For the last 24 hours, the internet has been buzzing about Melissa McCarthy's upcoming return to Saturday Night Live to play White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. On Friday, McCarthy was driving Spicer's podium around the streets of Manhattan.

Our contributors had a few thoughts about this important transportation mode:

Nick Keenan: The thing I hate about podium drivers is the way they weave through traffic, cut between lines of cars, slow cars behind them. And they think that red lights and stop signs don’t apply to them. Plus they’re decked out in garish Press Secretary outfits!

David Alpert: We need protected podiumways.

Joanne Pierce: Single occupancy podiums add to congestion but they also don't rely on gas so they do benefit the environment… obvious solution is to add more capacity.

Gray Kimbrough: This is a common talking point for transit opponents: they claim that transit users would be better served by Podium Rapid Transit (PRT), though designs for such a system have never advanced beyond the planning stages.

Canaan Merchant: Needs more camouflage though for hiding in the bushes

Jeremiah Lowery: I was hoping this was in DC because I still have time to advocate for podiumways at the budget hearing today.

David Alpert: Jeremiah, I suggest you ask DC to establish a new Press Secretaries Advisory Council (PSAC) to advise the DC government on how to make safe, convenient podium infrastructure.

Tracey Johnstone: Speaking for the Action Committee for Transit, the solution to easing traffic is NEVER more vehicles, whether they be self-driving cars, driverless cars, flying cars, or podiums. ADA laws should render most modes of transit podium-accessible.

Joanne Pierce: Looking at the podium again, it brings up serious issues of safety. There isn't even a seatbelt! Or a seat. Helmet laws need to be expanded for podium transit. I'm going to start Podiumotion, LLC.

Should this riveting story develop any further, we'll keep you updated with the same detailed analysis of where McCarthy's work fits into the transportation puzzle.

Update: Commenter WestEgg has done some major legwork to bring the proper infrastructure to our streets. “All it would take to install protected podiumways like this one is some paint, political leadership, and a 62-month study from DDOT.”

Jonathan Neeley was Greater Greater Washington's staff editor from 2014-2017. He gets most everywhere by bike (or Metro when it's super nasty out), thinks the way planning decisions shape our lives is fascinating, and plays a whole lot of ultimate. He lives in Brookland.