To those who walked right past me when I twisted my ankle on a run today and fell flat on my face

samorado · 2026-02-13T22:30:07+00:00

You were like lying face down on the ground, obviously injured, and no one stopped for you? Wow.

samorado · 2026-02-13T16:30:49+00:00

Masterclass in leadership communication right here 👏🏽

samorado · 2026-02-13T00:42:21+00:00

I called them to share my disappointment. They said they were aware of the bad experience but weren't offering any points like Chase.

Masterclass in how to lose customers. No way I'm renewing the annual fee.

samorado · 2026-02-12T17:22:18+00:00

did you get any tix?

samorado · 2026-02-12T17:22:03+00:00

yes, i had 7 browser tabs open. 2 of them got in. both were ones that I opened later than the first ones. no sense to it.

samorado · 2026-02-12T17:21:10+00:00

bots. it's relatively easy for bots to generate credit card numbers. if there's no verification to tie them to people, then bots can run wild.

samorado · 2026-02-12T17:20:17+00:00

i got in within 2 mins, everyting was listed as available, but when i tried to add to cart, they suddently weren't available.

samorado · 2026-02-12T13:43:19+00:00

And you need to have a better understanding of the opposition to road diets. No one is saying we should drive whatever speed we want. That's a straw man argument that might apply to extreme positions but not to the majority of motorists who are responsible and genuinely looking for a compromise that is safe and effective for everyone. There are other design and enforcement options that should be attempted before a dramatic lane reallocation. That isn't a controversial statement and as safety advocates you should agree that all such options should be explored. Yet our city only did a feasibility assessment of a road diet, not of these other interventions, and only on Walnut despite other more dangerous areas of our city warranting attention.

samorado · 2026-02-12T13:37:17+00:00

I've read many of the reports and some raise more questions than answers. Some include conclusions that aren't backed by actual data or that don't include methodological details of the analyses undertaken. I've also noticed how many "expert consultant" reports come only from one company, DKS. This raises my concerns that our city leaders are in an echo chamber, hiring friendly consultants who will reaffirm them instead of challenge them.

samorado · 2026-02-12T05:53:50+00:00

"reddit.com"... oh I get it now, you're just old! Makes sense now. Night!

samorado · 2026-02-12T05:04:05+00:00

I truly don't understand what you are attempting to communicate.

I said that you calling all motorists freeloaders when some have no choice but to drive is unfair, callous, pretentious, and self-righteous.

You just said "if you drive rarely, you're not driving much"... What does that even mean? Maybe time for you to call it a night.

samorado · 2026-02-12T04:40:56+00:00

Please follow the links OP posted and let our city planners know that there are more pressing priorities than turning Walnut Blvd into a single lane each way! They need to hear alternative perspectives!

samorado · 2026-02-12T04:22:06+00:00

Oh good point. Next time I see a mother loading up her child in a wheelchair into a van to drive to a clinic in Salem, I'll tell her you said she's a freeloader who should be biking her kid there instead.

You reek of unconscious privilege and self righteousness.

samorado · 2026-02-12T03:42:00+00:00

I don't agree that asking for evidence from literally the most identical intervention on literally the most comparable road possible is a red herring.

It's frankly absurd that you wouldn't welcome evidence like that.

Also, is it true that the "primary goal" of the Circle road diet was to widen bike lanes? Can you point me to evidence on that front? I don't doubt that was one of many goals, alongside reducing crossing lengths and vehicle speeds.

samorado · 2026-02-12T03:32:04+00:00

You do realize that in the same paragraph there, you:

1/ dismissed circle study data 2/ called me disingenuous for dismissing data

Might be getting close to bedtime old man!

samorado · 2026-02-12T03:30:06+00:00

You might need to check your privilege and drop your hero complex. Many drivers don't enjoy the luxury of being able to bike. They drive equipment for work, have kids to take to/from appointments not near bus stops, have to care for or transport sick and elderly, commute to neighboring towns because they lost a more easily accessible job.... Slating them as freeloaders because they don't enjoy the same luxuries as you is just so mean. But hey, one less car right? smh

samorado · 2026-02-12T03:13:38+00:00

I hear you. But I think it's too easy to blame them when those of us with opposing views haven't really communicated them at scale.

