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Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

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Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#181

Post by SauciestGNU »

clavalle wrote: post #103
notauser wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but fewer people are having children, which reduces the demand for suburban living. The suburbs also have less attraction for me as a parent. In the old days you could let your kids roam a suburb freely - now you can't. So why not live in a city? You have the same restrictions, but also a lot more distractions such as free museums.

Why can't you let your kids roam in a suburb?

Busybodies who call the cops when they see children without a nearby supervising adult?

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#182

Post by brightball »

Steltek wrote: post #132
clavalle wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't you let your kids roam in a suburb?

I suppose my kids could technically "roam" but they won't have anywhere to go that's interesting. Most kids can't even walk or bike to school in the suburbs.

Interesting is also very different for a kid. Kids get interested in bugs, the woods, forts, climbing on trees.

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#183

Post by brightball »

village-idiot wrote: post #145
brightball wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because they aren't having kids... Not because there's a problem with the homes or the locations. It's because somehow, an entire generation has grown up with the idea that the one biologically necessary act to further the survival of the species...is not a good idea. Maybe it's marketing, maybe it's the message, maybe it's the intensity of school causing people to believe that workaholism is necessary, maybe it's pr…

Shaming people for intensely personal choices is rude. Cut it out. Your argument basically presupposes that there’s something desirable about suburban homes, and that people not buying them is abnormal. I find this both unconvincing and historically incoherent.

My argument is that not having children en masse as a group goes against biology. It's happening in a lot of places too.

https://www.businessinsider.com/do-it-for-denmark-ad-campaig...

It's not shaming to point out a thing is happening or that it a thing is biologically necessary to further the human race. You're welcome to call it anything you want, but there's a lot of "shaming" that's gone in the other direction as well. I've watched it my entire life.

Desired home locations are just a side effect.

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#184

Post by village-idiot »

paulie_a wrote: post #160
village-idiot wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I lived in Chicago for 6 years. You're being overly dramatic.

Public transportation in Chicago sucks. The blue line incredibly crowded, id rather not get stabbed or thrown on to the tracks on the red. Metra is pretty ok. Also cyclists in Chicago apparently are allowed to do whatever they want. Run red lights, clip pedestriansnon the the sidewalks.

While I would like to see chicago spend more in public transit dollars and improve overall safety, this is a ridiculous representation of what it’s like to use the El. I commuted via el exclusively for 6 years, and didn’t even own a car for 5, and I never saw or knew someone who saw what you’re describing.

If you want to let your life be controlled by the worst comment section on the local news site that’s fine, but don’t waste our time with your nonsense.

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#185

Post by village-idiot »

Reedx wrote: post #180
village-idiot wrote: post #9

Anyone who's believed that the key to sustainable futures is simply swapping out ICE for electric motors simply is being wishful at best, willfully difficult at worse. The biggest problem I have with electric cars is that they continue to encourage low density low efficiency suburbs with hours long commutes into the high density cities. This is economically unsustainable, roads are expensive, and will only get worse…

> Anyone who's believed that the key to sustainable futures is simply swapping out ICE for electric motors simply is being wishful at best, willfully difficult at worse. Hopefully people aren't literally thinking that, considering that cars are only one piece of the carbon problem. It's not even the biggest piece.

I would recommend you take a visit to the tesla motors subreddit.

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#186

Post by village-idiot »

martythemaniak wrote: post #178
village-idiot wrote: post #9

Anyone who's believed that the key to sustainable futures is simply swapping out ICE for electric motors simply is being wishful at best, willfully difficult at worse. The biggest problem I have with electric cars is that they continue to encourage low density low efficiency suburbs with hours long commutes into the high density cities. This is economically unsustainable, roads are expensive, and will only get worse…

Think about this: How long is the new-to-trashed cycle for phones? for cars? for homes? The answers are, approximately: 4 years, 16 years and 100 years. The problem with your top-down utopian "we shall raze and rebuild our cities" rhetoric is that it always crashes against the massive inertia of the existing built-up landscape. No to mention that people genuinely like their houses, but we don't even need to bring tha…

Don’t put words in my mouth.

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#187

Post by Al-Khwarizmi »

village-idiot wrote: post #139
option wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I actually commute to work by motorcycle (not sure why it isn’t more popular in CA). But, of course, like a bicycle, it is not for everyone.

Perception of risk is why. My wife has made it very clear that I’m a single man if I ever get a motorcycle.

Only perception? I have nothing against motorcycles, but the last time I saw stats, increased risk with respect to both cars and bycicles was quite real.

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#188

Post by village-idiot »

lr4444lr wrote: post #120
village-idiot wrote: post #9

Anyone who's believed that the key to sustainable futures is simply swapping out ICE for electric motors simply is being wishful at best, willfully difficult at worse. The biggest problem I have with electric cars is that they continue to encourage low density low efficiency suburbs with hours long commutes into the high density cities. This is economically unsustainable, roads are expensive, and will only get worse…

There are problems with cars, but returning to the bicycle, an 18th century city technology, is regressive, not the way forward. The car was a great liberator from the congested and dirty density of the city which was once the luxury of only the rich to escape with their estates and private coaches. Make the suburbs more energy efficient, and figuring out an innovative and fairer way of financing roads is the progres…

By that logic we really should start ditching pants. They’re absolutely ancient!

Newer is not inherently better.

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#189

Post by liveoneggs »

smileysteve wrote: post #141
brightball wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it? Because the traffic in the suburbs is usually nowhere near the level of traffic in the city. The commute time tends to be relative to the traffic density more than the distance. I drive to the same location, 15 miles away every day. Depending on the time of day and the traffic, the drive will take 15 minutes or 45 minutes. The commute problem is forcing all of those cars down those same roads at the same time.…

Lived and worked in the suburbs of Atlanta, can confirm that suburb traffic going cross town of same suburb (Alpharetta) for 5 miles could take similar time as commuting from the same location to Buckhead. Similarly, going crosstown in Atlanta without highways is also bad.

lol I was going to reply with the Mansell -> Windward Pkwy drive as well :)

Re: Cycling Is Key to Safer, Healthier, More Vital Cities

#190

Post by village-idiot »

brightball wrote: post #183
village-idiot wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shaming people for intensely personal choices is rude. Cut it out. Your argument basically presupposes that there’s something desirable about suburban homes, and that people not buying them is abnormal. I find this both unconvincing and historically incoherent.

My argument is that not having children en masse as a group goes against biology. It's happening in a lot of places too. https://www.businessinsider.com/do-it-for-denmark-ad-campaig... It's not shaming to point out a thing is happening or that it a thing is biologically necessary to further the human race. You're welcome to call it anything you want, but there's a lot of "shaming" that's gone in the other direction a…

Okay, then I’d argue that having 2 kids goes against biology. And that moving to a suburban home and schooling your kids rather than working them in the field is unnatural.

That is after all, how humanity worked for a few Millenia.

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