Occupy… your afternoon commute :/

[MCL1981]

FYI… I saw on the news this morning that there will be a large, foul smelling, disorganized, and probably illegal march of the so-called “protesters” through downtown and across the Key Bridge into Arlington during the afternoon rush hour today. Apparently they believe making life miserable for those who actually go to work and earn a living will make people believe in whatever their cause is today. I know a lot of people commute that way (bike or car) so plan accordingly. It could fall apart before it begins and amount to nothing, or it could be a nightmare.

[jabberwocky]

For some reason, your post makes me sympathetic with the protesters.

[PotomacCyclist]

It’s cold and miserable outside. That will probably limit the numbers of the pack, especially from the Arlington side. There are supposed to be two separate groups, one from downtown and another from Ballston. They plan to meet up at Key Bridge, according to ARLnow.

I made the suggestion that the protesters march on Ballston Common Mall instead, for being such a lousy use of a great location. But that idea didn’t go over very well.

[mrkenny83]

Occupy DC has done nothing to upset/bother me. Just a big group of people standing up for the many things they believe in. Nuthin’ wrong with that.

We’ll see if my opinion changes this evening I had to drive the ol’ Civic in

[consularrider]

While the temperature might be a little chiller this afternoon, it should be clearing up by the time of the march. Depending on how this comes off, it may adversely affect travel to WABA’s happy hour. Maybe heading south and crossing on the 14th St Bridge will help get around the potential gridlock. Since I can see Key Bridge from my desk at work, I post an update later on this afternoon.

[Terpfan]

@mrkenny83 10913 wrote:

Occupy DC has done nothing to upset/bother me. Just a big group of people standing up for the many things they believe in. Nuthin’ wrong with that.

We’ll see if my opinion changes this evening I had to drive the ol’ Civic in

I heard them yelling at a poor lady in a suit the other day about being in the 1% and asking if they scared her. When they first started they seemed intent on blocking traffic on Constitution, 14th, etc as they marched through the streets. For the most part they seem to have calmed down imo.

In the end, all protest groups in DC end up sucking regardless of their intentions/politics, etc. We’ll see how long NPS lets them stay although they let the anti-nuclear guy (passed away a few years ago I think) stay forever it seemed in Lafeyette Park.

[Overtone]

@PotomacCyclist 10909 wrote:

I made the suggestion that the protesters march on Ballston Common Mall instead, for being such a lousy use of a great location. But that idea didn’t go over very well.

Ha! You ignore the great & glorious history of that mall, originally called Parkington and a major milestone in the development of the car-oriented shopping mall when it opened in 1951. “Parkington was the first U.S. shopping center built around a multi-story parking garage.” “was believed to have the largest parking garage in the United States when it opened.”

Perhaps the cycling community should march on it (roll on it??) and perform an exorcism.

[5555624]

@Overtone 10921 wrote:

Perhaps the cycling community should march on it (roll on it??) and perform an exorcism.

Only if you can get Dart Drug, Orange Julius, Waldenbooks, JC Penney’s, and Hecht’s to come back. (Well, I guess you can get Macy’s to simply change their sifgn….)

[baiskeli]

@jabberwocky 10907 wrote:

For some reason, your post makes me sympathetic with the protesters.

Me too.

[Dirt]

I plan to occupy my cargo bike. We’ll see how that blends with other people who are occupying things.

[consularrider]

This latest from dcist:

“…Occupy DC’s media team states that their march will not conflict with the afternoon rush, despite it being scheduled to last until 6 p.m. Meanwhile, a group called Our DC which is participating in a demonstration on the bridge itself says that protesters will be “staying on the pedestrian sidewalk” and that there will be “No blocking traffic!”…”

I think someone needs to let them know that occupying the “pedestrian” sidewalk will in effect block bicycle traffic unless they stay exclusively on the upstream side of the bridge. But then again, we have some forum posters who prefer to ride on that side…Guess it will be time to take the lane!

It’s 2:30 now and Key Bridge is its normal mid-afternoon self. The march should get underway anytime now. I’ll have to see what things look like when I get back at 4:00 from my next meeting.

[baiskeli]

@consularrider 10934 wrote:

This latest from dcist:

“…Occupy DC’s media team states that their march will not conflict with the afternoon rush, despite it being scheduled to last until 6 p.m. Meanwhile, a group called Our DC which is participating in a demonstration on the bridge itself says that protesters will be “staying on the pedestrian sidewalk” and that there will be “No blocking traffic!”…”

You can bet traffic will be alot slower regardless.

[jrenaut]

I can tell you that I was a lot slower today because of the wind. I feel like I just did my commute six times. But I didn’t see anyone occupying anything except the bike police blowing stop signs on Hains Point. Not such a good example to set, I don’t think.

[Dirt]

@consularrider 10934 wrote:

This latest from dcist:

First off, I love the use of “dcist”… reminds me of “Cease and Decist”.

@consularrider 10934 wrote:

“…Occupy DC’s media team states that their march will not conflict with the afternoon rush, despite it being scheduled to last until 6 p.m. Meanwhile, a group called Our DC which is participating in a demonstration on the bridge itself says that protesters will be “staying on the pedestrian sidewalk” and that there will be “No blocking traffic!”…”

Sounds like nothing that a bit of momentum and liberal use of modern water-based lubricants can’t deal with.

I’ll roll past and document if anything interesting is going on.

Rock and roll.

[americancyclo]

For those of us watching from the sidelines, there’s a traffic camera feed at lee and lynn. looks like some cops at the Arlington side, but no protesters yet

http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/EnvironmentalServices/dot/page67850.aspx

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