Popularity
Dear Popular Ones:
My introduction to the last issue of themail got some interesting
responses. If you remember, I wrote about transportation and the movies
in the twentieth century, and the way that movies portrayed our
fascination with transportation and movement throughout that century. I
ended with an appreciation of the history of transportation as seen from
the 14th Street Bridge. That evoked the ire of anti-car activists, who
didn’t like the fact that I said nice things about automobiles. Tom
Grahame sent a very nice message about themail, but the import of the
message was, “I see absolutely no fun in driving. . . .” Well, that’s
true for him. He likes to walk, and to him driving means nothing but
fighting traffic and the risk of an accident. Stephen Miller, on the
other hand, “cannot deny what is often the pure joy of driving,” but
prefers bicycling. I can’t quarrel with their preferences; each of
them is right for himself. I’m not going to advocate tearing up
sidewalks to make life harder for pedestrians, or banning bicycles from
the streets to make it harder for bicyclists. Why should I want to?
However, more extreme anti-car activists do want to make life harder
for drivers. Unfortunately, they are influential with the current
administration, which prefers the stick to the carrot when it comes to
transportation policy. The most extreme reaction to my introduction came
from anti-car activist David Alpert, who runs the Greater Greater
Washington blog. Nothing makes Alpert angrier than automobiles. He was
inspired by my piece to write a parody in which he replaces cars with
ferris wheels, and ridicules the pleasure that most people take in
driving by imagining a city in which everyone parks a ferris wheel in
front of his house (http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=3060).
Alpert’s argument is that, “Just because something is fun doesn’t
mean our public policy should crowd out other types of fun, or that we
should devote substantial public land to that fun at great taxpayer
expense, or require new buildings to spend millions of dollars to
accommodate the fun, crowding out other uses.” Of course, cars aren’t
just fun; they are also the most practical way to transport millions of
people daily to thousands of different destinations and to transport
their goods to their houses. Alpert asks, “Why are the desires of
those who enjoy walking or bicycling insignificant, while those of the
car enthusiast paramount?” The answer is simple. It’s the same
reason cities have more basketball courts then they have broomball
stadia: bicycling and long-distance walks are the preferences of small
minorities. They are doomed to remain that as long as automobiles are an
option. When it’s too hot or cold, rainy or snowy; when the distance
is too great or what you have to carry is too heavy or bulky; when the
destination isn’t convenient to public transportation or to mass
transit schedules — in other words, most of the time — cars are a
better option.
Since I didn’t mention any motorcycle or bicycle movies in the last
introduction, it’s only fair to add the three great motorcycle movies
and their iconic images to my list (The Wild Ones with Marlon Brando,
The Great Escape with Steve McQueen, and Easy Rider with Peter Fonda and
Dennis Hopper). There are also two good bicycle movies, Breaking Away
and American Flyers, that make bicycle racing seem to be an exciting
sport. (But let me rub it in: the paucity of bicycle movies, compared to
the wealth of automobile movies, makes my point.)
Ed Barron sent a posting to the last issue of themail on the yellow
stripe painted in front of Janney School. While every other yellow
stripe in the District apparently means the area is a fire zone in which
parking is prohibited, this one just means no parking in front of the
school when school is in session. However, Ed reported that the police
are treating the area as a fire zone, and issuing tickets to anyone who
parks there at any time. A woman who also got a ticket parked in the
same yellow-stripe area sent sent an E-mail to her Advisory Neighborhood
Commission representative, Jonathan Bender, citing Ed’s message and
her own experience. Bender forwarded them to Second District Commander
Matt Klein, who replied, “I think that if the person received a ticket
on a non-school day, seems that they have a good argument to protest the
ticket. I will ensure my officers do not write tickets if in violation
of the sign. If the ticket was written less than fifteen days ago, we
can try and cancel the ticket from 2D.”
