's lack of "traditional" experience qualified him to lead DOT? But this guy should "bear watching?"

Again, this is your crap dude. All on you and it's a rather ugly look.

Maybe you've been in the "big city" too long to appreciate what the south has to offer...or....

by HogWash on Feb 1, 2012 12:44 pm  

@HogWash,

If his last position was running the bus system in a tiny town in suburban Boise, Idaho I'd be equally skeptical.

But you're clearly upset by something, and you seem incapable of elucidating it. Hope you feel better soon.

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 12:56 pm  

His last position was not running a bus system in a tiny town in Boise. He was the head of Greenville's transit agency.

You should know that I don't have a problem articulating my positions. That's why my initial response to you CLEARLY indicated that I was "upset" that you looked at this man and where he came from and essentially questioned whether he should have the job. IMO, there was nothing subliminal about what I said...at all and I'm not sure how better to elucidate that point.

I just had a spectacular burger from Bobby Flay's so I do feel much better now.

Thanks for your concern though!

by HogWash on Feb 1, 2012 1:41 pm  

Just want to point out that Boise is more than three and a half times larger than Greenville. So perhaps Boise would have been better preparation.

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 1:51 pm  

I can understand some skepticism on Jackson, given that Greenville appears to have a whopping 12 bus routes and 1 downtown trolley. If he's only in charge of Circulator, bikeshare, and the streetcars, though, I guess that's...well, no, it's still not comparable because of the scale of bikeshare and the streetcar, but it's at least in the same vein. Hmm. Hope he comes out firing.

by worthing on Feb 1, 2012 2:14 pm  

The biggest challenge of the progressive transit job in dc is NOT coming up with a groundbreaking vision, which admittedly is best done by the young with little vested interest in traditional ways. The biggest challenge in DC is convincing the "old, black, southern" people who voted out Fenty that all of this is a good idea for them and isn't just good for gentrifiers.

For this challenge, Mr Jackson seems perfect...like a trojan horse (assuming he's actually pro progressive transit and his appt isn't just gray's way of killing the streetcar which he's been known to try and do before).

by Falls Church on Feb 1, 2012 2:38 pm  

FC, I'm really going to assume that you're joking and didn't really mean to insinuate that only old southern black folk voted against Fenty (or that black folk aren't smart enuff to know what's best for us) when this very website endorsed Gray. And based on every picture/video I've seen of David, he's the farthest thing from being old, black and southern.

Now maybe you need to think about why is it that YOU think THIS guy will show us black folk the "light" when Fenty wasn't able to...even though "white people" preferred him.

You've mad a bigoted argument about the election and why black folk would better listen to THIS guy. While I understand that this is a position u r obviously comfortable with both having and sharing amongst "friends," please realize that those of us who aren't myopic twits young and white might object to your most horrible, dismissive and insulting mischaracterization.

by HogWash on Feb 1, 2012 3:53 pm  

Is this what a GGW discussion about race looks like?

by oboe on Feb 1, 2012 4:51 pm  

Is this what a GGW discussion about race looks like?

If you're referring to Fall Church's idea that the biggest challenge DC faces is convincing "old, black, southerners" that stuff white people like also benefits them, then yeah, I guess it is what a discussion about race looks like.

Personally, I think attacking an entire group and region is not the best way to have such a discussion. But oh well..what do I know..I'm black and southern.

by HogWash on Feb 1, 2012 5:22 pm  

I'm really going to assume that you're joking and didn't really mean to insinuate that only old southern black folk voted against Fenty

I didn't say that ONLY southern old black folk voted against Fenty. But plenty of them surely did and it's undoubtedly a demographic that wasn't happy with Fenty. Also, I probably shouldn't have said "black" as mentioning race is unnecessary. In general, I meant to refer to the people who were most discontented with the substance and style of folks like Fenty and Klein.

Now maybe you need to think about why is it that YOU think THIS guy will show us black folk the "light" when Fenty wasn't able to

Fenty was an arrogant jerk who didn't care about connecting with many types of folks, particularly those EOTR. That's a big part of the reason why he wasn't able to build unity around his message and gain the trust and support of some/many black folks. I don't know anything about this guy but Fenty set such a low bar that I figure any reasonable person could do a better job at connecting to the kinds of people Fenty wasn't able to. That said, I'm a reasonable person and I've clearly failed to connect in this instance, so maybe it's harder to do than I think.

