Submitted by mistersmiley318 t3_z7ynz5 in washingtondc
I can’t wrap my head around why they decided to leave pedestrians and cyclists in lanes with just paint to “protect” them. I get that it’s cheaper and faster to just paint new lines instead of actually changing the infrastructure, but the consensus from the public comments was very clear.
Obvious end result: One of the assholes who always drives 50 mph around Hains Point is going to come up behind a driver actually going the speed limit and decide to use the new unprotected “bike and pedestrian lane” to pass them, thereby maiming and/or murdering everyone who happens to be in their path.
The main issue that needed to be addressed is cars going 40+ MPH. I fail to see how this new "design" does anything to address that.
The problem was cars going 40+ in the same lane as runners. This goes a bit of the way towards addressing that. It’s not like NPS is willing to spend any money on basic amenities at their DC parks anyway, so I’ll take this.
They would actually need to do traffic enforcement, traffic calming measures can only do so much unfortunately
Making the bike lane protected would be a huge traffic calming measure.
Yup. A single lane barely enough for a car slows people greatly.
See Connecticut Avenue in Maryland prior to 495.
There’s a difference between traffic calming though and creating more traffic right?
I disagree with this. Traffic calming is supposed to make it impossible to drive at dangerous speeds. No one can do 50+ through a chicane or on cobblestones.
Listen, there are a subset of people who drive like shit. I drive a lot in this area and sure speed is a problem but people drive incredibly recklessly here.
In one year three times at the same light on a green someone goes against traffic through the opposite lane, with no plates, and almost hits me less than 1 block from my house when I lived in DC.
Whenever I take my average speed driving in the city, hand to god, it’s 15 miles an hour or less no matter how I drive because there is so much traffic. People here drive like dog shit and don’t care. They are angry to be stuck in traffic, they are angry about their life and they take it out on anyone they can on the road. They’re animals.
A chicane or cobblestone won’t stop those bad actors, they are on their own path to self destruction with or without some chicane or cobblestone. They just want someone to witness their shittiness
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The speed limit on that road is 15 MPH, no? I don't think throwing a bunch of speed bumps or rumble strips is going to be the solution.
If you have just one cop there on Ohio Drive and put up a hand full of radar speed signs it will actually improve driving behavior instead of spending millions of dollars year over year to build and maintain 3 miles of speed bumps, rumble strips. If you reshape the roads it would cost even more money and cause traffic disruptions in a wonderful park.
You don't have these problems in Virginia and they don't have the level of traffic calming measures that DC has. You have to create a respectful driving culture.
I think the awful persistent driving climate in DC proves current government efforts are not working.
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You are wrong. How are you going to tell me that coming from the state that literally has a state sponsored car insurance fund enabling bad drivers that private insurers find un-insurable? Your state is probably biggest problem in the metropolitan area. Maryland overwhelming makes up most of the tickets and accidents in DC. If you're going to ignore observable reality, why don't you google actual statistics VA vs MD or crash/ticket data in DC.
The signage is there, the enforcement of the speed is not. The logic of speed bumps solving all problems just doesn't make sense. Why not put speed bumps on every road in DC then? The speed limits are 15-20MPH in the majority of places. If your going to put it on Ohio Dr then put it everywhere. The logic doesn't follow and it's a dumb waste of tax payer dollars.
Use the enforcement resources available.
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