Letter to the Editor: Durham Responds to Papp's 'When Outsiders Lobby'

To the editor:

Ms. Papp's “When Outsiders Lobby” letter is misleading, and undermines her credibility. She writes of the appearance of outside lobbyists, while omitting mention of either the long history of Alexandria advocates for safe bike facilities or the composition of the speakers who supported the City's proposal for Bike lanes on King Street at a Nov. 25 Traffic and Parking Board hearing. She has also aligned herself with those who first involved outsiders via the Wall Street Journal and American Spectator.

Alexandria residents have been advocating for safe bike facilities since at least the early 1970s. One of the most well-known advocates was Ellen Pickering, who, with Barbara Lynch, in 1971, convinced the National Park Service to provide gravel for a bike path, built by volunteers, so their families could bike on the weekend and Barbara's husband and others could commute to DC. That gravel path is now paved and known as the Mount Vernon Trail, with more than a million users in Alexandria each year.

In 2012, the City recognized the current group of Alexandria residents who advocate for bicycle and pedestrian improvements with the Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award.

On Nov. 25, 2013, 35 of the 38 speakers in support of the City's proposal for Bike lanes on King Street were Alexandria residents. So who are the outside lobbyists that Ms. Papp is talking about? Was she is referring to the T.C. Williams High School teacher from Tacoma Park who spoke about the need for bike lanes on King Street to enable more of his Alexandria students to bike to school, or the representative of a regional association, based in DC, that includes more than 3,000 Alexandria residents?

How is the "sudden appearance" of these individuals "unwarranted interference," and how are they standing "in the way of change"?

The King Street Traffic Calming and Bike Lanes Project is a City staff proposal for safety improvements, supported by Alexandria residents who support change for safety's sake.

On the other hand, opponents of the City's proposed King Street project bemoaned the inconvenience for their party guests resulting from the removal of 27 of 37 on-street parking spaces.

Perhaps that is who Ms. Papp was talking about when she said they "stand in the way of change that does not wholly benefit them alone."

Jim Durham