If you're referring to Fall Church's idea that the biggest challenge DC faces is convincing "old, black, southerners" that stuff white people like also benefits them

Take away whether it's the "biggest" challenge. Do you think DC has done a good job of reaching out to people from all walks of life to convince them that "stuff white people like" such as streetcars, bikeshare, etc. will also benefit them? Now, perhaps you think that's an impossible job, if you think it simply won't benefit them. But did folks like Fenty even TRY to reach out to diverse people or did he just sit in his echo chamber, listening to his love-slaves tell him what a genius he was?

If streetcars or bikeshare gets killed or fails to expand, it won't be because the job required a whiz kid of Steve Jobs proportions and Mr. Jackson isn't one. If they get killed, it will most likely be because it's not popular enough with voters.

by Falls Church on Feb 1, 2012 6:06 pm  

Now maybe you need to think about why is it that YOU think THIS guy will show us black folk the "light" when Fenty wasn't able to

Here are some choice quotes from the first article that came up on a google search that answers why Fenty wasn't able to convince black folks of his message (happens to be Huff Post):

Results from the election showed that Fenty, who is biracial, did particularly poorly in areas of the city that have a majority of black residents and did better in parts of the city that have more white residents. Black voters in particular accused Fenty of being out of touch with their community.

Fenty, who four years ago became D.C.'s youngest mayor, lost the city's Democratic primary Tuesday to an opponent who painted him as arrogant and unwilling to work with people. Residents repeatedly said personality and schools influenced their votes.

The teachers' union president George Parker said Gray's win wasn't all about education. "The mayor's style had a lot to do with it," Parker said.

by Falls Church on Feb 1, 2012 6:22 pm  

@FC, WHEW! That's somewhat better and I agree that..in general..it's not a good idea to bring race into a discussion like this and I'll admit to being shocked that you presented it in the way you did.

It's also worth mentioning that the hair on my neck becomes like icicles when I see people going in on black folk..and southern folk because I'm a member of both groups and can personally attest to what is and isn't. Now whether it's possible to determine that "southerners" rejected Fenty any more than any other region...don't know.

I agree, Fenty was an arrogant jerk and he did forget that this city has 8 wards and not 3 or 4. It wasn't that he didn't know "how" to relate to "us" it's just he wasn't intrested in trying. I say this because the same wards that rejected him were also the ones that decided to support him in a race against Linda Cropp, who many felt was "old dc." If you remember, old dc was not used then as an synonym for race. It became a matter of race AFTER Fenty became Mayor and the blogosphere encouraged it.

TO be honest, I don't think DC (itself) has done a bad job of reaching out. I really don't. I think the media/blogosphere latched onto a message and exacerbated, in many cases, the real concerns DC residents had with its leadership. I don't know how else to explain how Fenty, who staked his campaign on education reform (yes, he really did) lost these same voters who believed Linda Cropp and her years of work with DC Schools, didn't produce enough to warrant her election.

I don't think we have to worry at all about bikeshare being killed. Why would it and who's been speaking out against it? I haven't seen nor heard any of these protests and I imagine that neither of the two will ever come up for a vote by DC residents. If it did, I'll happy say I would vote for bikeshare and against streetcars.

by HogWash on Feb 2, 2012 10:35 am  

WRT to the HuffPost article, yeah I remember reading that and all I'll say about it is that it's interesting that such analysis most always seem to operate under the assumption that black folk didn't support him because we didn't realize the good things happening in the city would also benefit us. As if we're cattle needing to be led to the trough.

Fenty had our full-throated support and lost it..big time. That's pretty much it. He started listening to his friends like Bloomberg et. al and forgot on which side his bread was buttered. It was indeed sad for a man who had so much promise. He obviously wasn't ready for prime time and I regret walking the streets for him.

by HogWash on Feb 2, 2012 10:48 am  

If any of the people on this blog have done your research about Mr.Jackson, you would know that he is more that qualified for this job, maybe over qualified. I am native New Yorker, now living in DC for the past 5 years. About ten years ago, I remember seeing s guy on the new in NY. He worked for the MTA for over 25 years before he even went to Chicago to head their control center. So far you can see he has been in management/leadership positions in the 2 top transit systems in the country! Not to mention international transit experience with Connex. He's been a CEO and COO and now he's in DC in a Associate Director position? Are you kidding me? Jackson is more that qualified. As far as age, this guy isnt even 55. Hes been in the transit game since his early 20s and worked his way up through the ranks. Obviously you can see that transit is this man's passion. When I take the metro to work I see so much crap and wish I was back in NYC because DC service sucks. Maybe we should give this guy a chance and stop pre-judging becuase the last position he had was as the head of the most improved transit system in the state of SCsince his tenure. His record speaks for itself. Ready or not DC, we're going to have to deal with his good track record of efficiency...

by NYC on Feb 4, 2012 12:19 pm