Pet Peeves and Pedestrians

Sunday morning I asked the following question on Facebook:

What's your (local) pet peeve?

I got a boat-load of responses. Here they are:

Street sweepers. Really? My money is paying for that 2 times per year???

Car drivers that ignore traffic coming from Sohap, at the stop sign at Oakland Mills Road and Sohap Lane.

Well we kinda covered it this morning, but people who loiter and hurl trash and beer bottles on the ground. They have no respect for how hard the rest of us have worked so that we all have a nice place to live. Then they wonder why businesses pack up move elsewhere.

Cigarette butts thrown out of car windows and on the ground...the world is my ashtray. We should implement that $1500 littering fine.

No bike rack at the elementary school.

The fine should be $1500 normally and $3000 if you have a "Choose Civility" sticker on your car.

Julia Jackson McCready Well, you got me going pondering a blog post. I know that X. has serious issues with people who let their dogs use the pathways as bathrooms...

I only get to pick one?

Julia Jackson McCready Oh, go to town! It just has to be local.

No bike rack at my apartment complex!

The general request for the need for "walkability" when no one wants to walk more than 50 feet to get into a store...or the gym.

Julia Jackson McCready I'll get right on that!

Julia Jackson McCready I mean, in reference to the bike rack.

Julia Jackson McCready As to walkability, I don't agree. It is people like my daughter (26) who want walkability, and they really do walk! Amazing, but they do and they think all this driving is lame.

I'd walk everywhere if I could. And had all the time in the world. (I know, it's apartment-specific, so I have to bug them. Re: bike rack.)

There are many, many people who like to walk, or bike around town. The people who annoy me are the ones who "claim" to want walkability and then complain when they can't get a close parking space.

Julia Jackson McCready Ah...

Don't know if its all schools but Bryant Woods doesn't have a bike rack.

I cannot stand when people blow through stop signs, Thunder Hill RD, especially when I am at the cross walk with the furries starting to cross! Someone is gonna die before action is taken!

Julia Jackson McCready The crosswalk at Thunder Hill and Whiteacre has been repainted several times, but the paint fades almost immediately, what is up with that?

Even fresh they do not see it...be careful!

And walkability is why we chose Columbia over Ellicott city. It is a huge thing for us. HUGE.... As we just biked to Centennial safely. And walk to schools safely. And scenically.

Seriously, I cannot count how many almost accidents I have seen and how many people have nearly been hit there due to people not stopping! I have waited several minutes there to cross as people will not stop!!!!

Julia Jackson McCready I know. Do we need a light?

I do not know about a light, but the humps may help. I think that traffic calming like they have infront of Oakland Mills Middle or High would be AWESOME.

Oh and another thing, when they drive 60+ down the midde turn lane! So dangerous!!!!!

I hate it when people blow through the red lights. Happens on almost every light where I see 3-4 cars begin to turn AFTER the light has already turned red. Throws off the whole traffic pattern! Also, the fact that no one seems to understand that pedestrians have the right-of-way. I hate trying to cross in a parking lot and fearing having my toes run over. And if we're getting really local, though it isn't in Columbia, I HATE the intersection outside of my house. (Laurel) Too many accidents, way too many close calls. It also brings out the worst in people.

People taking a a right turn onto Tamar, doing a U-turn at full speed in the middle of Tamar, and then turning right back onto 175 just to avoid sitting at the red light a couple of minutes!

Julia Jackson McCready Yow!

All of the above and for speeding cars on Thunder Hill Road.

Julia Jackson McCready Lord, hear our prayer.

People who slow down for the speed humps on Elliot's Oak Rd. If you drive the speed limit, there is NO need to slow down. They are the best laid out speed humps in Columbia.

Ooh. I never thought about that.

Oh, those are also the people who slow way down for the speed humps and immediately speed up too fast only to slow waaay down again for the next one. I think unkind thoughts regularly.

That would make me carsick!

1- people not stopping at the crosswalk at Thunder Hill and Whiteacre to let these children cross the road 2- people not stopping at stop signs on Thunder Hill Rd. at Sohap and Oakland mills Rd at Sohap! It is unreal!

Re walkability: lack of sidewalks/bike lanes because it is assumed that people will drive from say, Hickory Ridge Rd to Stevens Forest Rd. Or along Oakland Mills & up Snowden River Parkway to do shopping.

*****

Notice anything? A lot of them have to do with the pedestrian experience. I'm going to focus on the Walkability issue in tomorow's blog post.

I noticed something else, as well. When I asked folks to get excited about Columbia, I received zero responses. Pet peeves? Forty-one.

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