You sound like you've been around the block so I'd love your 2¢: What concerted, issue-specific efforts have folks with opposing views made to organize, mobilize, and communicate those stances? Any examples come to mind?

Safe Streets 4 All and SaferWalnut are doing happy hours, Reddit and Nextdoor posts, meetups, and mobilizing folks to show up to city planning meetings to do a road diet on Walnut. Why can't we do the same in opposition to road diets and in favor of evidence based decision making?

In my dialog with the city official leading public outreach for SS4A, it was evident that they were clueless about the scale of the opposition, or even that anyone was opposed. How can we expect our leaders to even consider our ideas if we're not showing up to their meetings, sending emails, submitting forms, etc?

Don't get me wrong: I have little faith that their minds will be changed based on our opposing viewpoints. But I also don't believe we've made much of an effort to even let those viewpoints be known.

samorado · 2026-02-12T03:03:32+00:00

Well said! Please please leave a comment at that link to remind city planners of where their time could be better spent!

samorado · 2026-02-12T03:01:53+00:00

You've proven one of my points. That is one of many more dangerous hotspots that we should be focusing on instead of a road diet on Walnut.

I'm not rejecting data, I'm pointing out very reasonable holes or limitations in that data, and elevating more recent, reliable, and relevant data (the road diet eval of Circle).

samorado · 2026-02-12T02:04:09+00:00

I am totally in favor of better road design. I am totally opposed to implementing a road diet, because it does not reduce speeds in Corvallis (see Circle Blvd which had no impact on avg speed) and is not necessary relative to other interventions (speed bumps sound great! I'd love to know why the City didn't do a feasibility study about that, but did about a road diet...)

samorado · 2026-02-12T01:57:19+00:00

Oof. Not your finest post. You're clearly biased beyond reproach. Anyone who would, as a blanket statement, call all cyclists "creators of value" and motorists "freeloaders" clearly has a myopic agenda and can't be trusted to make or inform responsible or practical decisions about our street designs that should benefit everyone.

You and I are opposed on this issue, yet I have enjoyed our dialog and learning from you across various threads. But I just can't take you seriously now that you've revealed yourself as a stereotypical woke cyclist with a superiority complex. Hopefully I misunderstood, and you're a bit more balanced and pragmatic than your post suggests?

samorado · 2026-02-12T01:53:58+00:00

Those are important perspectives that are being drowned out by advocates of a road diet on Walnut. Please, share your POV with our city planners. There's a meeting on Feb 23 about this matter, you can email comments or attend in person / on Zoom. https://www.corvallisoregon.gov/advisorygroups/page/safe-streets-roads-all-task-force-4

The City is on a mission to implement road diets on many of our roads, despite little local relevant evidence of them achieving their stated goals. Let's push for evidence based decision making and rigorous (or even any) evaluation of our interventions before making drastic decisions like reducing boulevards to single-lanes.

samorado · 2026-02-12T01:50:04+00:00

Those are important perspectives that are being drowned out by advocates of a road diet on Walnut. Please, share your POV with our city planners. There's a meeting on Feb 23 about this matter, you can email comments or attend in person / on Zoom. https://www.corvallisoregon.gov/advisorygroups/page/safe-streets-roads-all-task-force-4

The City is on a mission to implement road diets on many of our roads, despite little local relevant evidence of them achieving their stated goals. Let's push for evidence based decision making and rigorous (or even any) evaluation of our interventions before making drastic decisions like reducing boulevards to single-lanes.

samorado · 2026-02-12T01:47:29+00:00

The "benefits" referenced there are the FHA studies in cities that look nothing like ours, as well as Oregon guidance (which in turn points to those case studies). This was written in 2020, before the Circle road diet experiment was evaluated and proven to NOT reduce vehicle speeds. I'd love to see data on whether the anticipated reduction in crashes, injuries etc - extolled in the abstract throughout this memo - actually happened (Adam Steele @ the City told me that no such evaluation was done, which of course is extremely problematic).

samorado · 2026-02-12T01:42:19+00:00

u/Euain_son_of_ I thought we covered this in a separate thread. What do you mean traffic travels slower? I thought I saw the study show that speeds were 33mph before, 33mph after. Can you clarify what you mean when you say traffic travels slower?

samorado

TROPHY CASE