By: Bill Wilson
There's a reason nobody has come up with a brilliant
invention called the "window mat." You can approach just about any
door in America, but peering through a clear opening may be grounds for a
public stoning. And Ma and Pa Kettle are certainly not going to provide a dry
place for your feet in the middle of their tulip bed.
Everybody wants their privacy--and any invader must risk
paying an embarrassing penalty, whether it is a scowl from the family room
couch or a public lawsuit. I recently was watching a news clip about the tiny
black box automakers are now placing in their product. This device can throw
out all kinds of information, like if and when you wear your seatbelt and what
happened leading up to an accident. Supporters of this type of nose-sticking
technology believe it's the best way to make cars and the road safer.
Americans, however, would much rather take a severe blow to the head than lose
an inch of "me" space. Some have threatened lawsuits.
The state of Virginia is about to embark on a study which
will once again test the touchiness of thy neighbor. There are talks of the
need of another Potomac River bridge north of the Capital Beltway. Research
will call for a consultant to videotape license plates of vehicles crossing the
cramped American Legion Bridge in both directions. The plate numbers would then
be sent to the department of motor vehicles, which will provide ZIP codes of
the taped travelers. From here, officials will be able to see where the cars' final
resting place is, if indeed they still live at the registered ZIP code.
This study, which will cost $70,000-$125,000, can be much
more effective, but nerves seem to be getting in the way. Back when there was
chatter about the possibility of a new Woodrow Wilson Bridge similar data was
collected--but the transportation authority poked a little further. Instead of
ZIP codes, the demand was for street addresses which were used to send
postcards containing a few simple questions about trips taken across the
Potomac. All in all feedback was positive. Based on the information provided,
planners were able to see if people were out on business and took the route
daily or if they were driving at a more leisurely pace. Still, there were a few
who wanted to preserve their privacy, which has left a noticeable worry wart.
Nobody seems to be willing to risk stepping into anyone's inner circle this
time around.
If you ask me, videotaping certainly beats the alternative.
Two years ago a federal study on American Legion Bridge travel patterns was
canceled after the value was deemed worthless. Here they looked at the general
demand for a new bridge. During public forums people wanted to know exactly
where they planned on building the span, but the non-verbal answer was a shrug.
Oh, they had a map full of colored lines of where this one crossover may land,
but nobody knew the exact location.
"Because they didn't know, the people were against
it," said Ronald Kirby, transportation planning director for the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
People want to know every little piece of building
specification, and they deserve it. They also need to know why you're about to
insert more drilled shafts into the earth. With that demand hanging overhead
doesn't it make sense to use a system that will tell a concerned citizen that
65% of the those crossing over the American Legion Bridge do it because they
are going or returning from work, and that if a new span is created congestion
will decrease by as much as 50% thus subtracting 20 minutes off your precious
travel time AND removing .004% of pollutants from the atmosphere? (By the way,
these numbers aren't real, I'm just throwing them out to make a point.)
Or perhaps we could make motorists stop at the bridge and
ask them a few questions about where they are coming from and where they are
headed. Oops, people would be looking into windows again. Scratch that idea.
About The Author: Bill Wilson is editor of Roads & Bridges and recipient of the 2003 Robert F. Boger Award--Editorials.