A few issues back (themail, July 15), Ed also asked what was up with
the listings for AMC movie theaters, which have been missing from the Washington
Post. Today the Post’s ombudsman, Andrew Alexander,
explained what the problem is, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ombudsman-blog/2009/07/a_quiet_battle_between_the_pos.html.
He wrote that the movie listings are actually paid ads, and that the AMC
chain has decided not to pay. The Post and the company are in
talks.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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“No person shall stand or park a vehicle,” says DC Municipal
Regulation 18, 2405.2(c), “within 40 feet of the intersection of curb
lines of intersecting streets”. And that’s where DDOT plants “no
parking” signposts, 40 feet from intersections, an arrow pointing in
the forbidden direction. Okay, but for at least eight years, “vehicles
displaying valid residential parking permits may park, within a
designated residential permit parking zone, . . . 25 feet from the
intersection.” Um, forty minus twenty-five — yes, DC, cars can
extend up to fifteen feet past those “no parking” signs, and yet be
perfectly legally parked. In 2001, this was allowed between 11 p.m. and
7 a.m. In 2002, the hours were extended, allowing said parking from 10
p.m. until 7:30 a.m. In 2006, the hours were eliminated, and 25-foot
parking is now allowed “at all times.”
Okay, but just try to explain to Parking Enforcement or Metropolitan
Police officers that they should go by what the law is, not just where
the signpost is placed. The signpost, they think, is definitive, and any
car extending any distance beyond that signpost is in violation, end of
discussion. I have successfully challenged a number of these bogus
tickets, by simply noting the applicable law in a letter denying the
violation. Only one of my challenges has failed, and that I have
appealed, though the Department of Motor Vehicles appeal process appears
to be a black hole of eternal duration. They’ve got my money, plus the
$10 appeal fee, for more than a year now. Is anybody at DMV actually
reading these appeals?
Two weeks ago the MPD struck again, ticketing my wife’s legally
parked car. Happily, Commander Kucik of the Third District has requested
the details of the law from me, so that MPD officers can be suitably
instructed. Not so happily, a neighbor parked in the 40-to-25 zone was
ticketed twice in one night, by a pair of zealous Parking Enforcement
aides. Yes, one ticket was written at 1:44 a.m., and a second at 7:16
a.m., as evidently the ticketee was supposed to somehow to have
discovered that past-midnight ticket, and to have moved his car before
dawn and the arrival of the second Parking Enforcement aide. The poor
guy is looking at $100 worth of parking tickets for a legally parked
car. When, oh when, will the people hired by the District to enforce
parking laws actually learn what the District’s parking laws are?
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“Up-and-Comers Who Are Bridging the Digital
Divide”
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
The headline of this Washington Post article (http://tinyurl.com/m3syql)
brought a smile to my face. One of the people profiled in this article,
Shireen Mitchell, has been working to bridge the digital divide since
the last century. Shireen Mitchell is as much an up-and-comer as the
Lincoln Memorial is one of the newest memorials on the mall.
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Gary, I am so glad that I’ve subscribed to themail, but I disagree
with you about the romance of the auto, at least today. Car companies
still sell cars on the image of driving speedily by mountains and lakes,
or racing across desert landscapes, but that isn’t the reality for 99
percent of drivers. Traffic jams, texting or calling while in jams,
trying to figure out what is causing the holdup and is there an
alternate route is more the norm.
I see absolutely no fun in driving, contra your editorial, although
this hasn’t dampened my love of themail. Driving is a requirement, in
most cases, for a chore, and always carries with it the risk of an
accident. Walking, to the contrary, is exercise and the opportunity to
interact with friends and neighbors on occasion. Walkability is a great
thing about DC, compared to many other cities. My wife and I take the
train to NYC or Connecticut because we can do things and it is relaxing,
compared to fighting traffic. I drive about 4,500 miles a year,
commuting two miles to work each way by foot in cooler weather, Metro in
hot or rainy weather.
Convenience is the main reason many people still take their cars.
