Dustin Finney's bike
I went to a traffic safety public meeting tonight, and Dustin Finney's bike was there. Dustin Finney' mom was also there, just a few blocks away from where Dustin was killed last year.
At the meeting, the transportation staff talked a little about Level of Service, which is the way that engineers measure how "well" a road is operating. It measures how long it takes a vehicle to travel a given distance. If there's congestion, the Level of Service deteriorates. The goal is to get as many cars as possible along a road as fast as possible. Other stuff, like, you know, KILLING PEOPLE, or, say, making pedestrians walk a long way to get to an intersection that isn't terrifying to cross, is secondary. (Though, to be fair, Portland is trying to de-emphasize LoS as the prime measure of effectiveness. The staff who were there are really serious about traffic safety.)
Anyway, that's not exactly what happened to Dustin Finney. But what happened to him is an environment that allows cars to go fast. People are stupid, and if you let them go fast, they do. And sometimes they get drunk and go fast, and kill somebody. Or they look down to finish a text, and kill somebody. Make it easy and convenient and quick for people to drive, and that's what they do. So let's NOT make it easy. Let's make it a little bit harder, because I never want to see another bike that looks like that.
At the meeting, the transportation staff talked a little about Level of Service, which is the way that engineers measure how "well" a road is operating. It measures how long it takes a vehicle to travel a given distance. If there's congestion, the Level of Service deteriorates. The goal is to get as many cars as possible along a road as fast as possible. Other stuff, like, you know, KILLING PEOPLE, or, say, making pedestrians walk a long way to get to an intersection that isn't terrifying to cross, is secondary. (Though, to be fair, Portland is trying to de-emphasize LoS as the prime measure of effectiveness. The staff who were there are really serious about traffic safety.)
Anyway, that's not exactly what happened to Dustin Finney. But what happened to him is an environment that allows cars to go fast. People are stupid, and if you let them go fast, they do. And sometimes they get drunk and go fast, and kill somebody. Or they look down to finish a text, and kill somebody. Make it easy and convenient and quick for people to drive, and that's what they do. So let's NOT make it easy. Let's make it a little bit harder, because I never want to see another bike that looks like that.
Comments
ugh.
I didn't talk much (it was just my first time at any such event), but I do plan on becoming more vocal and you have boosted my confidence in understanding that people do care and that it will make a difference. I, too, do not want to see another bike like Dustin's and I plan on doing what I can to prevent it. Thank you so much!
... Just FYI. You can check out Dustin Finney Memorial on facebook if you are interested.