Akubi is right. Too much bottom dwelling. I know the connection isn't there yet but every time I do this a few come into the light. Thus the no housing bubble/no Casey/No Nigel post this evening is; Radiant cities for the new urban dweller. Hey, every time social engineers try it fails. Let's not stop now.
The cities will be part of the country; I shall live 30 miles from my office in one direction, under a pine tree; my secretary will live 30 miles away from it too, in the other direction, under another pine tree. We shall both have our own car. We shall use up tires, wear out road surfaces and gears, consume oil and gasoline. All of which will necessitate a great deal of work
... enough for all.
- Le Corbusier, The Radiant City (1967)
Rather than the strict regime of LeCou let's look to my theories of organic nodaltopias. Both are interconnected via many access paths instead of one or two. Sidewalks abound, and thoroughfares facilitate movement of auto traffic yet do not discourage pedestrian movement.
That in mind; Sidewalks are evil. They consume vast amounts of land, they isolate properties, they encourage faster traffic, they infringe on the quiet enjoyment of private property even as they take private property. I am of course refering to exurban sidewalks. Urban sidewalks are part of public spaces and not inefficient transportation corridors "enhancements."
Regards,
Robert
And remember this is a test. there are three threads below for other topics. If you can't keep it topical on a blog how can I trust you all in a thread tomorrow?
57 comments:
1st?
or should I have said le premier ;-)
Mais oui!
4th!!!
I still hate my commute.
Do you REALLY expect this bunch of loosers to keep on topic? The cummulative attention span is 10 minutes?
Everything one needs to learn or un-learn about urban planning can be found in the behavior patterns of a certain Haussmann http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Haussmann.
P.S. I'm an undercover post-Situationist workin for the gov.
Jade, come on over to the radiant side. Here's yours and Akubi's thread of soaring intellect.
Sprez, don't hate you commute. Hate your planners who thwart your commute and embrace all that a commute provides in exchange.
Fifth! Or seventh, by now.
At any rate, I know little about new urbanism, except that I disagree with how it has played out in the city I work. I despise high density and although I can understand the live-work-play idea, I also think that its important to keep your horizons broad.
Oh, and I like my space. The housing market here is insane. By crossing a bridge to a more rural community, I got an additional 1000+ sqft.
The sidewalks here are huge - at least twice as wide as they are at the core. The roads are twice as wide as they are at the core. And there's a sense of community here; I go to the core for work, and there's only a sense of isolation. I blame high density for that: everyone lives in their little 300-900 sqft apartments, isolated from each other. Or if they do see each other, its a short walk down the hallway - so what use are sidewalks?
I do understand the need for urban planning and all the crap that goes with congestion, but for those of us who live in the other 99% of the country....we don't give a rat's ass. Not that it's not important, it's just not important to US.
Thus spoke Akubi: Tangential thinking is generally the best form or 177987 normal form of thinking. Sticking on the same lame-ass topic gets old.
Where's Jade?
Aku,
Hausmann was important in accomodating transport into the urban fabric but he was obsessed with top down and that was his undoing as individual rights emerged.
[I love this blog. So many smarts, so little need for ego stroking. It's almost as if i were designing it myself.]
We have exurbs because in the late 40s and 50s the government looked at what had happened to densely packed cities in germany during WWII and decided that it would be a good idea if everything wasn't all bunched up.
So they encouraged that type of growth pattern.
Now we have it, we are sort of stuck with it. Not to mention that most people - ivory tower academics who spend their summers at a lake house in vermont notwithstanding - prefer it.
Rob Dawg,
Haussmann-ization created horrid cities of lost history like L.A.
Sidewalks do not make sense in rural areas...they do require more maintenance than one might think. Also that is what a serviceable pair of boots are for...that or a horse.
I'm really tired of these Anons who can't create a temporary name. Anyway, the process most obviously started in the 19th century (if not sooner, but I do think there was a significant cultural/political/industrial change in western society mid-19th century).
