General Road and Highway Discussion

[eizenstriet]

I really do hesitate to step into this. I will express no opinion on the merits of the Westheights plan, having received the countervailing positions second-hand.

However, I can say that I have promoted my own neighbourhood as a facilitator district for bicycle flow. In issues not restricted to the "bike vs. car" debate , I feel the sides should make efforts to empathize with each other’s legitimate positions.

Having said that, if my neighbours were inclined to accommodate cycling infrastructure, as I am, I would not be inviting them to scan this site. The reflexive “NIMBY” epithet applied to dismiss protection of any settled private interest would not give them any confidence in reciprocal empathy. The fact that advantageous non-private interest (and even disruptive private interest) are on the other hand routinely esteemed would, I think, strike them as inconsistent and selective.

If I were ever in some version of the “Westheights” position, I would first size up whether playing softball was naïve. When everyone else is likely to bring their hardball glove, maybe one should just get ready to play that game.