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mart_nargy t1_j2egax2 wrote

Reply to comment by Yithar in Opinion | D.C. needs more bike lanes, and fast by Maxcactus

Yeah, you can always do two things at once. The question is, what should we be spending our limited resources on, and who is it benefiting?

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Yithar t1_j2eh9gh wrote

Well, my other point was that it's expensive to construct dedicated bus lanes versus bike lanes. If you don't have the money to do one thing, then it becomes a no brainer to do the other thing, even if it's not as helpful.

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mart_nargy t1_j2ehte1 wrote

Unless they cost zero dollars, I can think of any number of social services that could use that money instead. To say nothing of the fact that not everyone can use a bike lane (need to be able bodied and afford a bike), so it’s really a benefit to the bike crowd, which is mostly white.

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sl8rfan2 t1_j2el80a wrote

Have you been in the city? the VAST majority of people I see using bikes are people of color. You've created this picture in your mind of entitled white people in spandex biking for fun...do you know that many people can't afford cars and use bikes as a primary means of transportation? Get out more.

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mart_nargy t1_j2elrzd wrote

Lol, it’d be one thing if you said “there are more POC cyclists than you think,” or “the color of rider depends on the part of the city.” But you went straight to the all-caps VAST. You’re a brave one.

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Yithar t1_j2eivli wrote

Well, I'm pretty sure the money that's allocated to DDOT isn't available for use by other agencies. Now maybe you could argue the allocation should be changed but as it is that's how it is.

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mart_nargy t1_j2ejeo2 wrote

I’m not an expert (not a joke, I’m just guessing here, so could be wrong) but I think the allocations are made in part based on current or future projects. So if there aren’t bike lane projects on the docket, that reduces the appropriation, and frees up money to be sent elsewhere.

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