The best world is one not _requiring_ sidewalks. Where I am these days, I not only have disappearing sidewalks, but there aren't any crosswalks and I regularly risk getting run over on the way to catch the bus to work. Currently living in a horrid suburban area that annoys the hell out of me.
I'm actually borderline obsessed with this idea of Smart Decline. Very few of the older industrial cities that have experienced exodus for decades are now coming to grips with their reduced populations.
Rather than kidding themselves that rebuilding downtown cores and mixed-used lofts will bring people back, they're basically letting huge swaths of the city return to its original swamplands and fields.
I yam what I yam, and what I yam is a city girl.
I tolerate this suburb I live in, and car culture in general, but I can't wait until I can get back to city living.
Forum.
EOT.
I love my commute. 2 minutes of twisty mountain road, 8 minutes of country roads, 10 minutes of freeway, and I'm in the heart of Silicon Valley. Of course I had to trade one form of funny money (stock options) for another (Bay Area real estate) but I'm so much happier here than in the suburbs.
Well, I dropped out of grad school so I'm definitely not an academic. Anyway, thinking about the Situationists brings back many fond memories:
The history of our times calls to mind those Walt Disney characters who rush madly over the edge of a cliff without seeing it, so that the power of their imagination keeps them suspended in mid-air; but as soon as they look down and see where they are, they fall.
http://library.nothingness.org/articles/SI/en/display/35
Of course things changed in the mid 19th century.
It was called the civil war.
Anyone seen Nigel's newest post blasting Rob Dawg? Check it out!!
Game on!
I jumped on that grenade and surveyed DHC for the Nigey's lastest post against Rob. Trust me, not worth the thirty seconds to read the thing. But here it is for the hopelessly curious or bored:
You may have noticed a number of deleted posts in the last thread as well as a comment outage earlier today. Now comments are being moderated.
What or who caused this drastic policy change? Rob Dawg, the ignominious leader at EN. You see, he started threatening me on this blog, so I deleted his comment. No need for that here.
Flustered by this rejection, he utilized the best counter attack he could muster - copying the entire page and submitting it as a comment...multiple times. My how grown up Mr. Dawg. That sounds like something a frustrated and angry nine-year old might do.
Then he sent this comment threatening more cut and paste attacks:
Consider that happening 42 times for the 42 posts that were disrespected by having the conversation disrupted for personal reasons that hjave (sic) nothing to do with decorum or any other stated reason.
It kind of reminds me of the time he came over to my real estate blog and started spouting off about things he knows nothing about, further worsening his position. The way that broke down is worth the read.
I just wanted to clarify to you dear readers as his version of the story at EN is about as fair and balanced as a Bill O'Reilly episode.
So as you comment and have to go through moderation and enter anti-spam words, the person you need to thank is Rob Dawg. Thanks Rob!
PS - Has anybody else noticed his unnatural attraction to me? He made three top level posts about me today. I'm not sure whether to be flattered (sorry Rob, I don't swing that way) or scared. Can anyone say cyberstalker? Gee whiz! Give it up Rob, I'm not available!
I will say that Cornflake is right in one respect: Rob (and a few others at EN) spend way too much time and effort on this guy. Who the fuck gives a rat's ass about this wannabe loser? Let the guy have his little blog and circle-jerk with his fellow bloggers.
Continued attention to Nigel only encourages the masterbaiter. Kindly, STOP FEEDING THE FUCKING TROLL!!!
-wal526
And there I go and misspell my own name.
And no, Cornflake. The "t" on my keyboard is not malfunctioning because I jizzed all over my laptop while reading your worthless blog. Don't flatter yourself.
-walT526
Eveyone with a mind knows that an efficient city grows up..skyscrapers..rather than out to the suburbs.
Then again, this is the exurban nation. What ever that means
Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a Nigel-free area.
Although mine is supposedly quite energy efficient, I’m feeling guilty about finally buying an air conditioner that arrived today, but there are a lot of "sweet" features. Last summer was hell so I guess it’s just survival at this point.
New ideas for haterz sites: Boring BF’s who constantly watch the various cooking channels and force you to do so as well while their half-baked dish is acquiring salmonella somewhere in the upside down kitchen.
