« Pressure from Corporate Executives | Main | Too Much Parking » Who's Commute? Which Traffic Flow?29 May 2008 03:27 pm [Matt] There's no reason the DC government should make suburban commuters the priority in its transportation planning decisions -- the streets ought to serve the interests of the people who live in the city which, correctly, is at the center of the DDOT study's recommendations. Comments (20)
Alastair McIntyre reference alert. 
Whose
I think the streets should serve the interests of everyone who pays taxes to support them. At present this would exclude suburban commuters, whose elected Congressional representatives will not support a commuter tax. On the other hand, it doesn't especially matter what I think, since, as a resident of the District of Columbia, I'm ward of Congress anyway.
That's "whose," fer chrissake. Maybe you could borrow one of those Atlantic editors once in a while?
I went looking for this story on wtopnews.com since Matt didn't link. I didn't find the story, but on the home page I found a link for "your daily commute / sponsored by GM." Wait a minute...
There's no reason to have an Indy 500 raceway in the middle of an otherwise peaceful neighborhood, just so people living in upper Northwest and the burbs can zip through a few lights. I don't disagree, and I'm one of the assholes that flies up 15th en route to the inner burbs on a daily basis, though I'm usually doing it around midnight when the traffic is fairly sparse. Maryland commuters should be pushed to 16th and/or North Capitol, in my humble opinion.
Gee, I don't know, Matt. Who is commute?
People are complaining about a typical Yglesian misspelling when the whole start of the post is missing (along with the link)? Does Matt even glance at what he's wrought after posting?
Gee, I don't know, Matt. Who is commute?
Why are you posting about this neighborhood news on a national audience blog ?
Gee, I don't know, Matt. Who is commute?
Ah, come on. The guy's on vacation. Give him a break.
Alasdair MacIntyre+transit? You've inspired me to write my first comment just to say thank you.
Interests ... are
c'mon Matt - do you *really* commute via 15th St? And how does making it 2-way really speed up your commute if you walk? As it is now, if you cross 15th St you only have to look in one direction...
Well, I live on 15th in the District, and I am quite happy with it as one-way. There are people in the District who do drive (or take cabs), notably outside of rush hour, and it's a really handy street (esp. if you happen to live on it). As far as I can tell, this is because the lights are synchronized. However, the DDOT study has some other suggestions aside from making it two way. There is simply no need for four traffic lanes, not even for commuters -- they all have to get onto 14th at Florida or 16th at Irving anyway. A bike lane wouldn't hurt at all and would give cyclists some much-needed space. But I don't get the importance of two-way traffic. 17th Street is slow as hell and is still one-way. Meanwhile people fly up and down 16th (above U) whenever it's not backed up.
I wouldn't bet on the slowed commute. The city did that to the major commuter route that runs past my house and it's actually sped up traffic. Getting the bikes out of the traffic flow and the dedicated turn lanes really keep traffic moving.
"the streets ought to serve the interests of the people who live in the city" Well, no. The streets ought to serve the interests of the people in whom the city has an interest in using the streets. The people who live in the city might prefer to turn half the street into free parking for themselves. But the city needs to have reasonably open streets for working commuters. The city needs commuters. The downtown core depends completely on businesses whose decision-making employees are heavily commuters - law firms, lobbyists, consultants, non-profit associations, and the like, not to mention government agencies. These businesses and agencies bring billions of dollars into the city from their clients and customers. They pay the rent on the beautiful new office buildings and they hire tens of thousands of city residents. Their employees shop at downtown stores and eat at downtown restaurants. They pay business taxes, real estate taxes, sales taxes, and parking taxes. And the commuters are much cheaper than residents for the city to maintain. Their kids don't live here. They don't use the schools, they're generally law-abiding and healthy, and their buildings are sprinklered and tend not to burn down. And when they need a doctor, they're insured, so if they use a doctor in town that's an economic benefit to the city. Most of these businesses and agencies have no absolute need to be inside the District Line. They could move to Rosslyn, Tyson's, Crystal City, Bethesda, or Landover. And every suburban jurisdiction is dying to have them. So unless you think that your life will be better when grass grows in the middle of K Street, it's in your interest that the city take the interests of the commuters who use 15th Street seriously. Not over the interests of residents, but as one interest group whose interests matter.
I live in Mount Pleasant and do not have to drive to work, and thus, only rarely need to use my car. However, I really like 15th Street as it is. Unlike most of the streets in DC, which involve mind-numbing frustration of crawling block-to-block, stopping at each unsynchronized traffic light, the traffic actually *flows* on 15th. And is it really dangerous? I'd like to see some statistics. From my experience, the traffic is far more dangerous to motorists and pedestrians on 16th and 14th, both busy two-way streets with no synchronization of the traffic signals. I'm all in favor of a bike lane, however. There seems to be plenty of room for one.
Comments closed June 12, 2008. |
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Heads in the Sand
Please please make 15th two way. There's no reason to have an Indy 500 raceway in the middle of an otherwise peaceful neighborhood, just so people living in upper Northwest and the burbs can zip through a few lights.
Posted by BDG | May 29, 2008 3:33 PM