Welcome to the Comment of the Week, where we highlight good comments in order to inspire more of them. You can help us choose our next one by replying with “comment of the week” to any comment you think deserves recognition. Please note: These selections are not endorsements.
Once again, there were several outstanding comments to choose from, and so many nominations, thank you! It took me a long time to pick a comment this week. I spent about 45 minutes going through the nominations, and re-reading my favorites. It was time well-spent.
I ended up going with X’s comment on the new green bike boxes at the intersection where Sarah Pliner was killed. I liked it because of its quiet tone and slow build. Read it and see if you agree with me, it sneaks up on you:
Infrastructure is not a bad thing however much it hurts to have another person die before one bit of paint is put down. I didn’t know Sarah Pliner but now I won’t pass that spot without feeling her loss. There are so many places like that. The light tower at SE 37th and Taylor, the lonely spot on NE 122nd where my friend Ted was run over in a bike lane, the overpass on NE Columbia, and on and on.
Infrastructure is not the whole thing though. There’s no infrastructure at 18th and E Burnside where a guy on a smoke break, leaning against the building he worked in, was wantonly killed by a driver breaking several traffic laws as he crossed the intersection. Never knew him: miss him still.
Motor vehicle operation under the charade of licensing is broken. It’s a cultural problem that the physical environment can’t entirely fix.
Thank you , X, for the beautiful comment. You can find X’s comment under the original post.