It's been a while since I've updated. Temperatures have dropped into the arctic zone, which makes it tough to want to ride my bike or run part of the way to work everyday, especially when the heat in my single occupancy vehicle works so well. I did leave the car at home today, however, opting for the metro from Jon's apartment to my office.
I've still got a "wrap up" post brewing in my head about my experience without a car and I think the weeks since I've gotten my car back have helped me to reflect. In the meantime, PLEASE watch this hilarious video I picked up from (who else?) David Alpert at Greater Greater Washington. It's a conversation between a traffic engineer and a concerned neighbor who lives on a quiet, safe street. In the engineer's defense, he's just relying on his "traffic standards" but this hysterical video underscores the need to think outside of the four lane road and about traffic standards that actually reflect the changing ways people get around.
Great video (and great blog -- Dan Reed just pointed it out to me -- don't know how I managed to miss it before now). In reading some of your earlier posts about finding ways to get around in DC, I am struck by how much easier it is now to reach destinations that are not particularly convenient to transit (Adams Morgan, Georgetown, etc.) with the bike sharing system in place. Downtown Silver Spring and Bethesda both have density equal to or greater than most of the parts of DC that have bike sharing stations -- just think how much easier it would be to get around these areas without relying on a car if bike sharing were an option.
ReplyDeleteCasey Anderson