Breakfast links: Freedom

by David Alpert • July 2, 2010 8:43 am

Photo from Virginia Tech.

Car for the blind?: Virginia Tech researchers are building a car blind people can drive, which has sensors that transmit data on surrounding objects to the driver tactilely. It seems tough—can it show you a pedestrian who looks like they might step off the curb?—but would be neat if it really can work. (WTOP)

Banned for life for following the law: Miami Metro security officers accosted and then banned "for life" two photographers trying to take pictures. They had a printout of an email from Miami-Dade Transit assuring them photography was legal on the Metro. (Photography Is Not a Crime, Matt')

News flash: Near SE still in recession like everywhere else: It's another "why isn't Near Southeast developed yet?" article. There's really nothing else to say about this. It's a big recession. We get it. It'll develop later. (Bob McCartney/Post)

Jail time needed for cycle assault?: Following an extremely light sentence for two drivers who intentionally hit two cyclists, Chicago advocates are pushing prosecutors to push harder for jail time. (Adam Voiland/DC Bicycle Transportation Examiner)

Scratch one circular driveway: DDOT is demanding removal of a controversial circular driveway in Cleveland Park. Neighbors opposed it, but it was approved because a disabled elderly woman lived there. She recently died, so DDOT asked the property owner to remove the driveway, per the law. Mark Segraves faults DDOT for misspelling the deceased woman's first name.

Why free weekend parking on Metro?: Dr. Gridlock explains why it makes sense for Metro to keep weekend parking free: the lots don't fill up, there's less traffic, and meters are free Sundays. The same logic would support lower weekend fares as well. (Post)

Need bike racks at the pool: Today's Daily Gripe involves a lack of bike racks at Francis Pool. DPR says bike racks "are not a mandatory feature at DC pools," and they don't have budget right now for the racks, but are certainly open to it. (Post)

Traffic bad, so...: Some international cities have really, really bad traffic. It's a big problem. How about some transit? (Kristi King/WTOP)

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21 comments

Tags: bicycling, bike parking, cars, Chicago, civil liberties, Cleveland Park, crash charges, curb cuts, DC, DDOT, development, disabilities, Florida, Illinois, links, Miami, Near Southeast, parking, parks, photographers rights, traffic, transit, West End, WMATA, WMATA budget

David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington. He has had a lifelong interest in great cities and great communities. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.

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I know how folks feel about curb cuts, let alone two, but writing about a 90-day deadline two months after the death seems a bit harsh. Perhaps 6 months would be a more appropriate period, and the tone certainly could be improved.

by ah on Jul 2, 2010 9:15 am

BTW, here's the house/driveway. Far from the only one with curb cuts in the neighborhood.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=4326+Klingle+St+NW,+Washington,+District+of+Columbia,+20016&ll=38.931229,-77.085362&spn=0,0.022209&z=16&layer=c&cbll=38.932112,-77.075203&panoid=ZjGMHpeM_O9m7r-XM1CHaw&cbp=12,198.19,,0,5

by ah on Jul 2, 2010 9:18 am

Why are people wasting time on cars for blind people when it's generally understood that people ought to be driving a lot less? How about getting a car that runs on water toot suit!

by Thayer-D on Jul 2, 2010 9:24 am

The international cities cited, delhi, has a world class system they built up in 5 years. Once the new lines open for the Commonwealth games it will be larger than metrorail. they have a massive system of expansion planned from there.

by charlie on Jul 2, 2010 9:26 am

I would think it would be easier (and more broadly applicable) to make cars that drive themselves versus adapting driving systems to help the blind drive.

by Steven Yates on Jul 2, 2010 9:35 am

@Thayer-D: There are vast swaths of the country where public transit and walking are not realistic options. E.g., pretty much anywhere from the Appalachians to the Sierra Nevada outside of larger cities.

by ah on Jul 2, 2010 9:49 am

FWIW, Virginia Tech is in the forefront of efforts to study and develop "smart highways."

