Pre-COVID I used to ride my bike to work – back when I actually went to the office. While the situation has improved dramatically over the past 10-15 years, it was (and is) still an incredibly risky enterprise.
This article from the NYT fits a pattern of increasing efforts to reclaim street space and to re-plan away from automobiles.
Cannot happen soon enough.
I have been struck by the change in the feel of urban environments in this pandemic environment as restaurants claim more outdoor space, and by the decreases in vehicular traffic (and all the noise and environmental pollution). Much more welcoming – and slower – feel to the ambiance.
Livability needs to be reimagined (and is being reimagined) but what is needed is visionary leadership to make these changes to our streetscapes permanent.
How are these changes distributed across Washington DC and environs? Is this an upper NW and Bethesda phenomena or is it happening across all of our Wards?
What silver linings have you observed, or do you wished you had observed, in your neighborhood during COVID and beyond?