AAA cannot find *anything* nice to say about the Move DC draft

[KLizotte]

Thanks for the head’s up.

Just discovered that they have a facebook page you can leave negative comments on! Need to compose a msg.

[PotomacCyclist]

They can delete any comments, negative or positive, from their Facebook page but it’s worth a try.

[DismalScientist]

Washington Area Bike Forum members cannot find *anything* nice to say about the AAA. I’m shocked…:rolleyes:

[VikingMariner]

Can’t we all just get along?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhq-yO1KN8

[jrenaut]

@DismalScientist 89203 wrote:

Washington Area Bike Forum members cannot find *anything* nice to say about the AAA. I’m shocked…:rolleyes:

When you are using them for motorist assistance, they do a nice job. Breaking down on 81 and having them tow me 90+ miles back to NOVA was really, really convenient. I’d still be a member if it weren’t for their advocacy.

[cvcalhoun]

To be fair, the only part of the Move DC plan AAA opposed was tolls on commuter roads, which I also find horrifying. I would actually favor a straightforward commuter tax (i.e., imposing DC income taxes on people who work in DC, who would then take a credit against their Maryland or Virginia taxes if they lived outside of DC). Every state government has the right to do this, and DC should have the same right. But imposing tolls constitutes a severely regressive tax, and would disproportionately affect those who can’t afford to live in the District (or even close enough to it to bike in), and those who are disabled and can’t bike. And it would make the already awful traffic in this area worse, as tourists who didn’t have passes for the tolls had to stop and pay the tolls.

Yes, it would have been nice if AAA had had good things to say about other portions of the Move DC plan. But AAA is really a single-interest organization, and bicycles and pedestrians are not part of its charter. So it’s not like AAA opposed the other parts; they are just not part of what it can speak to.

I actually find the comments regarding David Alpert (and the fake apology) much more despicable.

[peterw_diy]

@cvcalhoun 89222 wrote:

To be fair, the only part of the Move DC plan AAA opposed was tolls on commuter roads[/quote]

They also explicitly said that only “some corridors” should get bike/ped improvements, while others should get improvements for vehicle traffic. Am I alone in hearing echoes of segregationism?

Politically, don’t you always find something to compliment if you actually intend to compromise? And only release purely negative statements like AAA’s when you seek to completely thwart something?

Quote:

imposing tolls constitutes a severely regressive tax

What’s more regressive is having transportation infrastructure that forces those in less affluent neighborhoods to own a car, which I hear AAA says costs $9000 a year, Move DC already has maps of transportation availability and seeks to make public transit and active transit more viable for more people. Public and active transit saves individuals money, improves their health, and helps build community.

Quote:

I actually find the comments regarding David Alpert (and the fake apology) much more despicable.

Yeah. The apology was worse than the quotation. I could write off the quote as a rare mistake on an off day, but AAA M-A signing off on an “apology” that says the phrase “developmentally retarded” wasn’t intended to be insulting is rotten.

[lordofthemark]

@cvcalhoun 89222 wrote:

To be fair, the only part of the Move DC plan AAA opposed was tolls on commuter roads, which I also find horrifying. I would actually favor a straightforward commuter tax (i.e., imposing DC income taxes on people who work in DC, who would then take a credit against their Maryland or Virginia taxes if they lived outside of DC). Every state government has the right to do this, and DC should have the same right. But imposing tolls constitutes a severely regressive tax, and would disproportionately affect those who can’t afford to live in the District (or even close enough to it to bike in), and those who are disabled and can’t bike. And it would make the already awful traffic in this area worse, as tourists who didn’t have passes for the tolls had to stop and pay the tolls.

While I am glad AAA is focused on the congestion charge, and that it seems to have distracted them from attacking the rest, I do think the congestion charge makes sense. Additional cars in the congested downtown area adds a significant cost to DC in terms of emissions and usability of other modes. It will not be imposed on the majority of suburban commuters to downtown who use metro. And many who drive will appreciate improved travel time due to charging. It would not slow traffic down – there will be no toll booths, Anyone who does not have an EZPass would get a bill sent to them based on their license plate – that’s how the beltway HOT lanes work. Additionally the revenues could be devoted to funding the rest of the MoveDC plan, including the new metro rail line it calls for, which will be very expensive.

I suspect the congestion charge won’t survive, and that my fellow NoVan’s will prevail on our congressmen to oppose it.

I also am very concerned about inequality in our region, and in our country. I do think pricing road is very good public policy though, and I would rather see the distribution effects compensated elsewhere.

[jrenaut]

It’s okay to be against a congestion tax – it may be that it’s not the best solution. What’s not okay is to throw money at defeating a congestion tax with absolutely no plan for any alternative. Reasonable people can disagree on how best to govern our country, but it’s not reasonable to say “I HATE YOUR PLAN and my plan to replace it is I HATE YOUR PLAN”.

[cyclingfool]

@jrenaut 89236 wrote:

It’s okay to be against a congestion tax – it may be that it’s not the best solution. What’s not okay is to throw money at defeating a congestion tax with absolutely no plan for any alternative. Reasonable people can disagree on how best to govern our country, but it’s not reasonable to say “I HATE YOUR PLAN and my plan to replace it is I HATE YOUR PLAN”.

Sounds like the debate over the ACA… :rolleyes: (And in this case ACA does not refer to the Adventure Cycling Association.)

Of course if it were really akin to the ACA, then AAA would have come up with the idea for the congestion tax on the basis that it was a good market-based solution to the problem before fighting it tooth and nail and vociferously fighting for its repeal once it was actually supported by groups on the other side and/or set to become policy.

[/PoliticalRamblings]

[Bill Hole]

AAA’s insistence on supporting cars at the expense of bikers, peds, and transit is the reason I dropped my membership and joined Better World. If you are an AAA member, check out Better World, switch to them if they meet your needs, and, most important, tell AAA why you’re dropping them.

Bill

[Author]

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