‘Banana Slug’
courtesy of ‘Dan..’
Actually, it’s not the slug that will get the ticket, it’s the drivers who stop for them, according to WTOP. The slug pickup areas on 14th Street downtown are informal areas where southbound commuters gather to help other drivers reach the HOV-3 limit for 395 South. Where they’re stopping, though, are No Stopping Zones that muddle up the traffic, much like the tourbuses yesterday.
Slugging is a great method of informal carpooling that significantly lowers the amount of cars on the road. Perhaps a “slug zone” on 14th street would help alleviate that? Either way, careful how you do it this week, you might get stuck with a $100 ticket. Sure, that’s cheaper than the HOV Violation in Virginia, but still, no fun for anyone.
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
This is actually good for sluggers. It means DDOT is ready to look at places for official slug lines (if for no other reason than to quiet the outcry caused by the tickets). The slug lines on 14th are not ideal. No matter what sluggers say, they do add to traffic problems on an already overcrowded street. Merging always adds to traffic issues.
If slugs were given their own place, everyone would benefit.
I’m struck by an odd parallel here, between day laborers and slugging riders. It’s not totally aligned, but if you replace “day laborer” for slugger there, the meaning holds pretty much the same.
Appropos of nothing.