I've long said that we need something like this for dockless bikes/scooters. Just converting 1% of parking spaces in the city would drastically reduce the "littering" problem.
A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
41–50 of 307 posts
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#42the real question is what colour it should be
Typical HN comment. Always wanting to talk about the exact nature of the fissile material, the startup neutron source and even the colour of the reactor shield.
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#43>The fietsvlonder is a “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for 10 bicycles. If deemed a success, the curb is permanently adjusted, and the structure is moved to the next location. What makes it a success or failure?
Do the racks get used or stay empty? Does it result in more visitors than a single parking spot would have generated? Does it encourage more people to choose less polluting ways of navigating their neighborhood? The whole point is it helps a business owner / district / neighborhood planning association test a change before making it permanent. It is a great way to counteract the "no one ride bikes, removing a single parking spot will ruin my business" argument we see in the US.
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#44Local governments (at least in the US) seem to systematically underinvest in experiments like this. Things like traffic congestion have a ton of weird, largely unpredictable positive and negative feedback loops. Seattle removed its waterfront viaduct from service for a couple of weeks before changing over to the new $3.3B tunnel and traffic was mostly fine, despite apocalyptic predictions of gridlock. It's not entire…
Local governments are generally paralyzed by a fear of being liable if it somehow goes sideways. Of course they cling to the status quo for dear life.
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#45Local governments (at least in the US) seem to systematically underinvest in experiments like this. Things like traffic congestion have a ton of weird, largely unpredictable positive and negative feedback loops. Seattle removed its waterfront viaduct from service for a couple of weeks before changing over to the new $3.3B tunnel and traffic was mostly fine, despite apocalyptic predictions of gridlock. It's not entire…
In all fairness, we had enough warning coming into it, and it was a short enough time period, that a lot of people I know were able to adjust their commutes (or avoid them entirely) for a few weeks so the trafficpocalypse never really came to fruition.
On the flipside, ferry parking was an absolute wreck of congestion for locals and tourists alike.
also, hi Frank! :)
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ten years or so ago I recall a story about some guys in Eugene unbolting an entire rack full of bikes from the asphalt and loading it into a truck. Can't find the story now.
The bigger, the easier to get away with it from a social perspective--they could look more like people on official construction business.
You can steal anything as long as you steal it with a service truck or a rollback and wear a reflective vest while you do it.
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Are there any security features in this concept? The fact that you'd need a flat-bed to steal the bicycles is a security feature. People steal bikes because the penalty isn't serious. Who is going to risk a felony and their tow truck license for just a few bikes?
The avarage bike around here retails for about $1500, so $15000 in a single swipe isn't bad. I have seen an entire bike rack being pulled out of the ground using a truck and winch, so yes it does happen. Research has shown over and over again that penalty is seldom a factor in decision making, gain vs perceived risk of getting caught is, and stealing a single bike is still a felony. You don't need a tow truck license…
If you pass a pickup truck on the highway carrying an overflowing load of bikes haphazardly strapped down you passed a professional bike thief. They are carrying a load of bikes from one town, often a college town, to another. If you've bought a bike from a Craigslist seller who turns out to have a dozen or more bikes locked to a rack, often on a college campus, you bought a bike stolen from a town down the road.
But these are very seldom expensive bikes. The bad news is that your $75 bike you think is too cheap to steal from the train station rack is exactly what this kind of bike thief is looking for. They want low risk and fast turnover.
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#48Local governments (at least in the US) seem to systematically underinvest in experiments like this. Things like traffic congestion have a ton of weird, largely unpredictable positive and negative feedback loops. Seattle removed its waterfront viaduct from service for a couple of weeks before changing over to the new $3.3B tunnel and traffic was mostly fine, despite apocalyptic predictions of gridlock. It's not entire…
Local governments are generally paralyzed by a fear of being liable if it somehow goes sideways. Of course they cling to the status quo for dear life.
Exactly! In my day job, a lot of our customers are small to medium governments, and their primary decision points are around risk exposure. We've managed to set up our government to optimize for avoiding possible downsides instead of innovating and making the status quo better.
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Are there any security features in this concept? The fact that you'd need a flat-bed to steal the bicycles is a security feature. People steal bikes because the penalty isn't serious. Who is going to risk a felony and their tow truck license for just a few bikes?
The avarage bike around here retails for about $1500, so $15000 in a single swipe isn't bad. I have seen an entire bike rack being pulled out of the ground using a truck and winch, so yes it does happen. Research has shown over and over again that penalty is seldom a factor in decision making, gain vs perceived risk of getting caught is, and stealing a single bike is still a felony. You don't need a tow truck license…
There's easier and less risky ways to make a few grand with a rollback though.
The kind of Orwellian things society would need to do to prevent these kinds of crimes of opportunity would cost far more than the crimes themselves cost anyway.
Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles
#50Local governments (at least in the US) seem to systematically underinvest in experiments like this. Things like traffic congestion have a ton of weird, largely unpredictable positive and negative feedback loops. Seattle removed its waterfront viaduct from service for a couple of weeks before changing over to the new $3.3B tunnel and traffic was mostly fine, despite apocalyptic predictions of gridlock. It's not entire…
In Atlanta we had one of our main highways collapse, I85. It was the exit after my place. Everyone adjusted and it actually forced people to ride the train. The train stations had to borrow parking spaces from businesses and schools.
Everyone will adjust. On the first day it will be a disaster if it’s unexpected.