Posts about Brooklyn

Very few people will keep a bike that long. The purpose of bike sharing is for short point to point trips, not long rentals. But a lot of folks initially placed the system into their mental box of "bike rentals," and evaluated it accordingly. That'll pass, if it hasn't already, once people actually get to try using it.

Last night, at a public meeting in Brooklyn Heights, a few residents argued against bikeshare stations on their streets. Bikeshare supporter Mike Epstein (who's also a personal friend) tweeted some of the objections from the meeting:

Has a single station in DC turned into a "place for people to hang out"? Not that I'm aware. But some people worried about that here, too.

A BID employee from Montague Street, in Brooklyn Heights, wanted to keep 5 parking spaces instead of add 39 bikeshare docks, while a MetroTech BID representative was pleased there aren't stations in their area.

DC residents know what will happen:

The system will open, and residents will realize that bike sharing is nothing like their worst fears. Neighbors will clamor for stations. Actually, many already are. Residents in Park Slope, which isn't getting Citibike yet, are eager for expansion.

Meanwhile, pass the popcorn.

Later, the real owner of one of the businesses objected to the article, saying they actually eagerly support the lane. That employee was actually talking about parking meters, not bike lanes, which are of course different things. The article complains about the loss of parking spaces, but it's very few.

To their credit, other members of the DC press corps immediately had a very skeptical reaction. Recognizing the poor reporting on display, TBD's Dave Jamieson writes that "it just sounds like some unorganized and specious grumbling." And Mike DeBonis noted on Twitter that some of the parking spaces in question were actually in front of the Examiner offices. Perhaps there's an ulterior motive behind the piece?

Plus, officials from the Downtown BID gave quotes in support of the lane. Ellen Jones said that property owners were involved in the planning. The lanes have been discussed in community meetings and with stakeholders for over a year. When discussing plans for a number of cycle tracks in March, DDOT Bicycle Program Manager Jim Sebastian said that "it seems quick, but we've been working on this for a while."

Another article by Peterson, published on the same day, compares DC to New York, which is experiencing a stronger "backlash." In that piece, too, Gerri Widdicombe of DC's Downtown BID says, "I know in New York they are having a bike lane revolt. I don't think we're there yet." In fact, it's unlikely DC will ever have the level of rancor on display in New York.

It's not clear how much of New York's "revolt" is widespread negative public sentiment versus the objections of relatively few amplified by hostile press outlets. On Staten Island, the local paper claimed that because people speed on a road, the city should remove a new bike lane, and Mayor Bloomberg bowed to that pressure, as well as some from Hasidic leaders in Williamsburg against "scantily clad cyclists."

A bike lane on Prospect Park West in Brooklyn has worked well and gained many supporters, but drawn opopsition including the family of Senator Chuck Schumer and some hostile columnists, though without success thus far. New York's first cycle tracks, on 8th and 9th Avenues, have gained community support for extensions after a bit of initial opposition.

Certainly any bike lane could upset some people, as have a few lanes in DC. A responsible Department of Transportation listens to the complaints and tries to design lanes to alleviate them as much as posible, but that doesn't mean they should remove the lanes if some modifications will address legitimate concerns.

For example, after some 15th Street residents complained about the large yellow pylons possibly reducing the curb appeal of houses, DDOT switched them to more widely-spaced, shorter white pylons when modifying the lane to two-way operation.

Still, cycling advocates inside and outside government benefit from having as many supporters as they can get beyond just regular cyclists and business groups. That motivation underlies WABA's Resolution to Ride Responsibly, which asks cyclists to pledge to be good riders.

The resolution generated some backlash of its own, largely over a tone which seemed to imply all cyclists need to do better as opposed to emphasizing that most cyclists are already riding responsibly. But WABA is right that the "scofflaw cyclist" stereotype is interfering with further advocacy.

The biggest reason Peterson's critique flopped was that the impact of the 15th Street lanes was ultimately very small. As DC moves ahead with more bike lanes, like those on L and M Streets, NW, opposition may grow.

DDOT can best blunt that by working with stakeholders and keeping the public well informed about plans instead of keeping details secret until the last moment, and cyclists can also build support by acting collaboratively with drivers and pedestrians, on the road and in public meetings.

Update: Edited the post to clarify that sidewalk cycling is not illegal everywhere, but is illegal south of Massachusetts Avenue downtown, which is the area that the Strayer campus director was talking about.

Daniel writes,

The authors suggest that the perpetual calls to "revitalize" Fulton may be more situated in particular cultural values than anchored to actual numbers.

"Fulton Mall continued to be judged not by the literal value of the goods sold but by the cultural value that the mainstream applied to them, thus trapping its public image as a failure. Given these terms, what could success look like?"

Rosten Woo surmises that the real motivation behind the various revitalization schemes has not been to create a more successful retail environment, but rather to create a public amenity attractive to the new affluent white residents moving in to the brownstones and condos around it.

There are other aspects of Fulton Mall that everyone agrees are problematic. For example, there are no benches, and many of the upper floors of the buildings are entirely vacant. Historic buildings have garish facades covering up their beautiful detailing. However, the street has many small, independent shops, good ground floor permeability, some street trees, and excellent transit.

We need to avoid the tendency to assume that good urbanism only looks like whatever we like. Good urbanism is about creating places that many people want to go, where they are safe, where there are activities, and where they don't have to travel long distances or be forced to use automobiles to satisfy life's everyday needs.

If those people are black teenagers and they want to roll around on little boards, they should be accommodated just as much as if they're 30-something white couples with strollers who want to pop into a baby boutique. That assumes that the people in question aren't committing crimes, but as Dan has noted, skateboarding gives many teens something to do that doesn't involve mischief.

We see a similar dynamic in the debates about bars or dog parks. Bars generally appeal to younger people, and some older residents share their fists at the proliferation of bars. There needs to be a balance between accommodating social gathering and not creating too much noise too late at night or creating magnets for crime. Dog parks appeal to dog owners, of course, and likewise there needs to be a balance between letting dogs get exercise and not having too much barking too late at night, or poop that doesn't get cleaned up, or other side effects.

Cafes and skating likewise create some side effects (trash that can attract rodents for cafes, for example), but bars, dog parks, summer outdoor movies, playgrounds, cafes, and skate areas are all ways groups of people can and should utilize our public spaces. And all, whether skating kids of any color, seniors, parents, recent college grads who like to drink, dog owners, or anyone else, are entitled to have some public space for their enjoyment.

Update: To clarify, I'm not arguing that skateboarding should be encouraged or even allowed in every public space, just like dog exercise or picnicking or softball should not be accommodated in every public space. However, some of yesterday's comments leaned more toward "skateboarding is an evil that should be stamped out," instead of "skateboarders should get their own skate park in Silver Spring so they don't need to use the plaza." Each public space can accommodate a different set of activities, but communities should design their mix of public spaces to provide opportunities for the full range of uses residents would like to make of their spaces.