<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Very well said. Thank you. <br><br><div dir="ltr"><div>John F <span style="font-size: 13pt;">Hirschmann </span></div><div>hirschj154@gmail.com</div>Sent from my iPad</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Oct 17, 2020, at 01:11, David Morris <figaromorris@gmail.com> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Mark, I think this reasoning is flawed. Even if we all agree that improved bike infrastructure is a good thing generally, it does not necessarily follow that it is a good thing in a particular case such as this intersection. And even if we agree that it is a good thing in this case, it does not necessarily follow that DDOT's plans are the right way to go about it.<div><br></div><div>This confusion of the general with the particular carries an inherent insensitivity to local conditions which I have noticed in a lot of bike advocacy. The people affected are expected to readjust their routines, make new arrangements, and deal with it. Their criticisms and concerns are discredited by appeals to the general goal of better bike infrastructure. But it is precisely these local effects that ANC commissioners and other local leaders are elected to hear and incorporate into their decision-making, even if people agree that improved bike infrastructure is generally good.</div><div><br></div><div>Many residents near this intersection have given direct and personal views on how these plans would affect their daily lives. These local and closely-felt effects are the proper focus of this debate. They need to be heard, and they should be the focus of DDOT's and elected leaders' review of this plan--not general notions of bike vs. car.</div><div><br></div><div>David</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Oct 16, 2020 at 10:42 PM Mark Jordan <<a href="mailto:mark@markjordan.me">mark@markjordan.me</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">At the risk of beating this dead horse further, I shall weigh in for the defense. Also copying other elected representatives included on other strings so they can add this to their deliberations.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">I hear at least three distinct lines of arguments: </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">(1) The proposal would reduce parking spaces; </div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><ul><li>Assuming no reduction in cars in the neighborhood, some people will have to park farther away.</li><li>For some people, lost parking spaces could make mobility / access issues more acute (i.e., grocery dropoffs, longer walks to a car);</li><li>A longer walk from one's car at night could lead to increased exposure to potential victimization.</li></ul></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">(2) The vertical plastic objects (by any name) are unsightly and don't last long; and</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">(3) The proposal will reduce property values (perhaps more severely at houses with pylons in front of them).<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div></blockquote><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">Here's how I think about these issues and how I would encourage the executive branch to think about them as they make their decision:</span></font><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></span></font></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">As a policy matter, the city needs more bike infrastructure. including bike lanes. I don't think any policymaker in DC will dispute this at this point.</span></font></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><ul><li><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">Bike lanes make bikers safer. </span></font></li><li>Inducing bike riding is better for the environment. California thanks<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> you.</span></li><li><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">Streets are for all travellers. However, the current allocation of public resources to cars specifically is, to put it gently, absurd (how do we get essentially unlimited parking for $35 per car per year?). Detroit thanks you. Or at least they used to.</span></font></li><li><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">Bikes are a more affordable mode of transportation than cars. Subsidizing bikes rather than cars is an equity issue.</span></font></li><li><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">Having bikes in their own lanes is generally preferable to car drivers too, who don't have to slow down for bikers in the road.</span><br></li></ul></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">I think the only question for DDOT is <i>where</i> do additional bike lanes go and who will absorb the associated costs, like lost parking. For my part, I'd like Kentucky Ave (all eight blocks) to be part of the solution and if my neighbors are stuck with more of the cost I'd like to figure out how we can all chip in to mitigate it. </span></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></span></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">To the specifics:</span></font></div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></span></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">(1) Parking</span></font></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><ul><li><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">As has been said before, none of us</span><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"> is entitled to parking spaces anywhere near our house. Do I prefer them? I do. But you are all free to use them.</span></font></li><li><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">There are, to be sure, circumstances in which individuals with mobility limitations need a space very near their homes. The city has accomodations for that. There is at least one reserved spot on our block already. </span></font></li><ul><li><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">If we need more restricted parking spaces on our block to accommodate those who need them, I'd be in favor of it. Yes, it would reduce parking even further, but that's what neighbors do for each other to make neighborhoods work. I'd be OK with walking farther for a good cause. I suspect there are many others on this block who would feel the same.