Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

AAA Spokesman: Leading DC Urbanist “Retarded” and “Like the Klan”

Just a month ago, AAA released a heartwarming PSA reminding drivers that cyclists are people, before a crowd of hundreds of bike advocates at the National Bike Summit.

false

At the time, we wondered whether AAA was simply embarking on a PR campaign, or if the nation's largest automotive club had really changed its ways. Would its regional branches back off campaigns against parking reform in Washington, DC, or three-foot passing laws in California?

Well, I think we have our answer now. In a recent article in the Washington City Paper, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John Townsend attacks David Alpert, founder of Greater Greater Washington, in unbelievable fashion. Network blog Beyond DC has this report:

AAA’s official company spokesman John Townsend says GGW’s David Alpert is a “nerd,” a “ninny,” is “developmentally retarded,” and is “like the Klan.”

If AAA thinks it’s good business practice for its spokespeople to make offensive personal attacks, then AAA isn’t a company I will ever have anything to do with. I don’t currently own a car, but someday I probably will. AAA won’t be my insurance partner when that day comes.

And in the mean time, if this is how AAA thinks and represents itself, guess how seriously I take their positions on transportation issues.

Will AAA stand behind Townsend and his childish behavior?

Keep in mind, Alpert is a guy who founded a tremendously successful local news site as a volunteer project and now contributes editorials semi-regularly at the Washington Post. One of these two men looks pretty foolish and it's not David Alpert.

In a recent post on GGW, the editorial team urged readers to move their business to the Better World Club, a Portland-based roadside support provider, which in the words of GGW writers "offers many of the same benefits as AAA, but without the disdain."

Elsewhere on the Network today: Global Site Plans outlines Miami 21, the city of Miami's plan to use form-based code to make the city more walkable and sustainable. The League of American Bicyclists explains how one member's suggestion helped launch the Bike-Friendly Communities program. And Human Transit says the way seats are configured in subway cars isn't just a matter of preference, it has real impacts on capacity and service quality.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Want Five-Minute Cities, Maybe?

Fifteen-minute cities are great, but polls show that most people with cars would still rather drive than walk 15 minutes.

May 15, 2025

How To End Your City’s Fight Over Scooter Parking Once and For All

Micromobility riders need a good place to end their ride just like everyone else — and cities can accomplish several goals at once by giving them one.

May 14, 2025

Blue State AGs Sue Trump Over ‘Strong-Arm’ Tactic of Tying DOT Funds to Immigration Crackdown

The U.S. Department of Transportation is illegally threatening to withhold billions in transportation funding to states that don't "cooperate" with the administration's immigration crackdown, a new suit argues.

May 14, 2025

Let Wednesday’s Headlines Clear Our Throat

Congestion pricing is doing what its supporters promised it would do.

May 14, 2025
See all posts