I'ved got enough on my plate right now, Nigel isn't worth it for me. if he wants to whack off in cyberspace, so be it..
My dream is to own a copy of Villa Savoye somewhere out in the middle of the forest. My own little retreat, a place to hang out with the Goomah, sip a few gimlets, do a little target practice for the Steel Challenge, just relax. No phone, no computer...Of course, I'll make damn sure the roof doesn't leak on mine. Also, for some masochistic reason, I really want an Eichler. Bad.......really bad.....I know, I know..all spaced out and mod, hehe...with the SOTA Super Saphire turntable and some Miles Davis..
This high density shit sucks ass. Have you ever tried to sell a zero lot line house to a young couple just getting started with kids of their own? Fuck that! I want a big ass backyard, room for trees, a slip-n-slide, maybe some horseshoes, big BBQ, and a place to park my boat. That high density shit is for queers (not that there is anything wrong with that so long as they are both hot lipstick lesbos who leave the blinds open every now and then:) Give me big detached garages, big sidewalks with big trees. WTF is it with all these developments? No fucking trees anywhere! Jack assed City Planners who can't plan a lunch break!
I'm outta here for a few days. Headed to Cali to take care of family issues, meet up with the Goomah, do some sailing and some shooting, go fishing with my pops and drinking with my brother. I'll check in once in a while. Sorry Steph J, I can't make it to PDX intil May 8th now:(
I build with a partner houses in the country towns of Western Australia. Most of our buyers are escapees from the urban sprawl of Perth - either for price or life style reasons.
tony,
the king is in PHX right now. scotsdale is okay, but everywhere else ... yikes. be ready to lock and load.
PHX reminds me of fresno ... a rough white-trash town. Or as I call it: Really West Virginia. Few towns where the white folks are the scariest. Say what you want about LA-LA land, but at least in Cali the white people hit the gym and toss in a salad.
I'm white and ashamed of this pile of rude, ignorant, tattooed red-neck white trash occupying this god-foresaken desert. why oh why did he future queen sarah get a job here I don't know. almost enough to make me dump her, take back the ring, hop in my car, and split.
New Fluff post from Snowflake.
Holy shit, just gave Caey's new post the full read. He's obviously feeling much hate as this post directs a lot of commentary firectly to us. At least he's realized through this experience that there is no turning back.
"To the “haters”:
* You say I need to get a W-2 job? But according to Nacho if I actually start making solid income from my business(es) the perception will change. Will it really? Or are you still gonna hate?
Why don't you get a goddamned job and find out? Why ask the question? If you're really concerned, just get a job! You could obviously use the income, and your refusal to do so caused your last business deal to fall through. So do the math Casey, you really have everything to gain at this point by getting a "w-2". We haterz are disgusted by your laziness. Prove that you're not. If you can actually make your business fly - God bless. But you gotta do it while holding down another job. It's called busting your ass 24/7. Try it.
* Some of you say I should file bankruptcy? Others of you say I need to pay back every dirty penny like I intended? Which one is it? Or are you still gonna hate?
Casey, you're obviously not going to pay back every dirty penny at this point. Ideally, you work hard enough to be able to take on the debt load. But that is out of your reach now. No single sweet deal is going to bail you out. Corporate credit? Come on! The only way out is BK and you know it! There is very little belief among those living in the real world that you have any hope of paying back every dirty penny. If you got some miracle inheritance, I would expect you to pay back EVERY SINGLE PENNY.
* What if I turn this blog into a foreclosure help site and create true value while making a living out of it? Are you still gonna tell me I need to get a W-2 job and throw away the position I have developed? Or are you still gonna hate?
If you can earn a good and solid living without getting yourself into further debt and actually begin to pay down your loans or discharge your debts, why would anyone expect you to hold a w-2? You would be a success at that point (smirk).
* If I become a raging success through this “failure”… Are you still gonna hate? (or be jealous?)
