From the Archives: 100 mile Alleycat & There's nothing new about trail squatting

Two from the historical record for this week. It's Bike to Work Week after all.

First, this is the oldest record I could find of a bike race in DC (though surely not the first bike race). It's from Feb 22, 1879.

Clearly Krauskopf was doping, no?

And then here's a 1994 article that is about a subject familiar to anyone following the Purple Line/Georgetown Branch Trail stories lately. "Arlington Seeks to Reclaim Land on Bicycle Trail; Encroachments Spark Disputes Over Extended Use of Property"

I haven't paid for highbeam membership, so all I have is the lead-in, and I have no idea how this was resolved. I assume it was done the Arlington Way, aka, sumo wrestling.

There are roses and stones and statues in Donna and Gerardo Rivero's Mediterranean villa-style garden in Arlington, and there is a garage.

And winding beside the garage there is a paved and wildflower-trimmed lane, part of Arlington County's 85-mile-and-growing bicycle and walking trail system. Some people think the garage shouldn't be there because a corner of it is on county property and they want it torn down. And the Riveros are angry about that.

 

Comments

[contrarian]

Some people think the garage shouldn't be there because a corner of it is on county property and they want it torn down. And the Riveros are angry about that.

I love that bit -- the Riveros are angry. It seems to be pretty much the universal reaction when people get caught appropriating public space for their own use and are told they need to stop: they raise their voices, beat their chests and pound the table, and solemnly swear they're not going anywhere without a fight.

[Jonathan Krall]

To be clear, there is a selection bias at work here. Only the people who put up a fight get into the papers.

I own a house with a fence that encroaches on property associated with an adjacent alley. It was that way when I purchased the house. If the city of Alexandria ever asks, I plan to tear down some or all of the fence and (probably) rebuild it within bounds. Not everyone who owns property is a greedy self-serving jerk.