Showing posts with label bike tax. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike tax. Show all posts

Saturday, July 13, 2019

San Diego Beech Street parking fiasco. Downtown Mobility Plan failure. Forgot Dutch Boy paint?


Confusion and chaos are how some people are describing driving and parking in Little Italy on Thursday after crews began adding new bike lanes downtown.

A mess -- nobody knows what’s going on,” said resident Corry Candland.

The bike lanes located on Beech Street have a row of cars parked next to the curb, and next to those cars is what looks like a bike lane, and next to that is another row of parked cars.
[.]
It’s going to be much better defined," said Jose Ysea, a spokesperson for the City of San Diego.
[.]
And it touches on, of course, the climate action plan: Getting people out of vehicles and onto bicycles,” said Ysea.
Government - any government - getting something right the first time? A pipe dream; a fantasy of unicorns, mermaids and pixies.

"It's going to be much better defined." Uh-huh. First, government fucks up whatever it is they implement. Then...they have to fix what they did because no real foresight and planning was conceived in the first place.

It's always a good idea mixing 4,000 pound vehicles with lighter objects, like people on scooters and bicycles. It's for the Climate Action Plan. What could go wrong?

The "other two" painters are elected public servants.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Oregon Bicycle Tax...I Want To Ride My Bicycle...Bicycle...Bicycle!

Advisory: Video contains some (inoffensive) glimpses of (slight) nudity.


This is as good as it gets. This is the kind of story for which I live. This is a story about Full Circle Liberalism, because it's funny when Liberals are TAXED and assessed FEES!

In the past, it was those who engaged in "vices" that were hit hard with taxes. Mostly, users of tobacco and those who enjoy a cocktail took the hit.

Could it be that because so many people quit smoking that Oregon state revenue also dropped and now the time has come to tax the bikers? Full Circle Liberalism...how can you not just love this type of story?

Oregon will tax bicyclists.  The Washington Times:
...the state Legislature’s approval of the first statewide bike tax in the nation has fallen flat with riders.
Democratic Gov. Kate Brown is expected to sign the sweeping $5.3 billion transportation package, which includes a $15 excise tax on the sale of bicycles costing more than $200 with a wheel diameter of at least 26 inches.
Even though the funding has been earmarked for improvements that will benefit cyclists, the tax has managed to irk both anti-tax Republicans and environmentally conscious bikers.
Ahhhhhh, da poor widdle environmentally (un)conscious bikers and the sound of their communal Liberal Whining. (Sniff, sniff..) it's just...so movingly touching.

Dear Whining Oregon Bicyclists, if you can pay over $200 for  a bike, you can afford another $15 for "the state".

Continued from the same linked story above:
BikePortland publisher Jonathan Maus called it “an unprecedented step in the wrong direction.”
“We are taxing the healthiest, most inexpensive, most environmentally friendly, most efficient and most economically sustainable form of transportation ever devised by the human species,” Mr. Maus said.
Wrong, Mr. Maus. The most inexpensive, most environmentally friendly, most efficient and most economical sustainable form of transportation EVER - is WALKING. Besides, what adult makes a statement that will be published, saying, "[INSERT TOPIC] is the best thing EVER"?  Are you in middle school, Mr. Maus?

It might take you a few hours or more to walk the 5 or 25 miles to work, but don't you feel better about not using a bicycle, which takes natural resources, steel, labor, rubber, plastic and a bunch of other stuff. Plus the retail mark-up; 'ho, we can't forget the greedy, money and soul-sucking, bastard corporatistsThey're making a profit...how dare they!

And let's not forget, the bike is not going to drive itself to your local bike shop. No, it will probably get there by being transported in a large semi-truck. And if your precious bike is made in overseas, then it spent some time on a cargo ship. My God, think of the carbon footprint. How dare you own a bicycle, you aristocratic elite bastards!

But it takes natural resources and stuff to make shoes and hiking boots too! Yeah, but still not as much as a bicycle.


More from the same story:
Oregon Republican Party Chairman Bill Currier blasted what he described as Ms. Brown’s “endless obsession with finding new and innovative ways to take money out of the pockets of Oregon taxpayers.”
This Libertarian (that would be me) is MORE than joyous to see a Democrat governor in a deeply imbued Blue state, find "new and innovative ways to take money [from taxpayers]." Especially the taxpayer tri  bicycle riders.

More, from the same story:
The Street Trust, a Portland pro-bike group, praised the overall transportation package while saying that the bike tax “sends the wrong message to those trying to help.”
“Let’s be frank: This bike tax is very disappointing,” said The Street Trust’s Romain Bonilla.
Oh, Romain, that's so sad. Yes, it is so very disappointing, eh Romain?

Liberal Whining...The Best Ever. EVER!

And this nugget, from the same story.
Bikers cheered last year when Portland passed a four-year, 10-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline aimed at improving roads[.]
Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh...typical Liberal refrain; "tax thee but not me."

On a different issue, Gov. Brown has decreed "free abortions for all."  The Washington Times:
“The ability to control our bodies and make informed decisions about health are critical to providing all Oregonians the opportunity to achieve our full potential and live productive, thriving lives,” the Democratic chief executive said in an email. “Attempts to deny access to contraceptives and family planning are an attack on all Oregonians, particularly women of color, low-income and young women.”
Yes, I guess in order to achieve full potential, living productive and BEST EVER  THRIVING lives, a free abortion is an inalienable right. And so is a bicycle. Maybe?
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Spelling/Punctuation correction(s) 8/10/2017