I found this poster in my building’s laundry room today:
A portion of the poster reads:
We are looking for persons interested in taking direct radical action to promote pedestrian safety in DC.
Specifically, we intend to stage a media event to dramatize the situation:
a member of our organizatin[sic] will dress in full “bullfighter” costume, including red cape, and stand in a crosswalk on Connecticut Avenue NW during rush hour.
Ok, direct action. I can get into that, but does standing in the middle of a crosswalk sound like a MASSIVELY BAD IDEA to anyone else?
I mean, I get it. I do. The people who drive up Connecticut Ave and into Maryland don’t care about the neighborhood folks - the kids and grannies - just going about their business as the barrel up the arterial road. And, I know that I’ve had some close calls with drivers, even on the weekends.
Still… bad idea or not, I want to know when this is going down. I want to be there with either a camera or bull horns on my car. I haven’t decided.
[Edited to add better quality photo.]
One Comment
But will this really achieve the purpose of easing traffic? When I was in college there was a guy who walked along a major thoroughfare dressed in medieval jousting garb. I used to think this was simply because he was a bit, uh, eccentric. Now I realize he may have had a higher purpose in mind…traffic activism!