Mass transit is, to me, generally preferable, because I can read and be
relaxed and not worry about someone hitting my vehicle — but mass
transit only goes so many places. (The Circulator seems to be catching
on pretty well, after a slow start, by the way, and if it continues to
do so, it may reduce traffic jams marginally.) There are still those who
prefer driving, no matter how many traffic jams there are, but don’t
we have to determine how many do so because there isn’t an alternative
way to their destination, versus those who actually enjoy the
experience?
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Regarding Gary Imhoff’s opening statement on the July 26 newsletter
about transportation and the wonder of the automobile: As one of the
many District residents who do not own a car, I found your dismissal of
the joys of every other mode of transportation except private
automobiles to be rather absurd. Like any human being, I cannot deny
what is often the pure joy of driving. However, unlike you, I cannot
also deny the joys of riding my bike with the wind in my hair, riding
our Metro system and admiring its grand architecture, or walking down a
beautiful city block. Yes, each mode has its pitfalls — biking can
make me sweat in the summer months, walking may not take me places as
fast as I’d like, Metro has its countless frustrations, and driving
has its ever-present gridlock — but the level to which you glorify the
automobile over all else makes me wonder. The “smart growthers” you
seem to detest advocate for context-appropriate transportation that
provides choice and doesn’t place the car above all else, especially
in a dense urban environment like ours where space and clean air are at
a premium and the joys of driving are more often than not outweighed by
its frustrations. Maybe you ought to take your bike out for a spin on
the 14th Street Bridge bike path some time — I find the thrilling
sight you describe so well is best experienced on two wheels.
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Brookland Heartbeat
July/August Issue Now Available
Abigail Padou, brooklandheartbeat@yahoo.com
The July/August issue of Brookland Heartbeat is now available.
The lead article is “District Scraps Plan for New Libraries in Ward 5.”
Previously, the District had planned to spend twenty million dollars to
build two new libraries to replace the aging facilities in Woodridge and
Lamond-Riggs. This plan was quietly eliminated in the 2010 budget. Other
articles and features include: “Ward 5 Democrats Choose Officers in
Election Called Chaotic and Irregular,” “Businesses Celebrate
Completion of 12th Street Storefront Program,” and “Hot and Smokin’
Jazz at Bobby’s Q.” Brookland Heartbeat is on the web at http://www.brooklandheartbeat.org.
To receive a copy electronically, send your E-mail address to brooklandheartbeat@yahoo.com.
Brookland Heartbeat is mailed to more than ten thousand homes in
the greater Brookland area. Brookland Heartbeat is a nonprofit,
all-volunteer community newspaper.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Mount Pleasant’s National Night Out, August
4
Marika Torok, marika_torok@msn.com
Mount Pleasant celebrates another year of National Night Out on
Tuesday, August 4, from 4:30-8:30 p.m. at Lamont Park. This is a big
night of celebration for all of Mount Pleasant, and one not to be
missed. Please join your neighbors in Lamont Park on Tuesday evening.
This is your opportunity to take a stand against crime in the
neighborhood, a chance to meet officers who patrol the neighborhood, a
chance to chat with your neighbors, and a chance for you and your family
to show you care about your community.
Free ice cream giveaway. Balloons, face-painting, and an open fire
hydrant for splashing and other fun stuff for kids. Bring your lawn
chair and come hang out with your neighbors and listen to some music.
Musical performances by Mount Pleasant’s own Kitty Hawk, MPD’s own
police band Side by Side, and DC Drum Core Afro-Cuban drumming and
dancing. We could still use a few volunteers for the event, or to pass
out word about the event. If anyone would like to help out, please
respond to marika_torok@msn.com.
This event is jointly sponsored by Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Alliance
(MPNA) and the Metropolitan Police Department MPD web site. Neighbor’s
Consejo will be doing outreach as well. National Night Out is celebrated
in cities and neighborhoods nationwide on the first Tuesday of August,
to raise awareness about the importance of public safety and crime
prevention.
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