Works for Me?

In the early days of the internet our company had a software engineer who managed our internet connection as a side job. When something went wrong, he often had this answer: “Works for me!” How often do you encounter someone with this attitude that if it works for them that is all that matters?

If you are part of what is considered the “normal” group in our society then it may not come up much for you. But, what if you are disabled? A minority? Female? Left-handed? Or trying to get around without a car?

The Nextdoor site has been flooded with comments about the new double roundabouts near Old Town Goleta. Someone will timidly note their experience being terrified by the behavior of other motorists.

They are met with a deluge of people telling them that they love roundabouts. “Works for Me” in action. When these particular roundabouts opened, I happened to have some medical appointments in the Patterson/Hollister area. I tried to walk back to Old Town Goleta. I was met with a sign saying “Pedestrians Must Cross to Other Side.” Not easy on freeway-like Hollister.

After surviving that, I was soon met by an identical sign on the other side. No one setting this up seemed to notice that there was simply no way to get through on either side as a pedestrian. The next day I was back on my bicycle. This was just as bad. The “alternate” path for bicyclists hadn’t even been built when this was opened. I was forced to enter what literally felt like a meat grinder. Where I was forced to compete with vehicles weighing multiple tons that were traveling much faster than I could possibly pedal.

Meanwhile, I had warned the Goleta City Council and their engineers that the “alternate” path was just as terrifying. Involving multiple crossings of multiple road segments. Where it was impossible to tell if a motorist was continuing in the roundabout or was about to cross your path at high speed. They took zero interest in the design when it came to pedestrians or bicyclists. After all, they are in cars, so it works for them.

Quite a contrast with Old Town Goleta. It took over 30 years and at least 50 public meetings to create bicycle lanes and safe pedestrian crossings. Why? Because those in power felt that the current layout “works for me.” This is related to the “normalcy bias” I recently wrote about. It was “normal” to have seven lanes devoted to motor vehicles and none devoted to bicyclists. And to have no safe pedestrian crossings. It “worked for me” for decades for those in cars.

Can we please think of others when we design our society?
So that “works for me”
includes everyone?

Immediately after our hard-won victory there was a deluge of complaints from people who were infuriated that they had to slow down a bit when they were driving. They wanted the City of Goleta to put things back as they were. After all, it was all just fine before, wasn’t it? It worked for them. Never mind that one third of Americans cannot drive.

The same kind of thinking kept prayer in the schools for decades. If you were a Christian you felt this “works for me” and had no idea what the problem was. What finally opened their eyes slightly: when Wiccans, Muslims and other minority groups demanded equal time for their prayers.

The Civil Rights Movement was all about getting white Christians to understand that what “works for me” doesn’t work for millions of other Americans who are neither white nor Christian. For many whites: “Everything was fine when Blacks knew their place.”

And why spend so much money accommodating the disabled? They are just not normal and they should be glad we put up with them. This is a notable case because any of us can enter this minority at any time. As I did after the “works for me” road design in Goleta nearly killed me: I was hit by a car coming home from work one day on my bicycle.

Can we please think of others when we design our society? So that “works for me” includes everyone?