Swift?
Flash could help us generate some genuine laughs, as we know the BRT will take 48 minutes to travel only 15 miles. Can you imagine telling someone, "I'm waiting for the Rapid?"
Neither can I.
After the County admitted they were getting consulting advice from the Communist Chinese government on BRT, the implosion of the Independent Transit Authority scam, the realization that BRT will result in the condemnation of thousands of residential and commercial properties countywide, and the revelation that the "futuristic, sleek, train-like vehicles" are actually just going to be old-fashioned diesel buses, these ongoing pratfalls are par for the course for a boondoggle the public opposes - and which could cost taxpayers $500-1000+ a year in additional taxes.
"I am ready to support the infrastructure upgrades [a.k.a. tax increases] that may be necessary in order to provide a higher level of service," County Councilmember and tax-hike specialist Hans Riemer said yesterday.
With Ike Leggett already promising a major tax increase in 2017, which will follow the historic tax hike of 2016 that resulted in the passage of term limits by voters, taxpayers are most definitely not ready to support these taxes...er..."infrastructure upgrades."
Hosting a naming contest in which the public can't even suggest a name? Just more evidence that the cartel swears by Steven Lukes' Power: A Radical View as much as Robert's Rules of Order. Lukes' book fuels most of the ham-fisted government corruption that produces things like the Westbard sector plan and BRT.
In Lukes' concept, when I negotiate with you, the only options on the table for discussion are all acceptable to me. The options that are unacceptable to me are not even up for discussion. Sound familiar?
Taxpayers' goal now should be to continue stalling the creation of BRT until 2018, when we can finally clean house of the remaining stragglers who weren't covered under the 3-term limit this time. Then we can vote in new leaders who will support transportation projects that will actually reduce congestion, and move the largest number of commuters for the lowest cost. These include a new Potomac River crossing, the M-83 Highway upcounty, extension of the Montrose Parkway to the ICC, the Damascus Bypass, widening East-West Highway, upgrading Beach Drive, and building the Northern Parkway.
Naming contest?
The name most high-information voters would give BRT can't be printed in a family newspaper.
Dyer, do you not realize that Montgomery County residents' opposition to those unbuilt highways pre-dates all of the current members of the MoCo Council by several decades?
ReplyDelete5:55: Some of them do, but the current Council has actively worked against or failed to act on the new Potomac River crossing and M-83. Many of them have been in office for almost 20 years, yet haven't acted on any of the unbuilt roads I mentioned.
ReplyDeleteTime for new leadership that can get the job done.
6:10: I'm going to assume, against my better judgement, that you are a reader genuinely concerned with safety issues at that intersection, and that the incident is pertinent in that respect. I would have been delighted to cover it, but the information was not provided to me. The official MCFRS Twitter, as I recall, had virtually no details on the wreck.
ReplyDeleteI can't write a story with no details. Again, I hope this is a sincere question, and not another of the tired situation of a direct handoff of information to a competing website for political reasons, and then somebody trying to post a supposedly-titillating blurb here to get my readers scrambling to Google search.
That second photo is what a the women do when Dyer turns his back. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThe sexism in this article is appalling. Get a grip, Robert.
ReplyDelete7:12: You apparently don't know the definition of "sexism" if you believe that.
DeleteBORTA - bus obsolete rapid transit authority
ReplyDeleteDyer is in bed with developers who email him about their shitty projects. Developers that don't are the devil.
ReplyDelete8:04: Completely false statement - I've never received a dime from any developer.
DeleteDyer @ 9:03 - No one claimed you were paid in coins, Birdbrain
DeleteWoodward and Bernstein ALWAYS waited for official press releases, before reporting on new developments in the Watergate scandal.
ReplyDelete6:59 - That woman is referring to someone other than Dyer. If she had been referring to Dyer, she would be holding her fingers much closer together.
ReplyDeleteMr. Dyer--I laughed out loud with joy in reading your take on the big naming announcement. When I got the press release yesterday and clicked thru to see the pre-selected names one could vote for I was shocked at the stupidity of it all! This is obviously a PR stunt to get e-mails to load up the barrel for the next big $$$ask of Council.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that there was supposed to be a wide public informational presentation on the 29 BRT proposals in Nov. and a "preferred" route selection in early Dec. (all of which have not been scheduled) makes this whole project a scam on the residents of MoCo. There is not even a pretense of public participation any more.
Can we get decent Ride On buses first before paying for a separate bus system? Thanks.
ReplyDelete7:12 - Explain yourself. That's a mighty large allegation to be throwing at Robert. For shame!
ReplyDeleteMetro was worst thing to happen to Bethesda
ReplyDeleteMore of a conduit for criminals to get to our homes and cars
Bethesda was so safe before metro ..sigh memories..or maybe it's the influx of ms13
Robert: How long does it take to drive (and park your car) between Rockville Center and Farragut North (approximately 15 miles) during rush hour? I don't think you can average this trip in less than 45 minutes. Bus Rapid Transit should be as fast or faster than driving a similar distance. Metro may be faster IF you don't have to wait long for your train and there are no delays along the route. How often does that happen. Bus Rapid Transit seems like a reasonable idea worth considering. Then again, if Donald the Great wants to bust the federal budget and exacerbate the deficit with his huge infrastructure proposals, let's get billions, pave over the county, and build a state-of-the-art Metro System!
ReplyDelete8:35: If transit isn't faster than driving, no one will realistically make the switch.
DeleteI'd like to see the Trump infrastructure money go to completing our master plan highway system, rather than down the mismanaged toilet known as WMATA.
Anecdotally, my commute would take about the same amount of time either by car or by transit. I choose transit because it allows me to read on the way to work. So I don't know that your statement @ 9:23 is accurate, unless you have some data to support.
ReplyDeleteFYI, I'm undecided on the BRT issue, I just want people to make well-informed decisions.
G. Money: I agree there could be other reasons people would choose transit over cars besides time of commute, such as yours, or because there is a subsidy, or personal concern about the environment, etc.
ReplyDeleteI would gladly trade driving during rush hour traffic in for reliable mass transit that would take about the same amount of time and be more consistent. This would enable me to use the commute time for something else and either have more fun and/or be more productive.
ReplyDelete@9:23 And all the while choke on the exhaust the will make the regions air look like Beijing.
ReplyDelete6:19: Unfortunately, BRT does not take "the same amount of time" as driving. You could drive from Clarksburg to Shady Grove Metro faster than 48 minutes even during morning rush hour. Yet that's how long BRT will take to make that trip. Not "fun" or "productive."
ReplyDelete7:16: Emissions have evolved beyond the 1970s.
Robert, BRT is a decent concept that has been used successfully worldwide. I would appreciate a more even-handed review of what the County proposes. This is not to endorse the County's plans, but to say that they should not be dismissed out of hand, either.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to your suggestion that policy and program options before the County Council be put on hold until the 2018 election: that's the same dubious thinking that has left us with an unfilled seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. I'm no fan of the current Council, but it's not fair play to shut down government based on the results of a forthcoming election.
8:42: I invite you to go back through years of fact-based analysis of BRT here on this website. In fact, no other media outlet has provided the critical analysis that I have. I find BRT as proposed to be a terrible idea, unless the Council wants to put their big boy pants on and widen the roads enough to allow for a true dedicated lane system without stealing lanes from cars.
ReplyDeleteGiven that the Council has completely flouted the will of their constituents regarding BRT, I find it utterly appropriate to stall this criminal initiative until we can elect representatives who will actually vote the will of the people.