Comments on: Tom Vanderbilt Dissects “The ‘E’ Word”

By: Andy Trafford

Andy Trafford — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:26:18 +0000

Charles, please don’t come in ‘ere with your elitist language, telling us common plebs how to speak proper.

By: Charles Siegel

Charles Siegel — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:29:55 +0000

“In regards to the Times Square project,”

It makes me cringe whenever I hear “in regards to” or “with regards to” instead of “with regard to.”

Would you say “with references to” or “with respects to”? How about “in respects to the Times Square project”?

By: a cyclist

a cyclist — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:40:09 +0000

Elitist? I ride a bike daily thru T Square and I am the last person to have access to the bike lane or shoulder. Pedestrians, street vendors, double parked taxi’s, joggers, people waiting for the light, people on cellphones, UPS drivers, deliveryment all have priority over me. If you indicate in any way your right of way you are asking for real trouble.

By: Rhywun

Rhywun — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:50:39 +0000

Unable to afford a car + not owning a car = not elite
Able to afford a car + not owning a car = elite

I never understood this mindset, but I’ve observed it all my life–especially as I transitioned from the first circumstance to the second a dozen years or so out of college. I guess the thinking is that only crazy people would choose to live that way, as if they’re giving up indoor plumbing or something.

By: Lewd

Lewd — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 22:30:42 +0000

John Liu has done a great job keeping the pedestrian “elites” from taking over his district. It’s miserable to walk there. The sidewalks on Main Street Flushing are about 1/3rd as wide as they need to be.

By: Glenn McAnanama

Glenn McAnanama — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:57:37 +0000

We’ve tried the non-visionary approach for far too long and all that’s happened is the constant nibbling of public space for widening auto-space that Jane Jacobs identified 50 years ago.

So yes after 50+ years of one failed methodology, it does take a new type of thinking to “balance” the needs of competing users.

BTW, Liu’s compromise sounds like pushing peds as far to the margins in the most crowded areas where they need public space the most to make room for a few more automobiles from the burbs

By: Vroomfondel

Vroomfondel — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:19:23 +0000

Fine, maybe we’re elitist. That doesn’t mean we’re wrong. The E-word is the last resort of the populist. When they accuse you of elitism, they’ve run out of arguments and you’ve won.

By: Steven O'Neill

Steven O'Neill — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:35:00 +0000

Council Member Liu complained that Sadik-Khan’s job is not to be a “visionary.” Rather it’s to strike a “balance between all the entities competing for street space.”

But Councilmember Liu — it’s going to take a visionary to create that balance of street use. And, if it can be done in New York, it will be the first time such a balance has been achieved since before the motor age.

By: W. K. Lis

W. K. Lis — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:30:24 +0000

All humans are equal, but some humans are more equal than others.

By: PaulCJr

PaulCJr — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:31:38 +0000

I never thought of myself as an elite. Hmmmm…. I like the ring of that.

By: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence Eckerson Jr. — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:52:18 +0000

“Carry on, TA overlords.” One of the best sentences written on the blog in a long time.

By: I \v/ NY

I \v/ NY — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:24:09 +0000

gotta love how motorists have thumbed their nose at non-motorists for decades thinking people without a car were all poor and unqualified low lifes. now all of sudden we are supposed to think it was the other way around. please, give me a break.

and in new york of all places where only the true $2+ million/year income ‘elite’ board members drive around the city, while the regular folks walk, bike and ride transit. unbelievable.