Gordon Chaffin is a freelance journalist who focuses on infrastructure and traffic news and insights for Street Justice. You can support independent journalism by subscribing to Gordon’s newsletter. He’s offering a 20% discount to THIH readers. –Maria Helena Carey
Decisions are Made by Those Who Show Up: The History and Future of Shaw’s Bike Lane Fight
DC Councilmember Brianne Nadeau retracted her Shaw bike/walk safety legislation Tuesday afternoon after it became clear the measure would receive a 6 to 6 vote — two votes short of the necessary supermajority.
Councilmembers Brandon Todd (Ward 4), Bonds (At-Large), McDuffie (Ward 5), Gray (Ward 7), and Chair Mendelson (At-Large) each expressed support for safer street infrastructure. But, each said they would vote NAY because of strong objections from a critical community stakeholder and powerful influence in each of their election victories: Baptist churches with mostly Black congregations.
Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White did not speak on the matter. He was presumed by all to be the sixth NAY vote and continued listening to whatever played from an iPhone earbud in his right ear during most of yesterday’s legislative meeting. CM White regularly intervenes in public and private to stop bike safety projects even in places where there are no negative parking trade-offs with strong positive safety benefits for all travel modes. His staff told DDOT staff last year in a meeting to kill a Ward 8 project that bike lanes “are social engineering.”
Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1), Robert White (At-Large), Allen (Ward 6), Cheh (Ward 3), Grosso (At-Large), and Silverman (At-Large) spoke about their support for the measure. Each acknowledged the significant abdication of Mayor Bowser (“the Executive”) and her DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) to lead the project forward from Winter 2017. Bowser’s staff hid the project in a drawer and DDOT hasn’t answered a straight question about it since; not even to Councilmembers. The black Baptist churches, their Councilmember allies, the Mayor, and this project as a symbolic brawl is worth explaining in full. Here’s a recap.
[Read the Full Story for Free]
Arlington County Planning to Expand Red Light Camera Network
During last Monday’s Arlington County Bike Advisory meeting, ACPD Captain Darrin Cassedy discussed his department’s proposed expansion of the County’s photo-based red-light enforcement program. Currently, ACPD operates 12 red light cameras at 9 intersections in a program called PhotoRED.
Arlington County Police does not take in the revenue generated by PhotoRED fines; those proceeds go into the County’s General Fund, less the monthly fee given to the private-sector contractor which operates the cameras. Arlington PhotoRED is limited by Virginia law’s a population rule: 1 intersection per 10,000 residents. The County had a population of 238K in 2018, so the upper limit of expansion is 23 intersections from today’s 9.
$100 Per Month for Free Transit in DC?
Monday morning, DC Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) will hold a press conference to announce Council legislation to make transit free. Specifically, as first reported by Justin George of the Washington Post, the bill would generate subsidies to DC residents “in the form of $100 in monthly SmarTrip card credits.” George’s article, featuring an interview with CM Allen, says the subsidy would cost DC “$54 million to $151 million a year, depending on factors that include usage and negotiated discounts.”
DC doesn’t provide high-ridership transit directly; it only runs the limited Circulator routes, the Streetcar, and a very small microtransit service. The structure of the benefit is a tip to the politics here: DC proper would gladly pay more into WMATA for greater service (and to stem tide of current, proposed bus route cuts) but MD and VA won’t raise the 3% cost growth cap. So, DC Council *has to* structure the benefit in a way that Annapolis and Richmond can’t cut.
Elon Musk is a Farce?!?
Last week, I spoke with Ben Head and Kyle Rutten on their “Unearned Confidence” podcast. I met them at the Fully Charged Live USA conference in Austin. They’re both accomplished entrepreneurs and information omnivores living in Colorado who thought my reporting and Street Justice deserved highlighting.
The conversation was fun, the slot was an honor, and this is another reason to thank all who subscribe and donate to Street Justice.
During our conversation, I called Elon Musk’s underground transportation company a farce, I explained how politicians are cowards about shared, electric scooters, and how advanced safety features in cars will require driving as an activity to become much more similar to piloting an aircraft.
Watch the video version on YouTube. The audio version available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, PocketCasts, and all your other podcast platforms. Please listen and subscribe! The show is on Twitter and Instagram as well.