Hey, since Pat Mumford thinks wider sidewalks and bike lanes will fix much of what ails Charlotte, I’ve decided to apply those ideas to that nutty situation with the South Charlotte family who can’t put a basketball hoop on their cul-de-sac because the city of Charlotte says it is too dangerous.
Well, just get some white paint and paint a line around where you play, write “bike lane” in it and, presto, problem solved. You are no longer playing in the street, you are in the “bike lane.” To make it just like every other “bike lane” in Charlotte, be sure ride a bike in it, oh, every six months or so and you’ll be home-free.
Seriously, let get this straight — playing basketball on a cul-de-sac is too dangerous, but bike lanes on 45 mph, four-lane main arteries is not? That’s just absurd. As is the canard that we “must” try wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and light rail because “everyone knows” we can’t “pave our way” out of traffic congestion. How do we know that? When has Charlotte ever added roadway capacity at a rate even approaching its population growth?
When was Charlotte’s long-lost golden age of road building? We know the Beltway was 20 years overdue, so it had to be before that. Brookshire? W.T. Harris?
I would really like an answer on this, or least some guesses from long-time Charlotte residents. But only if you do not have one of those dangerous basketball hoops lurking around.
