Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 307 posts

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#101

Post by Steltek »

g_sch wrote: post #86

This concept would make a fun (thought) experiment for a street in the US. Imagine a car parked curbside in a city street somewhere in the US. No one complains, because this is how everyone expects street space to be used - as storage for private cars. Maybe there's a flatbed trailer attached to this car. Now add bike racks to the flatbed trailer. Next, add a stairway or a ramp. Then, gradually lower the trailer a li…

I would hesitate to lock up my bike on a mobile object that could disappear without warning. It would need a ton of messaging, failsafes, and perhaps other things before I'd trust it.

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#102

Post by lazyasciiart »

criddell wrote: post #92
CalRobert wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the right infrastructure, 12 miles is about a 45-50 minute ride, for what it's worth. When I commuted from Santa Monica to El Segundo it was 13 miles and the bike averaged ~5 minutes slower than car (I was in the best shape of my life and loved starting the day that way, to boot.)

At lot of that depends on where you live. Southern California has a pretty ideal climate. I'm in Austin and I can manage my 7 mile commute in the summer until the temperature gets above about 102. I'm fortunate that my workplace has a shower. A 12 mile winter commute in some of the northern states could be pretty dangerous.

I expect it is, but people definitely do it by choice: https://www.frugalwoods.com/2014/11/19/the-ultimate-bike-com...

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#103

Post by Karrot_Kream »

wil421 wrote: post #77
nightfly wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For years I commuted by train/bus to school/work until I could afford (the extra $200ish per month) to switch to driving to claw-back an hour of time I spent commuting each day. If traffic devolved to the point that I wouldn't be able to drive to work anymore I /would/ adjust, but I'd be generally less happy for it.

I’ve since moved houses and jobs. Both are impossible by train or bus. They are putting bike lanes on about 40% of my commute but 12 miles each way is a bit of a stretch.

12mi each way is a fantastic and doable commute if you're in good shape, but if you aren't and want to still reap the benefits, an eBike is fantastic.

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#104

Post by 4gotmypw »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #46
z2 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Solution: a device that takes a closeup hi-res photo of the remover.

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#105

Post by Kluny »

dancek wrote: post #97
Johnny555 wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think something like this would be that successful in the USA - it's not lack of parking that keeps most people from riding, it's lack of protected bike lanes (or other "safe" routes), and lack of cultural acceptance of biking. Plus, open, street parking isn't that safe in a lot of cities, if I could ask for some specific parking infrastructure, I'd ask for lockable bike lockers... though I'd rather see bike…

Is the problem with open parking stealing bikes, stealing parts or breaking bikes? The obvious safety strategy is to have a bike of lesser value with better locks than what's available nearby. But I also ponder what it would be like to own a really valuable bike. Do people steal handlebars or something, because that would make sense to me? Or is vandalism the bigger issue?

I've even heard of cases where a carbon bike frame (itself worth thousands) was cut so the parts could be stolen. But you're right, the solution is a beater bike with a big lock, and if you have a nice bike, keep it indoors and never leave it unattended for more than an hour.

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#106

Post by Steltek »

tonymet wrote: post #55

quick survey : how many readers actually ride to work?

Boston. 365 days. 7 miles. With 2 kids (starting at 12 months) on the back in seats (not a trailer).

Snow tires make winter way more feasible. Also fwiw, the kids never complained about the weather bothering them, only that we didn't stop at the playground (crying, sometimes tantrums).

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#107

Post by WD-42 »

Johnny555 wrote: post #84
frankus wrote: post #35

Local 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…

I don't think something like this would be that successful in the USA - it's not lack of parking that keeps most people from riding, it's lack of protected bike lanes (or other "safe" routes), and lack of cultural acceptance of biking. Plus, open, street parking isn't that safe in a lot of cities, if I could ask for some specific parking infrastructure, I'd ask for lockable bike lockers... though I'd rather see bike…

Infrastructure like dedicated bike parking in itself shows a cultural acceptance of biking: it's like a "you are welcome here" sign. It helps.

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#108

Post by georgehotelling »

supergauntlet wrote: post #10
whalesalad wrote: post #2

> A light, quick, cheap solution so good, it should be copied the world over. It is. This can be seen all over... SF, LA, DC, Austin, Ann Arbor ... I have seen this everywhere (in the US)

Where in Ann Arbor? I live in it and have never seen a structure like this.

I'm looking at one right now on Main St. between Huron and Washington. It even has a library Summer Game code on it.

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#109

Post by knightofmars »

saikit wrote: post #64
frankus wrote: post #35

Local 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…

The locals in the US are militant against anything that reduces street parking in their neighborhoods. See 14th street bus lanes in NYC. https://www.amny.com/transit/14th-street-busway-lawsuit-1.33...

It's a chicken-and-egg problem. People want more buses so they can commute and travel by bus but they don't have the bus routes they need to reach their place of work or the locations they wish to travel to. Which means they can't give up their car until a robust enough transportation option is available. Which can't be implemented until streets and parking are redesigned to accommodate the new transportation option. I'm watching it play out in a smaller scale where I live (Madison, WI) right now. As density increases and there aren't robust transportation options for people to use on their daily commute; parking becomes a hot-button issue.

Re: A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

#110

Post by bikeshaving »

Johnny555 wrote: post #84
frankus wrote: post #35

Local 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…

I don't think something like this would be that successful in the USA - it's not lack of parking that keeps most people from riding, it's lack of protected bike lanes (or other "safe" routes), and lack of cultural acceptance of biking. Plus, open, street parking isn't that safe in a lot of cities, if I could ask for some specific parking infrastructure, I'd ask for lockable bike lockers... though I'd rather see bike…

The lack of protected bike lanes is a direct consequence of the policy of providing free overnight car storage on both sides of every residential/commercial street. The days of “share the road” are over: cycling advocates need to advocate for 1/2 street parking on every street if we actually want change, because this is a zero-sum game where only one side continues to murder and maim the other because they think they have a right to get somewhere faster. Temporarily repurposing street parking is a great tactic to get people to realize how much public space is given to 1 person which could serve many. See https://www.fastcompany.com/90342223/the-newest-hot-coworkin....
Post reply on HN