By Bob Levey Column
Washington Post, May 11, 1995
James Morris has more courage than I would have had. As usual, however,the bicycle messenger with whom he tangled had zero courage, and even lessof a leg to stand on.
The scene was Connecticut Avenue and K Street NW on a weekday -- a prescriptionfor human clutter, to say the least. James was waiting to cross the street.He was standing in one of the curb cuts that were added to D.C. sidewalksin the last few years to accommodate wheelchairs.
I've never met a bike messenger who pilots a wheelchair. But that didn'tstop one member of that species from squeezing his bike up against andpast the waiting James.
This push-past was impolite enough. The fact that the messenger hadjust been riding on a downtown D.C. sidewalk also happened to be illegal.And the words the messenger spouted at James were both wrong-headed andwrong-hearted.
"These ramps are not to be used by able-bodied people," themessenger announced, haughtily.
James replied that he'd be glad to move out of the way if a disabledperson needed to use the ramp. The real offender, James said to the messenger,is you.
If you've followed my bike-messenger columns over the years, you knowbetter than to assail the weak egos of these two-wheeled desperadoes. Thisguy was right in character. He raised his voice -- and then, his fists.By questioning his right to be where he was, he screeched, James had underminedhis right to make a living, not to mention his manhood. He offered to rearrangeJames's facial features, without benefit of anesthesia.
James backed off before any damage was done or attempted. He told researcherBooth Moore that he would have filed a complaint. But in its wisdom, theD.C. Council doesn't require bike messengers to carry licenses nor doesit require that their bikes display identification numbers. So James didn'thave enough information to pursue the matter, and, as he noted, the policeprobably wouldn't have paid much attention anyway.
James should have contacted an officer just the same, because there'sno question the messenger was wrong.
Officer Haydee Pineda, a spokeswoman for the D.C. police, confirmedthat curb cuts are public space and that anyone can use them. There isno law that requires able-bodied people to avoid the cuts. If someone ina wheelchair came along, common courtesy and common sense would dictategetting out of the way, she said. But no law requires it.
As to where bike messengers can and can't go, the law is equally clear.Officer Kenny Bryson, another spokesman for the D.C. police, said thatchapter 1201.9 of Title 18 of the city's municipal regulations bars bikesof all kinds from sidewalks in the downtown business district. Connecticutand K clearly falls within that area, he said.
Kenny did point out that it's not just pedestrians who get hurt downtownbecause of brushes with couriers. Many couriers get hurt, too. "Everyoneneeds to be careful out there," Kenny said.
Hard to argue with that. But it's even harder not to notice the repeated,in-your-face arrogance of the messengers. By their every move, they seemto say, "We have more of a right to be here than any of the rest ofyou." But when I walk along a District sidewalk or step into a curbcut, I'm often earning a living, too -- and I never threaten to bust someonein the chops if they anger me even slightly.
Shouldn't bike messengers be required to obtain training and licenses?Obviously.
Shouldn't bike messengers be required to learn the law and obey it,courteously? Obviously.
Shouldn't fax machines put these malicious cowboys out of business onceand for all? Some of us have been hoping that hope for a long time.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Washington Post, May 31, 1995
I am a Navy veteran, a taxpayer and a bike messenger. I don't do drugs,I go to work every day, and I don't terrorize little old ladies or smallchildren. In short, I'm just like anyone else.
Was Bob Levey scared by a bike courier as a child, or does he thinkhe can trash a group of people in print and they will never fight back{"Another Nasty, Wrong Bike Messenger," May 11} ? As there areirresponsible journalists, truck drivers and cab drivers, there are rudeand dangerous people who are bike messengers. Mr. Levey should find outa little more about all those who do this job and not generalize from theactions of a few. DANIELLE ROSHINSKI Washington
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