Monday, July 8, 2013

Waiting for Peduto or Dying for a Change?

by Vannevar Bush

Withdrawn at a cyclist's request. Vannevar Bush.

Posted by at

13 comments:

  1. JaminJuly 8, 2013 at 4:12 PM

    I tweeted this for @GASPPgh earlier today. I lived in Amsterdam for awhile and felt very safe on a bike. Once a car bumped my friend's pedal going around a bend. After agreeing, "Yes, let's go to the police station across the road," the driver left instead. This policy might be why: http://j.mp/12RlpJv

    It seems to be more correct than current reality but still somewhat not perfect. What say you?

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  2. Bram ReichbaumJuly 8, 2013 at 4:32 PM

    Van, let us know if those new signs in Bloomfield change or come down. My heart goes out to all concerned with the subject.

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  3. infinitebuffaloJuly 8, 2013 at 4:43 PM

    There was actually a third hit-and-run last week; Tuesday morning a cyclist was hit on Butler near the cemetery, suffering a broken shoulder. "Neither driver nor other motorists could bother to stop.... Or rather the driver stopped, said she was too busy to stay, and gave fake contact info." Full description via @tinepgh: http://pic.twitter.com/9D9wRhhqNl

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  4. BrianTHJuly 8, 2013 at 5:12 PM

    My wife was involved in a hit-and-run as a pedestrian (he was on a motorcycle). The police tracked him down and he was successfully prosecuted. I didn't get the sense that any relevant official was tempted to view it as acceptable behavior.

    I do think it is a fair point that the mass media generally does not do enough to report violence (crimes and accidents both) involving personal motorized vehicles. But this is hardly unique to Pittsburgh--it is true pretty much everywhere in the United States. That doesn't make it acceptable, but it does suggest to me that framing this as an issue of "Burgh Culture" is not accurate, and probably counterproductive.

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  5. BikeygirlJuly 8, 2013 at 5:16 PM

    Thank you Vannevar for posting this. I find it infuriating that after Sara's event wednesday, neither Police or Emergency Services did any reporting or try to find the culprit. Change must come -or we need to make it happen.

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  6. saltyJuly 8, 2013 at 6:19 PM

    I agree wholeheartedly that there is not nearly enough emphasis placed on curtailing dangerous driver behavior, from prevention (better road design, enforcing traffic laws, etc) to holding drivers accountable from their actions - whether they hit and run or not, they're not likely to face any serious charges.

    However, I disagree with the "Burgh culture" aspect - the same thing happens all over the country, even in "bike friendly" places like Portland. That's not to say that we shouldn't try to change the culture here, but to truly solve the problem I think big changes are needed on the state or federal level.

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  7. AnonymousJuly 8, 2013 at 7:30 PM

    As a scooter and bike rider, it can be summed up very simply:

    A sense of entitlement, coupled with any number of distractions and a lack of skill and awareness lead to the "hit".

    The"run" part is born of pure ignorance and/or actual sociopathy... I'm a proud native pittsburgher, but I'm not going to pretend we don't have more than our share of ignorant sociopaths in this town.

    Are we going to shame them into behaving? Probably not, but the news ought to report it at least. The pg is barely a newspaper, though you'd think the bleeds it leads local TV might take notice...

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    Replies
    1. Bram ReichbaumJuly 8, 2013 at 8:13 PM

      How would a news outlet find that out? Would someone eventually call a news desk after a typical hit and run, or only the Paramedics? And what happens next? Not sure that I would want to rail against overburdened news rooms after 4 or 5 days of ignorance.

      Delete
  8. AnonymousJuly 8, 2013 at 8:19 PM

    So glad that Peduto will be able to wave his magic Peduto wand and finally end this madness. Ravenstahl has blood on his hands for letting this happen!

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    Replies
    1. Bram ReichbaumJuly 8, 2013 at 8:55 PM

      I doubt he has a wand (Elder Wand?) but I think Vannevar is hoping he'll pick up a shovel.

      Sorry to see your post go Van, but I understand.

      Delete
  9. VannevarJuly 8, 2013 at 10:08 PM

    Anon 8.19: Leadership isn't just slogans and meetings, photo ops and paychecks. Do candidates seek fame or responsibility? I'd say that any mayor with repeated ongoing violence in the streets and does nothing, nothing at all does in fact bear responsibility.

    When a criminal does the act, it's on them. When multiple criminals do violence and there's no response, it's on those who seek to lead government.

    Primary function of government is providing for the safety of the citizens. What else could be the priority?

    Silky's?

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  10. Stuart StricklandJuly 9, 2013 at 4:27 AM

    Why pull the whole post? Wasn't it just the photo being objected to? I thought the content of the post was just what we needed, a call to arms.

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  11. AnonymousJuly 11, 2013 at 9:36 AM

    Thankfully, Google's cache of this post was still operational. I couldn't really disagree with anything that was written, and it's a shame the article has been suppressed.

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