Raging success? Try becoming even a tiny success first! Try not being a total failure for once! Stop putting the cart before the horse. Prove everyone wrong about yourself and you're bound to have some people that are jealous of you. But you'll have more people that are happy for you. The world is never going to like you Casey. There will always be people who don't like you. Become a raging success for YOURSELF, not for anyone else, least of all the people who supposedly hate you! Anyone who begrudges me being a success can take a long walk off a short pier! I thought you had a thicker skin than that.
There is no pleasing you. You think everything I do is a scam. You’re quick to judge and you don’t know even the half of it!
Because everything that you've done to date is a scam. From the mortgage fraud and cash back schemes, to the corporate credit thing, living off other people's money while you do apparently nothing day in day out. You talk about transparency and yet you are as transparent as a block of steel. You lie, you steal and you spin. You accuse us of making assumptions and yet just about everything that has ever been assumed about you has proved true. So you figure out why people think you're a scammy SOB.
Have you been in my shoes? Are you a business owner, or investor or entrepreneur? What qualifies you to give me advice? Why should I listen to your negativity?
This is the line of thinking you used to shut down T. Nobody has been in your shoes because we're either too honest or too intelligent. Nobody has reached the depths of idiocy that you have, and don't use that as an argument in youre defense. It doesn't fly. You have had dozens of qualified business owners/investors/entrepreneurs give you the same advice time and again. Your problem is you don't listen. All you do is say "good things are coming, how do you know what I have in the works, have you been in my shoes? No? Then you're unqualified." Fuck you man.
Yes, perhaps I have not been very good about explaining things or I have given you partial information. I need to get better at that. But still, why do you have to jump to conclusions? Don’t you see that I’m naked here and trying to make something out of my situation…
See above. You're not naked by the way. PArtial information...More like stonewalling and lying.
What do I have to do to get support around here?
Why do you continue to ask when the answer is right before your eyes. Get a job, lose the debt. And FOR THE LAST TIME, if you don't like all the negativity, KILL THE BLOG.
Don't forget the flagrant troll-baiting.
Oh, and Tony has good taste in turntables.
Somewhat OT, but here is confirmation regarding GMAC's subprime mortgage exposure:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03052007/business/gmacs_subprime_stake_may_hurt_cerberus_business_roddy_boyd.htm
I know, everyone has long forgotten this.
Murses Forever!
Now on to our scheduled topic. Here is a traffic pattern I see everyday. Creep creep creep along a two lane road in the suburbs. There is a road entering the two lane from the right and a stoplight just past there. So when traffic is stopped due to the light being red, folks in the creeping line let someone in from the right. Cars begin to move when that light ahead changes but the good samaritans continue to stop and let those folks in from the right instead of moving to improve the traffic flow or the folks to the right poke their noses into the flow so others have to stop. So what you end up with is a line of cars on the 2 lane road that stretches a quarter mile while the road to the right backs up maybe 5 cars. Those folks on the right seem to think that when they arrive at their stop sign, they are entitled to enter the traffic flow as if it was a 4 way stop and that they should get to barge in to the detriment of all others instead of waiting. Typical ME ME ME attitude that people exhibit when encased in their protective SUV's.
I just felt like ranting about something other than Snowflake and the Swab. Carry on.
He's still trying the idiotic 'ask questions to engage your readers and drive up comments' shit.
Agree with above - why do we think everything is a scam? Because, to date, in ten years, you have yet to do anything, ANYTHING, that isn't a scam, Casey. From the very first MLM through the lying, through the promised 24% return letters to this corporate credit SCAM, that's all you do.
i put my own two cents in with casey. his posts are something to savor, rare enough to be events, where I poetically ram through my own criticisms in a ritual akin to a tribal dance, eight months in gestation, all the same stuff he simply refuses to accept. yes kid, if you pay your own bills, you wouldn't be such a hoot to me. it's awaiting his moderation now, another holy sacrifice to the god of con arts.
nigel's dhc blog lost my interest before, just before he started the outings. his new moderated forum holds no allure for me. his saying outrageous, stupid things isn't enough if i know my comment never leaves "moderation". alas, this new phase will last about another 24 hours, because he needs us, specifically us, to play the games, games where he thinks he wins. if we don't play, he can't win. meanwhile, new casey.
you bet this story is past its sell-by date. yet these boys work hard to milk it still. internet, how i love your dancing monkeys.
