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Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

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Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#151

Post by stfp »

BitwiseFool wrote: post #104
kalenx wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Setting up a cycle lane in place is cheap, but not easy (at least in North America, people will always complain about the "war on cars"). Also, setting up a good cycle lane can be more expensive than you think. If you have a nice bike lane that spreads over 5 km but there's a 200 meters gap in it because of a bridge which was too narrow to keep the bike path, then you don't have a nice lane at all.

I've never understood why bicyclists can't just use the sidewalk for most of the commute. I get that it becomes impractical in dense areas where people are actually walking but most of the roads I travel along have vacant sidewalks.

You should try it?

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#152

Post by sokoloff »

umvi wrote: post #121
Aerroon wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you do in winter? Or during rain?

Put on a coat/rain jacket

For cold or rain? Sure. For 4-6" of snow, you're going to need a lot more than a jacket to cycle in that.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#153

Post by estebank »

BitwiseFool wrote: post #104
kalenx wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Setting up a cycle lane in place is cheap, but not easy (at least in North America, people will always complain about the "war on cars"). Also, setting up a good cycle lane can be more expensive than you think. If you have a nice bike lane that spreads over 5 km but there's a 200 meters gap in it because of a bridge which was too narrow to keep the bike path, then you don't have a nice lane at all.

I've never understood why bicyclists can't just use the sidewalk for most of the commute. I get that it becomes impractical in dense areas where people are actually walking but most of the roads I travel along have vacant sidewalks.

On top of everything else mentioned in the sibling comments, riding on the sidewalk is illegal in many locales.

https://www.sallymorinlaw.com/bicycle-accidents/riding-your-...

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#154

Post by acrispino »

BitwiseFool wrote: post #104
kalenx wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Setting up a cycle lane in place is cheap, but not easy (at least in North America, people will always complain about the "war on cars"). Also, setting up a good cycle lane can be more expensive than you think. If you have a nice bike lane that spreads over 5 km but there's a 200 meters gap in it because of a bridge which was too narrow to keep the bike path, then you don't have a nice lane at all.

I've never understood why bicyclists can't just use the sidewalk for most of the commute. I get that it becomes impractical in dense areas where people are actually walking but most of the roads I travel along have vacant sidewalks.

In some places it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk.

Also, the width and amount of obstructions on sidewalks varies widely.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#155

Post by stemlord »

acwan93 wrote: post #69

There's a demonization of cyclists in general if you live in an American city. Until this stigma goes away, which will usher in infrastructure and mentality changes, this will not occur. City councils believe cycling is recreational, not for commuting or for "real" use. I mentioned this about getting my LA suburb to actually embrace Class II bike lanes previously, and there's simply no political will. Simply put, it'…

I believe a lot of bicycle hate in middle class American culture is a result of propaganda from big oil corporate lobbying.

I also read somewhere recently a theory that big cars are a way of protecting (even just psychologically) wealthy people from reality as they have to travel through areas of poverty to get from one wealthy pocket to another. Makes sense when recalling Rob Moses's work with nyc

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#156

Post by Aerroon »

flaque wrote: post #92
the_duke wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ebikes mostly solve 1, 2, 3 and 6 on your list. They are quite fast, require very little physical effort, and have a small fraction of the energy consumption of a car. And you can still get the health benefit by investing as much muscle work as you want to.

I’m convinced most people haven’t realized just how good ebikes have gotten. ~$1000 gets you basically a slow, mini-motorcycle. It’s dramatically cheaper than a car, longer range than a bike, and wonderful in cities.

Considering how common bike theft is, I'm not sure I'd consider a bicycle that's half the price of a used car to be a great deal. I like ebikes and bicycles in general, but they're expensive for what you get. Perhaps if cheaper bikes appeared while still being decent then people might consider them more often?

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#157

Post by doikor »

FredPret wrote: post #75
refactor_master wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“There’s no such thing as bad weather”.

Try cycling through 3ft of snow or on ice... with snow-plows lumbering by. Even if you're walking, -20C and below is just too damn cold even if you have proper gear.

The cycling paths should have the same priority as roads for cars. So if the weather is that bad you are not driving to work using your car or taking a bus either.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#158

Post by bluGill »

BitwiseFool wrote: post #104
kalenx wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Setting up a cycle lane in place is cheap, but not easy (at least in North America, people will always complain about the "war on cars"). Also, setting up a good cycle lane can be more expensive than you think. If you have a nice bike lane that spreads over 5 km but there's a 200 meters gap in it because of a bridge which was too narrow to keep the bike path, then you don't have a nice lane at all.

I've never understood why bicyclists can't just use the sidewalk for most of the commute. I get that it becomes impractical in dense areas where people are actually walking but most of the roads I travel along have vacant sidewalks.

Cars and bikes mix better than bikes and walkers. Which is to say not very well. Walkers move in unpredictable ways and freeze when a bike is heading at them. Bikes move more like cars - they get a bit better handling, and are not as fast, but overall they act like cars.

I wouldn't want to bike when there are many cars in the same lane as me, but it is still safer than biking on sidewalks where are many pedestrians.

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#159

Post by TulliusCicero »

stfp wrote: post #150
jedberg wrote: post #35

Switching from gas to electric is something I can do all on my own. Switching from gas car to cycling is something that would require major investments from my city and developers. Both are noble goals, but let's not let perfect be the enemy of good. Switch to electric now, and also encourage new roads and new developments to be bike friendly, so that switching to a bike is something that will be viable in 20 or 30 y…

But it doesn't require major investments. It's really minor investments compared to other infrastructure projects. The issue is taking away even a tiny fraction of car space basically triggers some kind of political road rage.

They're minor investments practically, and major investments politically.

As you say, for many motorists, giving up space on even some roads to cyclists is treated like some sort of war crime. There's very much of attitude of, "we can't just have a majority of the road space -- we need nearly all of it!"

Re: Cycling is more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

#160

Post by big_curses »

dfgdghdf wrote: post #139
CabSauce wrote: post #10

That's great. Assuming the following: - Your commute is sufficiently short - You have facilities to shower and dress at work - You have sufficient time to shower and dress at work - You don't have to bring kids or sizable cargo - Weather is sufficiently good - You're sufficiently healthy

> Your commute is sufficiently short Cities are usually quite small in area. USA is an exception to this but that is due to car dependency. We can't reverse care dependency if we continue to pander to it. In London, the average speed of traffic is much lower than a gentle cycle. For longer distances, municipalities should focus on rail infrastructure. You might also consider an e-bike, which can double or triple your…

Regarding weather and showering, I think the person is thinking more about the times of year when it is 100 degrees F outside and 60% humidity for 1/3 of the year.
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