mount pleasant traffic study

the other night I went to a neighborhood meeting where the issue of traffic in mount pleasant was the topic of discussion
not just car traffic, but also issues of pedestrian and bicycle safety

I arrived late
had to work late
so if I wanted to attend I had to show up when I could
which was late
apparently I missed some chaos
but not much more

there were all sorts of very big ideas
BIG IDEAS!

it was an interesting collection of people from the neighborhood
everyone there concerned with how these things will effect them
lots of NIMBY approaches to the problem

most people not realizing that we could solve so many of the issues ourselves

if the residents of the neighborhood drove sensibly and gave those around them the basic respect that they deserve
well... that would be half the problem
then if the law did something to control the car chaos... well... that would take care of some of the remaining fifty percent

does mount pleasant main street need to be turned into a walking mall?
I love burlington and I love boulder!
but I do not see this working for mount pleasant main street
I see this as a perfect weekend closure for bethesda avenue in bethesda
could even see this working for strectches of georgetown on weekends as well
but I do not see it as a viable plan for mount pleasant

grand changes will bring us a new set of problems...
small changes and fixing the problems we know that should be the direction we move
main street could be cleaned up
start with the gypsy cabs out front the bodegas
then make sure there are no cars parked in the loading zone or the bus zones
removal of the double parkers is a no brainer
slow the speeding traffic
control the chaos of the erratic U-turn
get rid of the chaos

there was talk about taking various roads back to green space...
honestly... there is green space that is neglected and ignored
clean up the neglected green space!
if things were more pretty people would respect the area more
grass... trees... and trash pick up
trim the over growth
pull the weeds
what makes these people thing that we should put trees where there is road when there are trees that are being neglected as it is

then maybe some small changes...
bike lanes?
narrow the road?
widening the sidewalks?
something minor

there was talk of turning certain roads one way
and other one way roads into two way roads
these ideas should be visited
but before that we could get things started with the people who travel here everyday
have the parents doing drop off and pick up of the children at the various school to start to behave like they are driving by a school
it sounds simple enough
but then again
people who live on this street travel down the alley like the christmas tree just blinked green

this morning as I tried to exit the alley to the street
cars zoomed by
had the cars been going at a rational speed it would have been my turn to pull out of the alley on my bicycle
they were going too fast... I pulled out after the first car
the second car did not slow
they pulled up along side of me then tried to muscle me out at the stop sign
as I rolled alongside of the Mercedes with DC tags I spoke through the open window
I love you for who you are
it is beautiful how you speed in your own neighborhood
it is wonderful how you treat your neighbor on the bike
I love you for you you are
you are awesome