http://www.vtti.vt.edu/

by Paul on Jul 2, 2010 9:51 am

"Banned for life for following the law: Miami Metro security officers accosted and then banned "for life" two photographers trying to take pictures. They had a printout of an email from Miami-Dade Transit assuring them photography was legal on the Metro. (Photography Is Not a Crime, Matt') "

Police/security forces knowing/understanding photography rules on transit and Amtrak has been problematic since 9/11. The have been a number of articles/editorials in the railroad press in this regard (Trains magazine for example). Some of the best people to have eyes on transit and railroad properties are the fans. They probably know more if something is amiss than a 3rd party security contractor.

Some times it borders on silly, see following...
http://carlosmiller.com/2008/12/27/amtrak-police-arrest-photographer-participating-in-amtrak-photo-contest/

by Contrarian on Jul 2, 2010 10:09 am

This was the article reference I was looking for that had Don Philips comments.
http://carlosmiller.com/2010/04/21/is-amtrak-reneging-on-its-photo-policy/

by Contrarian on Jul 2, 2010 10:15 am

Re: Driveway

I was reading up on this story yesterday... And I think I'd side with the neighbors on this one. The circular driveway was deemed "necessary" due to the woman's physical disability, yet it leads to nine steps at the front door. PLUS, they have alley/driveway access to the back door of the house. Sounds a bit sketchy if you ask me.

Re: Traffic

This is hardly surprising. I mean come on, even cities designed EXCLUSIVELY for automobile "efficiency" (Brasilia, for example) experience horrendous congestion issues on a daily basis. The hard fact is simply that automobiles are both the cause of one problem (traffic/congestion) but the solution to another (lack of mobility)... So we should find alternate means of transportation (to solve the 'mobility' part) which don't exacerbate the already stressed congestion problem... But I guess that's pretty obvious (or so it should be).

by Josh C. on Jul 2, 2010 10:19 am

Let's contrast the development near Nationals park with Square 54 on Washington Circle. The building's nearly finished and they already have 100% of the retail space leased, 75% of the office space leased, and its condos will go on sale in the coming months.

Yes, they are completely different neighborhoods, but blaming the recession can only go so far; the financial factors that influence development near the stadium also influence development in Foggy Bottom.

by Eric F. on Jul 2, 2010 10:25 am

It's interesting that Houston, one of the paragons of sprawl, car-dependence, and unrestrained grown ranks better than New York, MontrÃ©al, Berlin, L.A., Amsterdam, Toronto, Paris, and London among others.

by Eric F. on Jul 2, 2010 10:30 am

I agree that getting more people, blind, into cars, is not the right way to go. The problem is that mercurial and moody humans should not be driving multi-ton death machines at all.

Wouldn't it be nicer for everyone if cars took care of all that pesky thinking and decision making on their own? Then the distracted, makeup applying, coffee drinking, sexting, newspaper reading, laptop typing, pissed off humans could just sit back and get to their destinations in an orderly and controlled fashion?

I do think that if a human tried to subvert the vehicles guidance system that it should automatically pull to the side, send an alert to authorities, and lock all of the doors.

by James on Jul 2, 2010 10:47 am

Also notice that the study is called the "IBM Commuter Pain Index" even though they only surveyed motorists. So if you don't drive to work, you don't count as a commuter according to IBM.

by Eric F. on Jul 2, 2010 10:47 am

RE: Miami Photogs

I've taken a lot of photos, especially of transportation systems, and have never been asked to stop. So far I'd just like to chime in that while I'm absolutely don't dispute these things happen, at least they seem to be more the exception than the rule. ...Though I remember that photo contest debacle Contrarian linked to above: that's a fantastic case.

The only time I've been asked to stop was inside Silver Spring's City Place Mall, and I'll concede that's a private area so I didn't push it. My roommate was asked to stop shooting from the top of Union Station's parking deck, but I did the same thing only a couple weeks later & had both Amtrak and FBI vehicles pass me by once each without stopping.

