Transportation Collage

A few snapshots this week on the way we get around town.

Did anyone have a chance to speak with these folks? I'd like to know more.

@maximize2040: Having a great time camping out on @parkingday to #TalkTransportation @WholeFoods in #ColumbiaMD! Stop by to chat.

A blast from the past, courtesy of the collection of Ilana Bittner:

Yes, availability of gas stations in Columbia has an effect on gas prices and on how we choose to get around. And there's definitely a history in Columbia on limiting the number of gas stations. You can see just exactly how people are fighting about this issue in the here and now when it comes to a proposed gas station on Snowden River Parkway.

The most recent Friends of Bridge Columbia Newsletter is out. You should definitely get on their email list if you aren't already. Connecting Columbia with a pedestrian, bike, and transit bridge will definitely change how we get around. For the better.

This next photo is a sign not of what is, but what is to come. The tipping point for supporting successful transit will come only when people are convinced that it will be more convenient and less expensive to leave their cars at home. A startling amount of Columbia real estate is presently paved over and tied up in free parking. But a growing number of residents and potential residents are looking for walkable, bikeable communities with convenient transit systems that make it possible to live car-free, or to leave the car at home more often.

I'd like to be able to show photographs of more sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalks being installed county-wide. Let me know if you've got some. How are we coming along on that? Any substantial progress?

How do you get around town? How would you like to get around?

Comments

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 2018 . But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

Columbia Chance Connection

Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!” We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...

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