</span></font></li></ul><li><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">As to the increased safety risks associated with longer walks for those displaced by lost parking spots, I would just say you have to look at the other side of the ledger. How many bikers on Capitol Hill - of all ages - are at greater risk <i>right now</i> because of insufficient bike infrastructure and having to share roads with cars? I'd venture that there would be a net gain in human safety with the bike lanes.</span></font></li></ul></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">(<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">2</span><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">) The plastic pylons</span></font></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><div><ul><li><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">Agreed, I don't love them. And if there's a way to reduce the number or use an alternative, that'd be great. But the aesthetic objection by itself I don't think outweigh the merits of the change overall.</span><br></li><li><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">I will say that I am reminded to some extent of the public discussions when Capitol Bikeshare was proposed for Lincoln Park. There was quite a bit of opposition for a range of reasons. Ultimately, when the station was installed, it seems to have been integrated seemlessly into the neighborhood and I think it's widely considered an asset.</span></li></ul></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><div><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">(<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">3) Property Values</span></font></div></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><div><div><ul><li><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">I actually think there's a good chance that if there's an impact on property values, having a street with bike lanes in both directions will increase values, particularly in a neighborhood as walkable / bikeable as ours. </span></font></li></ul></div></div></div></div></blockquote><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">I recognize e-mail is not a great medium for public debates. (Twitter is really much better :) ). But it's what we've got right now. Thanks, neighbors, for a civil and thoughtful debate.</span><br></font><div><font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></span></font></div><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">Hopefully see many of you at tomorrow night's toast at 5:30.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">All the best.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">Mark</div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Oct 16, 2020 at 9:09 PM Sharon Raimo <<a href="mailto:SRaimo@stcoletta.org" target="_blank">SRaimo@stcoletta.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
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John? This is so well said. And you , like many of us, have raised children on the Hill and walked them through crowded intersections . This is one of the trade offs for living in a city. We do not need to barricade ourselves.<br>
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<blockquote type="cite">On Oct 16, 2020, at 8:37 PM, John Hirschmann <<a href="mailto:hirschj154@gmail.com" target="_blank">hirschj154@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
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I have seen the messages you each sent to the LPDC earlier this evening on this general topic. </div>
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I think you have seriously missed the primary concern that is being raised. It has to do with the inability to longer to be able to park in front of your home, even stop a few minutes to carry packages into your home, and having in all likelihood to park further
from your home. But most importantly regardless of the design or the exact number of flex posts used, it will require the residents of these homes to incur greater risk of being harmed, particularly if they need to return to their home after dark. </div>
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Other messages today to LPDC have detailed the fact the vast majority of thes residents are elderly and many are widows. They don’t have people to make sure they have gotten from their car to their home safely. Have you asked yourselves whether the greater
risk your asking them to incur is somehow offset by the greater security or view others will gain. There are important tradeoffs to be seriously thought about. </div>
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Have you also thought how you would feel if the city announced it was taking away your parking space (assuming you don’t have off street parking) and the spaces for 4-5 homes to your right or left. </div>
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It just happens that almost all those most directly impacted have lived here many years. We’ve seen the neighborhood through many challenging years. You have residential parking program to thank. It was created to combat all the traffic at most hours of the
day that was created by many homes in the 1200 block of Massachusetts renting their rooms by the hour. There were also the homes mid block on the 100 block of 13th that the police visited frequently and referred to as the drug stores. </div>
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Many of us would like to live the last years of lives in our current homes. Being able to easily access either your vehicle or others providing you a ride becomes increasingly important. </div>
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<div>John F <span style="font-size:13pt">Hirschmann </span></div>
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