Google Wants to Make Silicon Valley as Bike-Friendly as Copenhagen

Post by kaybe » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 9:06 PM UTC

TulliusCicero wrote: post #71

mc32 wrote: post #64

To my mind, one of the main issues, in addition to protected bike lanes is the spread. Bike friendly cities are more compact. Commuting to work via bike is not a strenuous fifteen mile commute one way. They tend to be leisurely few mile rides. Now, not to say it's not possible, but a one to five mile bike ride is not the same as a ten to fifteen or more miles bike ride. Now, I do like Copenhagen's above ground bike r…

Sure, you're never going to get people who live 15 or 20 miles out biking the whole way to work, but there's lots of people who live You also have to keep in mind biking as a first-mile/last-mile complement to rail transit. If there's good bike paths to get to a transit station, that effectively extends the usable radius of the station. Already, lots of people bike to Caltrain and then bike from their stop to work (I…

Post by Doctor_Fegg » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 9:10 PM UTC

dogma1138 wrote: post #11

tormeh wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about public transport you can take the bikes with you on, and nice bike paths in the denser areas?

The denser areas, especially the bay side belt are quite are quite bike friendly. Public transportation is a completely different question, bikes on buses do not work, some train services can be adopted with special carriages to carry bikes on board. The main issue isn't just roads its and entire infrastructure, e.g. giving bikes priority over motor vehicles like in some European countries which might not work well,…

Post by idlewords » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 9:12 PM UTC

odiroot wrote: post #95

hyperion2010 wrote: post #62

Based on the photo at the bottom they are going to fail the same way that many other US cities have failed when trying install bike lanes. You MUST put the parked cars between moving traffic and bikes. If you do not bikers are going to get hit and doored and will obstruct turn lanes. Pretty much everywhere in Europe gets this right. Traffic -> parking -> bikes -> peds. How did the US get everything completely backwar…

I wouldn't say pretty much everywhere. Probably only in Amsterdam. In Berlin it's mostly: cars | bikes | parking | pedestrians (raised sidewalk). In Warsaw (for example) it's: cars | parking | bikes (part of the sidewalk) | pedestrians (raised sidewalk).

Post by nkassis » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 9:14 PM UTC

URSpider94 wrote: post #55

nkassis wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"It seems people in the US fetishize road bikes with drop bars and skinny tires as the 'best and fastest' kind of bike" I don't think that true. The general opinion I've seen where I live is that bikes are toys and paying above a few hundred for one is ridiculous. I do agree that you probably don't want a race oriented road bike if your goal is to commute to work a few miles but if you enjoy the sport and know what y…

Outside the Bay Area in the US, I see a lot of hybrid and mountain bikes. In Silicon Valley, there's definitely a preference for multi-thousand $ road bikes -- and people ride them, hard. Still, riding your carbon race bike to the office is akin to driving your Ferrari to the grocery store -- uncomfortable on rough roads, no storage space, and when you get there, where do you park?

Post by hyperion2010 » Wed, Sep 23, 2015, 9:16 PM UTC

odiroot wrote: post #95

hyperion2010 wrote: post #62

Based on the photo at the bottom they are going to fail the same way that many other US cities have failed when trying install bike lanes. You MUST put the parked cars between moving traffic and bikes. If you do not bikers are going to get hit and doored and will obstruct turn lanes. Pretty much everywhere in Europe gets this right. Traffic -> parking -> bikes -> peds. How did the US get everything completely backwar…

I wouldn't say pretty much everywhere. Probably only in Amsterdam. In Berlin it's mostly: cars | bikes | parking | pedestrians (raised sidewalk). In Warsaw (for example) it's: cars | parking | bikes (part of the sidewalk) | pedestrians (raised sidewalk).