RE: Driveway

I've written letters that have gotten the Mr./Ms. gender wrong, carried over the wrong name from previous letters I'm using as a base, typo'd the name, and probably a variety of other mistakes... I have a hard enough time remembering my coworkers' names ("Hey... You"). Doesn't mean it's excusable, but certainly understandable. I do think it's a rather petty distraction from the real issue, though... and now I look back and realise I just wrote a paragraph on the name & not the driveway.

RE: Traffic

Here's what I sent to my traffic engineering listserv when they shared the same info:

>>>
I've often heard a theory that we see congestion wherever we see popular & heavily used systems, hence that could be taken to mean that congestion is an indicator of prosperity... of course, that "correlation does not equal causation" phrase kicks in, so that might be debated... for example, it could also be a sign of unfunded needs; indicating perhaps a victim of one's own success.

On another line of thought, I've been to a number of those top cities and see a mix of good trends and bad trends. The good: many of those cities are extremely high density with spectacular transit systems. The bad: many of those cities are emerging economies sharing the same "car = power" mentality that is only now starting to fade in the more commercialised countries. There have been some interesting articles recently, particularly profiling Chinese commuters, noting that despite 2+ hr commutes: they prefer to drive because it is viewed as a status symbol. The unfortunate reality is that high density and cars simply don't mix well.

For those interested, here's IBM's release (http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/32017.wss); and note that it only evaluates motorists; it does not give any consideration of transit, bike, or walking commutes.
<<<

by Bossi on Jul 2, 2010 10:48 am

How about some transit?
how about some bikes?

The blind car stuff has nothing to do w the domestic auto market -- it has to do with allowing US soldiers maintain combat ability in low-to-zero visibility conditions. Obviously.

by Peter Smith on Jul 2, 2010 11:01 am

Re: Driveway

Under what possible circumstances could a circular driveway help a handicapped person? If you can't drive in reverse, you shouldn't be allowed to drive, period. The circular driveway never should have been approved in the first place. (And before you ask, I have two family members who are handicapped.)

by tom veil on Jul 2, 2010 11:51 am

Peter Smith: At first I thought you meant that cars for the blind just means we will need to keep the troops in the middle east longer - more cars for different reasons equals more conflict near the source of oil.

I don't think you meant that, but I do.

Also, cars for the blind seem stupid.

I agree that high density and cars don't mix, which is why this blog should be dedicated to improving and expanding the basics of transit, and never forgetting the KISS principle. Too often I see overly complicated analyses and such, when it's the fundamentals that have gone ignored both in the media and in policy.

by Jazzy on Jul 2, 2010 11:54 am

I think the cars-for-the-blind thing is just another indicator that we regard driving as an experience essential to the American DreamÂ™.

That being said, I think we should focus on making it so that blind people are as mobile as they want and need to be, without the need to drive. Meanwhile, we'll probably make it easier for everyone to be mobile without driving.

by Tim on Jul 2, 2010 12:01 pm

AAA et al should try driving around Bangkok or Jakarta. Multilane highways with cars moving at walking speed. Maybe transit aint so bad

by SJE on Jul 2, 2010 12:05 pm

@SJE-Bangkok has growing but not well integrated system of mass transit (elevated trains and a subway), superimposed on a resource starved but extensive bus system. There were skeptics when the skytrain elevated train opened (it predated the subway), but ridership grew steadily and its presence has led to redevelopment of many inner city neighborhoods, despite the interruption of development by the Asian currency crash. The roadways, though, remain hellish--multilane, pedestrian unfriendly thoroughfares that don't work for anyone.

The IBM survey has many flaws--they only asked motorists and the question is awkward. Perhaps there's less of a work ethic in some long commute cities than other.

by Rich on Jul 2, 2010 8:31 pm