At the request of Grove Park residents, speed bumps were installed on all streets in their neighborhood. However, alt...

Irina on November 27, 2019

@thom,

(D) is incorrect because the argument never assumes that the residents should have the RIGHT to restrict traffic in their neighborhood that is not a private community, quite the opposite. The argument claims that the residents should have no such right, and all drivers should have the right to use the streets whenever they please.

BenMingov on November 27, 2019

Hi Thom, thanks for the question!

The argument is saying that the solution is unfair, with the reasons being that the neighbourhood is not a private community, streets were built using public funds, and all drivers should be allowed to use the roads as they please.

We are trying to find a flaw in the argument and answer choice D is saying that the argument contains the assumption that these residents should have the right to restrict traffic in their neighbourhood. The stimulus actually implies the very opposite of this, that these residents should not have this right. That's why it isn't the flaw. It does not apply to what happened in the argument.

While you are right that the residents are trying to restrict the traffic, it does not mean that the argument assumes they should have this right. In fact, it is saying this is unjust.

I hope this helped, please let me know if you have any questions!

hfatima1 on May 27, 2020

Can someone please explain to me how E is the right answer? I looked through the previous threads, but they only focus on why the other answers are wrong? Thank you!

YulissaCardoza on June 3, 2020

Why is E the right answer?

TrishCZ on July 26, 2020

Speed bumps and use are not related. Speed bumps do not make a road unusable.

shunhe on July 27, 2020

Hi @hfatima1, @YulissaCardoza, and @TrishCZ,

Thanks for the question! Yes, what @TrishCZ is correct, let me go into a slightly more detailed explanation. So let’s take a look at what the argument is saying.k We’re told that these speed bumps are installed in a neighborhood. The author is arguing that this is unfair. Why? Because the neighborhood isn’t a private community, and the streets were built with public funds, so all drivers should be able to use the streets whenever they want to.

So now we’re asked to find a problem with the reasoning in this argument. And we can see that this argument implies that because of these speed bumps, the drivers can’t use the roads whenever they please (since otherwise, there wouldn’t be a problem). But is that true? The drivers can still use the roads whenever, they just have to drive slower! The speed bumps don’t actually prevent people from using the roads. That’s definitely a flaw with the argument, and that’s what (E) points out—the argument presumes, without providing justification, that speed bumps prevent drivers from using the roads that they’re on. It seems more like people can still use those roads, they just have to drive more slowly.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.