@casey is clueless
Okay I read the diatribe...it's revealing but not in the way the rip-n-burntard thinks
In essence Snowflake is not only interested in television, he's interested in being a Web 2.0 celebrity. He's so overly interested in this celebrity that he has let multiple houses go to foreclosure, he's screwed up his (and his wife's) financial future, and he's pretty much shamed his family and friends. If this isn't the definition of a celebutard, I don't know what is.
Celebrity or celebutard...it all surely won't last
Casey is hovering somewhere at 14:30 of his 15 minutes of Warholian fame. When whatever is going to happen to the last house happens, he's really out of material with which to amuse the masses (and gratify his ego). Oh sure he can talk about new corporate ventures that allow him to take on ever more debt or whatever, but frankly it's becoming rather boring...his sitemeter stats surely prove that.
As much as I don't like them, at least Kiyosaki and Orman and the other 'gurus' spend some time and effort coming up with fodder for mass consumption. They realize that this is a never ending process as their audiences (however broad or narrow they may be) and that they have to take to heart what the desires of their audiences are if they want to keep them.
Casey not only is unwilling to do anything to 'save' himself as regards the houses, his credit rating, and his relations with his wife and family, he pretty much ignores his audience. It matters not whether they are intelligent and give good advice (as many of the people who hang out here are) or whether they are 'gurus' or have the kind of public persona Casey so desperately craves, they all have the equality of opportunity in being blown off by Casey.
So in a last ditch attempt to save his (in)famous persona and any future media appearances, Snowflake is busy asking tough questions of his audience many of whom are haters or realists (and relatively few of whom are fans or people with foreclosure problems). By now almost everyone realizes that whether he's a criminal or a dupe (or both...they're not necessarily mutually exclusive), it is pointless to respond at his site to the provocation. Snowflake is going to ignore whatever is said. So I for one am going to rely on the ever diminishing willingness of others to repost what he says here and to leave comments at IAFF.
Like a mouse looking for cheese in an empty hole, eventually you just have to give up and go elsewhere. Hence all my discussion will be confined to this site...where the real rewards are. If the law of diminishing returns is indeed in effect, I expect ever more posters to end up here and for IAFF to fade into the digital mist.
Oh and should Casey be reading this: It's really a simple proposition...alienate the audience and the celebrity/celebutard goes away.
I'm all for sidewalks, urban areas or suburban areas alike (rural areas should have trails or a minimum of traffic, so not really necessary.) I like going for walks, sidewalks are good for that. Nothing worse than trying to enjoy a nice quiet walk and then getting nearly run down by an SUV (SO five years ago, get current please) because there isn't a sidewalk and the roads are too narrow.
@7:50 p.m. Anon: You might be surprised at how quickly your part of the "99% of the country" starts looking like the "1%". Many, many small communities have woken up one morning to wonder where all the houses and traffic have come from. While I don't think big cities have all the solutions, I'm getting tired of former small towns (face it: you're no longer a small town, you're a generic suburb) who constantly complain about traffic and the loss of lifestyle, as if it's someone else's fault that they sold their land to developers who, not surprisingly, proceeded to develop it into Generic Suburban Development #174,573.
Another quick comment on the subject at hand: I don't follow any particular urban philosophy. In my observation, focused city planning with a very defined scope has in some cases been successful (e.g., I rather like the Mall and the Federal Triangle in D.C.) On the other hand, I'm not aware of any major, ambitious programs that have been anything but failures, some of them spectacular. Southwest D.C. is one such example--a major urban renewal effort from the 50's and 60's, it's only now just barely recovering from its "renewal", which only succeeded in making it one of the most bleak neighborhoods in all of D.C. The best parts of the neighborhood are the ones that the city planners didn't get around to changing. It goes without saying that I strongly prefer neighborhoods that have not been subject to similarly "enlightened" efforts, such as Georgetown and Capitol Hill.
