[Lincolnparkdc] Bike lanes and traffic calming - please look at the bigger picture

[Tim Dube]

Greg Billing, the head of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association
(WABA), sent out a plea for action this afternoon related to the tragic
death of a 4 year old child on Georgia Ave NW. He summarizes complaints
about city action like this:

*"It will take longer to drive places. It will be harder to find a parking
space. **That’s it. That’s why people keep dying on our streets. I don’t
think that’s a good enough reason."*

To save lives, we need cars to drive slower. AAA estimates that the average
risk of death in a pedestrian-vehicle collision at 10% at 23 mph, 25% at 32
mph, 50% at 42 mph, 75% at 50 mph, and 90% at 58 mph. I don't know how fast
the car on Georgia was traveling, but cars definitely drive 32+ up and down
Kentucky, 12th, and 13th despite the 20 mph speed limit. That's 2.5X the
risk of death with just a 9 mph difference. We can and should slow cars by
9 mph in residential neighborhoods. Save a life, it might be yours.
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