Tim's right. A 2011 study in Ohio indicated homes situated
within 1,000 feet of a bike path are worth nearly $9,000 more than
those more distant. I love Robbie's "horrible results that never
materialize" list.
At 04:25 PM 3/21/2013, tim wong wrote:
and add this one to Robbie's list:
If that bike path is built, crime rates will soar and property
values near the path will plummet. Actual result: any house for
sale within a half mile of the bike path advertises the bike path as
one of the main selling points. Crime rates of course did not soar
and if property values declined, it wasn't due to the bike path.
Thanks for the note, Bill, about John Roussos' phenomenal
ignorance. I will patronize his business no more. He should
consider moving to a strip mall with a drive-through.
On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 4:19 PM, Robbie Webber
<<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]> wrote:
I'm not going to argue with this guy, since he obviously has some
issues beyond not thinking bike lanes are a good idea. But, he is
very wrong on so many points.
1. The city - specifically Traffic Engineering (not the most radical
bunch) did investigate other solutions to documented safety issues
on Sherman Ave. They tried other solutions for 20 years.
2. There are documented safety problems - for motorists,
pedestrians, transit users, and bicyclists.
3. The City Council was following the recommendations of Traffic
Engineering. Again, and I say this with affection, "Not the most
radical bunch, or known car-haters, IMHO."
4. Every study of this type of roadway redesign has been shown to
either have no effect or a positive affect on economic activity
along the corridor.
5. This project is not closing off any routes. Traffic Engineering
estimates that the same volume of traffic will be able to use
Sherman Ave after the re-striping. When you have a four-lane road
with no left-turn pockets, the center two lanes become de-facto
left-turn lanes, so only the outer lanes can be used for through
traffic. Local users - drivers - have said that they worried about
being hit from behind when stopped in the lefty lane to make a turn.
this means some people might not even make that left turn into a
business. The center turn lane removes this problem and reduces
conflict points for left-turning vehicles from seven to two.
6. Yes, this redesign was put forward twenty years ago by Traffic
Engineering to make the road safer for DRIVERS.
7. Civic involvement is how this project got approved. Just because
you disagree with the vote doesn't mean that no one listened to you.
It just happens that there are others - perhaps even a large
majority that disagree with you.
Whenever I hear doomsday predictions from people that haven't even
researched the subject, I always want to ask for a retraction after
the horrible results fail to materialize:
Smoking ban will kill all the bars in Madison! (And before that,
"All the restaurants will close if smoking is banned!")
Big building will lead to massive traffic jams every morning and night!
Everyone will sell their house or property values will drop if this
building gets built!
Roundabouts will lead to terrible crashes because people don't
understand them!
No one will move into those apartments, and they will all become run
down when the project fails economically!
etc.
Every one of the above I have heard in the last ten years, and not
one of the dreaded outcomes has happened.
Robbie Webber
Transportation Policy Analyst
State Smart Transportation Initiative
<http://www.ssti.us>www.ssti.us
608-263-9984 (o)
608-225-0002 (c)
[email protected]
--
"If we continue to consume the world until there's no more to
consume, then there's going to come a day, sure as hell, when our
children or their children or their children's children are going to
look back on us--on you and me--and say to themselves, 'My God, what
kind of monsters were these people?'"
--Daniel Quinn
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