Love cities and love the suburbs. Each serve their purpose. Sometimes I wish we didn't have all the growth we do have, but then, where would all the people go?
R-dawg, you've got to get another quick KC post up as his latest post on his site leaves much to be harpooned.
I never saw neighborhoods without sidewalks until I moved to the East Coast (former urban Midwesterner here). Now folks are complaining about the lack of sidewalks because their children cannot walk to school (or anywhere else in their neighborhood, for that matter).
And the cookie-cutter mentality is ridiculous. About ten years ago one of those gross two-car garage townhome developments I like to call Insta-Community(TM) sprang up near a subway station...and across from an asphalt factory. We took a look at these places and were directed to a 16-foot townhouse, all stairs and boasting a stunning view of the neighbor's deck (all of about 5 feet away) and the lovely belching smokestacks of the factory. The 5 flights of stairs were enough for us to say, "hell no," to this narrow, prefab POS. They were going for $265,000 back then. We asked the salesperson about the smoke from the factory and of course he said it was no big deal because the factory operated during the daylight hours only (so I guess toxicity dissapates in sunlight). He also told us, "You should move on this now! All the young singles are buying these, why rent, etc..." We kept renting for a couple of years until we found a lovely brick townhome in a neighborhood surrounded with trees and sidewalks.
Anyway, fast-forward to 2007, and lo and behold, the asphalt factory has successfully petitioned the city to operate 24/7--that's right, stinky smoke all day and all night. Turns out the residents are afraid that the smoke is harmful, and many of them can't move because 1) the houses are now overpriced and 2)the population is aging, and who wants to buy a home with umpty ump flights of stairs, and 3)no one is buying, because who wants to live next to an asphalt factory?
Amazing.
All I can say is, thank God for my park & ride. I'm sure I'd be in jail for road-rage if it wasn't for my ability to nap/read/zone out through my ride to work.
5 minutes from home to park
30 to 40 minutes from park to work.
I'm a city boy living the suburban lie for now. Just trying to convince my wife to make the move closer to the 'hood.
I'm lucky in that I have a house that backs up to a large patch of undeveloped parkland(really can't be developed b/c its a flood plain). My commute is 15 minutes by bike or 20 minutes by car. I ride 98% of the time and normally take the long way(15 miles or about a 50 minute ride) to add mileage to my legs. My office is in oldtown(r-boy and a few others know where that is). Actually my office is probably only about a mile or so from where R-boy lives. He too has a nice commute. Can ride the metro as I think the Braddock metro station is within walking distance of his place. I would't trade my location for anything...unless I could telecommute from say the Rockies but that won't happen
I think sidewalks in this area are great. Lots of folks here walk to work or to the metro. If you saw this place during rush hour at night you would see why its best to walk, ride or use metro for your commute.
PS. Also glad to have a topic not related to IFF or swarmy.
From Akubi:
"Where I am these days, I not only have disappearing sidewalks, but there aren't any crosswalks and I regularly risk getting run over"
Out in the far DC 'burbs where I live, there are a (very) few crosswalks, mostly by schools or businesses. But few drivers pay attention to them, and we might as well have no crosswalks at all, since they only fool pedestrains into a death trap.
Last week I stopped for a pedestrian -- actually stopped, thanks to my European driver training, I guess. Nobody in the opposing lane stopped or even seemed to slow down, and the lady finally walked across once everyone had blown by, and she gave me a smile and a sheepish wave. Seems that crosswalks here are indeed more of a suggestion than a rule to follow.
What we need might be some enforcement like I once saw in Montgomery County, Maryland. They had cops in orange vests walk out into the crosswalk. And STILL people did not stop -- and would get a big fat $500 ticket. If they won't stop for a 6-foot cop in an orange vest, what chance has a kid got?
Sounds like a bad job, though. "OK, Roscoe, you were the slacker last week on your ticket quota, so you get to wear the orange vest today and go out in traffic while we stop the cars that don't stop for you."
OK, that's my rant. It's just a sore topic lately with me because a few weeks ago a friend's kid (not here, another city) got run down in a crosswalk. Sucks.
yeah, the Del Rey area is very nice.
