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Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

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Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#281

Post by ogre_codes »

jjoonathan wrote: post #267
ogre_codes wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has been demonstrated to be false. Probably one of the biggest reasons is real estate increases in the denser areas as parking infrastructure gets phased out. Parking is a massive waste of land.

Oh? Link me. My guess: real estate costs go down short-term if you add a bunch of supply by getting rid of parking, and then they go right back up, plus some, once the market equilibrates. Meanwhile, I'll continue to enjoy having 5x the space at half the cost as when I lived in the city, with 5 grocery stores 10 minutes away instead of 2 grocery stores 30 minutes away. Not to mention parks, trees, and nature trails f…

The problem you describe is a fabricated hypothetical which has never happened in the real world. It's proven false by every single bike/ pedestrian friendly city in the world.

Similarly, increasing range has had little to no positive effect on housing prices. Look at the insane real estate prices in the California Bay Area or LA which are both very car-first locations.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#282

Post by Wowfunhappy »

riversflow wrote: post #279
Wowfunhappy wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a non-electric, but large-wheeled kick scooter a few months ago for getting around NYC. I absolutely love it. Bikes are a little annoying to stop and start; "walking" your bike for a short stretch requires physically dismounting. My scooter allows me to constantly transition between standing, walking, and riding as environmental conditions require. Also... it's stupid, but if I have to wear a helmet to do so…

Hackerish tip for a fellow kick scooter rider. You can replace the bearings in most kick scooters with skateboard bearings for an easier ride. Most COTS ball bearings, aren’t optimized for force along the radius, skateboard bearings are. Also ceramic bearings don’t have the same thermal expansion which comes into play on a two wheel scooter. I have one of the small-wheeled ones with good bearings and it kicks ass—and…

> You can replace the bearings in most kick scooters with skateboard bearings for an easier ride.

Does this work even if you have large wheels? I have this: https://www.amazon.com/Micro-SA0034-Black-Scooter/dp/B001L2N...

> I have much more control and power on a bike that I’m basically wrapped around then a scooter I stand on.

If your bike falls over, what do you do?

That's the thing that really makes me feel safer on my scooter. I was riding my scooter in the rain one time, and didn't realize that metal grates would be slippery. My scooter skid and completely fell over sideways. At some point while it was falling, I automatically hopped off and let go†. The result was my scooter lying sideways on the pavement, and me standing up unharmed, and I feel like that would have ended differently on a bike. Is that incorrect?

†I assume that's what happened. It was so fast, I don't remember the exact moment—just the result.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#283

Post by riversflow »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #282
riversflow wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hackerish tip for a fellow kick scooter rider. You can replace the bearings in most kick scooters with skateboard bearings for an easier ride. Most COTS ball bearings, aren’t optimized for force along the radius, skateboard bearings are. Also ceramic bearings don’t have the same thermal expansion which comes into play on a two wheel scooter. I have one of the small-wheeled ones with good bearings and it kicks ass—and…

> You can replace the bearings in most kick scooters with skateboard bearings for an easier ride. Does this work even if you have large wheels? I have this: https://www.amazon.com/Micro-SA0034-Black-Scooter/dp/B001L2N... > I have much more control and power on a bike that I’m basically wrapped around then a scooter I stand on. If your bike falls over, what do you do? That's the thing that really makes me feel safer o…

I put my hands in my pockets when I walk down the street because I’m confident if I do trip, I can catch myself on my feet, same principle. If I feel a crash coming (because I hit some road debris, for example) I can maneuver the bike in a split second to either prevent the fall entirely or mitigate it to just looking like an awkward stop. Another factor is that I've ridden enough to read the road and not make mistakes that even lead to tight situations. To extend the analogy, like knowing not to walk on a smooth manhole cover in the rain.

As for the scooter, it looks like, yes it does work. According to the Questions section one person has done it and a separate user confirms its the right type of bearing. Search the questions for “Abec”. Should make a big difference. Have fun.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#284

Post by lowdose »

onreact wrote: post #273
HorstG wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drug dealers in Berlin populate the parks and subway stations mostly. Easier to hide in the crowds or shrubbery, if they hide at all. Police usually never bother them.

Yeah, but you only mean low level ones who barely earn enough to eat. I don't mean those. I mean the bigger fish.

Wouldn't advice people to consume merchandise from someone that hangs around in parks.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#285

Post by TurkishPoptart »

HorstG wrote: post #199
tomcooks wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most street drug dealers use bicycles, EU and abroad. More freedom of movement, no license nor plate.

Drug dealers in Berlin populate the parks and subway stations mostly. Easier to hide in the crowds or shrubbery, if they hide at all. Police usually never bother them.

Sounds like Seattle.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#286

Post by noirbot »

telchar wrote: post #268
noirbot wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if "convenient" is really the right word for it. I recently moved to a new job, and my commute is now 20-30 minutes by car. My new office has bike facilities and showers, and isn't too far from public transit, and is generally about as optimal as you can get for non-driving commuting in this city. I still drive because biking is A. pretty physically grueling in a number of common weather conditions ( gre…

An e-bike would go a long way to materialize the convenience promised by biking. Prices are coming down quite a bit as well. Maybe look into that, they're fun too.

I'm not totally sure it would. Going 20+ MPH on a bike only makes the safety issues worse, without making the commute all that much faster in a way that would reduce how long I'm in the hot/cold/rain.
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