Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Transportation Policy

Motor Mouths: Send Us Clueless Transportation Quotes From Public Officials

false

Before he gained worldwide notoriety as the mayor allegedly caught on tape smoking crack, Toronto's Rob Ford was perhaps best known as the mayor who said, "Bicyclists are a pain in the ass!"

Perhaps no public official will ever top that combination of brevity and mindless hostility toward non-automotive transportation. But there's a lot of competition out there.

Recently, we asked our Twitter followers to share quotes from state and local transportation officials that reveal an underlying contempt for walking, biking, and transit. Below are three examples that readers sent to us. Each comes from an official agency spokesperson, so you can only imagine what gets said behind closed doors. If you'd like to add to this initial collection of Motor Mouths -- and we hope you do -- send your example of car-centricity to angie@streetsblog.org or tell us about it in the comments.

Without further ado, our first round of Motor Mouths.

St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic

The Offender: David Wrone, spokesman for the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic, as quoted by the St. Louis Post Dispatch and a local CBS affiliate.

The Evidence:

Exhibit A: "As a matter of policy, we don’t build dedicated bike lanes. St. Louis County salutes the bike-riding community, but we manage our system in the knowledge that motor vehicles comprise the vast majority of our customer base.”

Exhibit B: "We're a highway department, not a bicycle department."

Translation:

A: We'd prefer to stay in the downward spiral of autocentric development resulting in car dependence and endless sprawl until we're bankrupt.

B: The "transportation" part of our name is just for show, we really only care about highways.

Maryland State Highway Administration:

The Offender: Agency spokesman David Buck in the Capital Gazette.

The Evidence:

“The safest way to get across the road is to cross at marked crosswalks,” said Buck, who estimated that 90 percent of pedestrian-related accidents are caused by pedestrian error.

Translation:

If pedestrians would just quit getting in the way of cars, they wouldn't get hit.

false

Baltimore Metropolitan Council:

The Offender: Larry Klimovitz, executive director of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council on the blog Pedestrian Error.

The Evidence:

"For transportation, the federal government requires us to coordinate as a region to make decisions. For all this other stuff we do, it’s voluntary. So, for example, water quality, housing, bike/ped …"

Translation:

Biking and walking are not transportation.

So there you have it, our first three contenders.

We're looking for more Motor Mouths. Give us your examples in the comments or email angie@streetsblog.org. Be sure to include a link to a news report or other official record of the statement. Also, if you caught a local or state transportation official saying something totally brilliant on the record, we’d like to know about that too.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Here’s A Bus Rapid Transit Plan For New York … If the City Cares

It sure beats the current method of guessing or simply basing the route on how strongly a given neighborhood opposes or supports it.

August 1, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Water Here, Water There Edition

Blame Father Time, not Mother Nature for Thursday's subway meltdown. Plus more news.

August 1, 2025

Komanoff: Data Show Time Loss from 15 MPH E-Bike Speed Cap is No Big Deal

A 15-mile-per-hour speed limit for motorized two-wheel devices — which e-bikes are — is eminently reasonable. And it doesn't cost much time at all, our columnist found.

August 1, 2025

Cities Matter More Than Ever After Trump Officially Denies Climate Change

We're entering a new era of federal climate denial, and it's time to use a different set of tools (like congestion pricing) to fight back.

July 31, 2025

SEE IT! Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better

One Brooklyn business has seen the future of safe streets and heavy lugging — and it's going to be O-KEI!

July 31, 2025

Opinion: Jessica Tisch Must Get Creative About Traffic Enforcement

NYPD speed enforcement needs a revamp — fortunately the city’s own data point the way.

July 31, 2025
See all posts