I'm glad we have the trails and sidewalks in our area. Traffic and drivers just don't make it safe, and it does encourage or help with a low-car diet.
On Route 1 (i think Aaron must work close to there), from like 4-7 its a 4 lane parking lot of folks trying to get onto the highway. its not hard for a pedestrian to go faster than them. In the mornings its a 15 minute shot right into work. Woohoo.
r-boy,
My office right on duke street 1 block from the new whole foods(toward the river). Duke street gets to be a parking lot any time the bridge is backed up which of course is most of the time. we have a few folks that live in maryland. There commutes can range from 30 minutes on a good day to 2 hours plus on bad days. I'm with game over. If I had that kind of commute I would already be dead. It's not worth living way out and commuting just because you can get a bigger house or pay less. the cost of commuting will quickly eat in to that cost savings over the life that you own that house as gas prices, etc go up.
We have a sidewalk on one side. So lo and behold what do I see when I drive into the neighborhood the other day? A self-absorbed it's all about me twit of a mom pushing her stroller IN THE STREET!
And people wonder why folks go postal?
I used to live in Silver Spring, perhaps the most unhip place in the entire DC Metro area.
But I lived and worked right next door to Metro stations. It fucking rocked! No parking, no traffic, relatively cheap.
My redneck relatives couldn't understand how I could not drive my own domestically produced full-sized sedan or SUV to work each day. I thought they were crazy.
And I like to drive, but sitting in DC traffic waiting for a light to change is not my idea of driving.
The crosswalk situation in D.C. is completely out of control. Chances of a driver stopping for you are 5%, if that. I'm not sure why anyone panhandles when you can just step onto a crosswalk, get hit by a car, and settle with the insurance company with enough to get by for quite some time.
I found the comment on undevelopable flood plains to be amusing--I'd be very interested to know if there are any zoning boards left in the U.S. that would actually prevent a developer from building in a flood plain. That also goes for high wildfire risk, hurricane risk, etc. I think if you went to the Mount St. Helens zoning board and asked for permission for a mountain-side development, their primary concern would be what you would do to alleviate crowding on the local access road. I think the only risk that zoning boards consider is the potential for a real estate bust that would end the contributions they get from the developers.
Edit: Actually, I do know why no one steps into traffic to get hit by a car to get the big insurance settlement. Because there's a change that that car will have diplomatic plates. Diplomatic plates: keep your distance. Talk about a license to kill.
I see cars all the time not stop at crosswalks for pedestrians. I myself am in somewhat of a limbo state. If i stop on my bike i risk being creamed from behind. I usally slow down and get the pedestrians attention. It may be rude of me not to stop(i will if there are no cars near me) but i value my life. I've been hit 3 times by cars one of those times was a doozy of a hit at 35 mph while i was stopped waiting to turn into my neigborhood. Threw me a good 30 feet before hitting the pavement and scrambling to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. I was lucky. all it did was pop my jaw out, give me a major welt and bruising across my back and destroyed my bike. cops, 2 ambulances and firetrucks come. I refused to go to the hospital(yeah i know stupid but i had just come from visiting my mom in the hospital and didn't want her freaking out if she saw me being carried in). I got a new bike and 3 grand in cash out of that. Could have got alot more if i was some shyster looking to screw over the other guy's insurance. Oh and the cops didn't even write him a ticket!
I live in Southwest PA. Round here we don't get taxed less for living in the city. In fact, city dwellers pay a lot more. If you work in the city you get taxed for the privilege. On top of paying a higher sales tax. The roads are still crappy. The bridges still occasionally drop concrete onto motorists below their spans. You still have to deal with bums and kids who think it's their God-given right to hold conversations in the middle of the crosswalk and Heaven help you if you blow your horn at them. You get to pay ludicrous amounts for parking. Thanks to piss poor planning and traffic snarls the commute still requires an hour to move 35 miles even though over half of it is spent on a highway or toll road. Want to use public transport? Fine. But they're cutting routes and raising rates! City leadership wonders why their population is falling.
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