In the past three years Arlington has put the county on a "road diet": narrowed streets, blocked off merge lanes, and sprinkled crosswalks, speed bumps, mini-traffic circles, and corner "nubs" here and there. It is clear from county and neighborhood association documents that the ultimate goal of this campaign is to have more and more people opt to take buses or ride bikes. I'm wondering what car drivers, pedestrians, mass transit users, and bikers think about our changing roads. Good, bad, mixed?

Stop signs would be cheaper and less wear and tear on my car than the speed bumps. The traffic circles and medians are also very expensive. What I don't get is the raised sidewalks that are no longer raised because they finally decided to resurface the street. What a waste of money. Anyway, annoyance will probably not force people to use their cars less.

Having been a resident of Arlingto County for my life of 56 years and seen all the change that has occured, I think that the county has done a pretty good job of planning with regard to the increase in population. From what I understand, Arlington is the most populated county of it's size in the country. Other than my own selfish feeling that there are way too many people in this county now, the county obviously has to do something to control traffic speed in order to avoid accidents. Fortunately or unfortunately speed bumps, circles and stop signs seem to be the only viable means of speed control because of most drivers tendency to speed.

I actually like the traffic circles. I wasn't aware they were intended to slow down traffic... I thought it was just a more efficient way of handling traffic in an intersection. I say build more of them.

But annoying people into driving less doesn't work - it just results in increased levels of frustration. People will still need to get to work, and will continue to choose the most efficient way to do so. Everyone I know would commute by public transportation if it was remotely comparable in time to driving. Public transportation was not designed for people who live in one suburb and commute to another.

The traffic has been calmed - as in speed. But the drivers are even more aggressive - as in pissed off. Not so good for someone who commutes to work on his bike.

I've started a little project on this issue. A group of area cyclists now have helmet- or bike-mounted cameras which are used to document the "most walkable city in America". We're thinking about starting a website (YouTube at first) for pedestrians and cyclists to showcase aggressive driving in Arlington. Public humiliation might be more effective than speed tables.

If you are a driver who thinks bicycles have less right to the road than automobiles, educate yourself and be mindful of your actions.

Link: These Cities Were Made for Walking - http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/PED_BIKE/ped/pedforum/pedforum_spring05.htm

ArlingtonCyclist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The traffic has been calmed - as in speed. But the
> drivers are even more aggressive - as in pissed
> off. Not so good for someone who commutes to work
> on his bike.
>
> I've started a little project on this issue. A
> group of area cyclists now have helmet- or
> bike-mounted cameras which are used to document
> the "most walkable city in America". We're
> thinking about starting a website (YouTube at
> first) for pedestrians and cyclists to showcase
> aggressive driving in Arlington. Public
> humiliation might be more effective than speed
> tables.
>
> If you are a driver who thinks bicycles have less
> right to the road than automobiles, educate
> yourself and be mindful of your actions.
>
> Link: These Cities Were Made for Walking -
> http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/PED_BIKE/ped/pedforum/p
> edforum_spring05.htm


Where can I see these videos? I bike in arlington as well.