Hi Yupette,
I live in Libby Garvey's neighborhood of Fairlington (the kind of Urban Village the County is always talking about but actually wanting to bulldoze for "smart growth") on both the Arlington and Alexandria sides of Quaker Lane.
What is it with the County wanting to spend millions on a Gondola to Georgetown? Our streets in Fairlington badly need repaving, including those in Libby's neighborhood (photo attached).
I am not going to ride a bicycle in our neighborhood until the streets are repaved. Libby was seriously injured in a bicycle accident in Fairlington when she hit a pothole on South Buchanan street. The pothole's been filled but S. Buchanan Street still needs repaving.
I met Libby's opponent, Audrey Clement, who has ridden a bicycle around Arlington for years. Audrey wants the basics, like street paving, funded first. So do I.
Shame on Libby. She opposed Pike streetcar, apparently because she doesn't like streetcars. Now she and the County Board are wanting to waste money on a tourist gondola they do like. How about running rubber-tired tourist trolleys (like those on King Street in Alexandria) across Key Bridge instead?
Thanks for this blog.
Kathy, S. 35th Street
42 comments:
Then there's the REALLY dangerous Fairlington street on a steep hill where the Sun Gazette's Nanny Newsie-in-Chief lives. Lance Armstrong wannabes zoom down the hill at 40 mph over broken pavement on racing bikes.,
Re-purpose the Gondola. Have it run from Vic Hoskins's vibrant neighborhood in Georgetown to Carole Mitten's vibrant neighborhood in DuPont Circle.
What is wrong with rubber-tired tourist trolley buses?
How did we get to the point where the VIPs who make all the decisions get to urbanize everything except their own suburban neighborhoods?
If Rosslyn is going to be the next DuPont Circle, run the Gondola between Rosslyn and DuPont Circle.
Who is Carole Mitten?
Carole Mitten is Arlington's Deputy County Manager for Upscale Redevelopment. She was formerly Mayor of DuPont Circle, District of Columbia.
Know how many people are afraid of heights? Are afraid to fly? Become airsick when they fly? Lots. Ever been in a gondola when the wind is gusting to 30 mph?
Her name is Carol, not Carole, Mitten, and she's bounced from VIP job to VIP job for years because she hangs out with the region's movers and shakers.
She has oversight of DES so if your street is crumbling you should call her at the County Manager's Office 703-228-3120 and ask to be transferred to her voicemail.
So hundreds of thousands of residents who don't and won't ride bicycles are being told to ride bicycles and hundreds of thousands of residents who don't and won't ride gondolas are being told to ride gondolas? Duh.
Where this Gondola project is coming from: According to the Post on July 8, 2014, Carol Mitten is DC Council Member Phil Mendelson's "significant other".
Check her out yourselves via Google.
Dump them all !! They just want to pee away our tax dollars on their crazy Smart Growth projects that benefit themselves and their corporate cronies.
Carol Mitten has responsibility and authority over both DES and Economic Development.
So, Call Carol Mitten and leave a voicemail: "Never mind the gondola, pave our streets first".
Non-residents have way WAY too much power over us. They don't pay taxes nor suffer any consequences.
In fact, Phil Mendelson is Chair of the DC City Council. Rather than calling Carol you can reach Phil at 202-724-8032 or e-mail him at pmendelson at dccouncil dot us
Non-resident Carol Mitten was appointed by non-resident County Manager Barbara Donnellan just before Barbara retired. She and Phil Mendelson have already been involved in one conflict-of-interest situation in DC,, reported by the Post two years ago, a stadium deal for DC United.
What are we anyway? Still a territory of DC?
Motion sickness is a significant problem associated with gondolas.
Libby Garvey is another pol who goes after the bicyclist vote...and in return allows any and all 'free range' behavior from the bicyclists.
Libby does not ride to County Board meetings on a bicycle...she drives a SUV.
Libby Garvey's "om stage" behavior is completely different from her "off stage" behavior. She's so appallingly Elitist when she's away from Arlington that people who she isn't close to and who have observed her in both situations can't believe she's the same person.
You don't want to encounter Libby while she's on vacation in France and she recognizes you from Arlington.
Why would the County want to install a transit system that would make 25% of the riders motion sick?
The agenda for the forthcoming County Board meetings is now on-line. Take a look at what the suburbanite County Board members will do to Rosslyn.
FYI -- Libby is using a 100 mile bicycle event in memory of her late husband, who liked to bicycle, to obtain the de facto endorsements of local bikester organizations. She's also told the Arlington Police to continue allowing any and all "free range" behavior by bikesters in Arlington. So, if you have to dodge bikesters riding recklessly on sidewalks, blame Libby.
No one is going to get vertigo, sea sick, motion sick, or anything similar riding a shuttle bus across Key Bridge.
It gets worse...millennials are bar hopping on bicycles and riding while seriously intoxicated.
So shuttle buses between Georgetown and Rosslyn would cost what compared to a Gondola?
Appears that almost everyone who is anyone in Arlington insofar as decision-making either doesn't live in Arlington, lives in an enclave that is off-limits for redevelopment, is over 55 and looking to retire far away from Arlington, or all of the above. Goes for the media as well. So what can you expect?
Yes. Scott McCaffrey and Scott Brodbeck live in Fairlington along with Libby. Fairlington has gone from being a source of starter homes and completely affordable 20 years ago to being a completely un-affordable "urban village" today. I completely resent Libby's, Scott's, and Scott's nannyism and micro-management of all aspects of our personal lives. No one will convene a task force composed of New Urbanist / Smart Growth fanatics to plan the redevelopment of Fairlington. All these neighborhood so-called "revitalizations" are done in secret at 2100 Clarendon Blvd., and announced after a year or two of deal-making and negotiation. The committees and commissions are all packed with Smart Growth facilitators. Anyone who complains is trashed by the Democratic Machine.
It will get worse. Nauck-Shirlington will be packed with new bars, restaurants and nail salons via Libby and Smart Growth booster idiots like Scott and Scott. Residents necessarily will drive to Alexandria for products and services they need.
In a year we've gone from a non-resident County Manager and a couple non-resident Deputy County Managers to a resident County Manager who lives in an Elitist enclave and 5 non-resident Deputy County Managers. Duh.
How will the Trolley Pub negotiate the hill in Nauck-Shirlington?
Hybrid human pedaling and a backup electric drive?
Fairlington's fire station is obsolete but the Democrats who control Fairlington have put what many residents want - building a new fire station where development is occurring and replacing the engine in the present station with an EMS vehicle - on their "can't do" list.
I'm voting for Audrey Clement for that very reason, that over the years the Democratic Regime has put together a laundry list of things that are off limits, on-site renewable energy for example.
People in charge at the Post live in NW DC, Chevy Chase, and Bethesda.
Then there's the matter of what happens if a gondola gets stuck 300 feet over the middle of the Potomac,
One of Libby's neighbors showed up at the CB meeting last Saturday with a petition for better neighborhood bus service. Duh.
The gondola is a bad joke, right? How is that going to help with traffic and "encourage" walking? You can't take a bike or car on it and if you're gonna walk from Rosslyn to DC what's wrong with Key Bridge?! A ferry (2) for crossing Arlington to DC and back would make more sense, though not sure that would "solve" anything either.
Yes, the roads are atrocious and at times straight up dangerous - and I'm from DC.
Double deck buses would be a good choice. Why won't Libby mention them after wanting them for the Pike two years ago?
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