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

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

theconversation.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

321–330 of 764 posts

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

#321

Post by stjohnswarts »

colpabar wrote: post #251
moistbar wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spoken like someone who's never driven in a city. City streets are narrow and extremely uncomfortable to drive on as it is.

> City streets are narrow and extremely uncomfortable to drive on as it is. I agree. I live in a city and am constantly afraid of all the gigantic cars that fly by me whenever I walk anywhere. I'm also constantly (albeit much less) afraid of someone stepping out onto the street when they're not supposed to and not being able to stop in time. But maybe, just maybe, the cars (that get bigger every year) are the problem…

Living in a democratic country means the will of the voters will most always win so I wouldn't expect there to be any changes anytime soon in the USA for more than minor accommodations for pedestrians, certainly cities will not decrease cars on the road for the foreseeable future save maybe a city here and there.

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

#322

Post by Laarlf »

globular-toast wrote: post #258

Only when cities completely ban car travel will cycling increase. Cars are currently first class road users. They get extra protection and sympathy from the police. All infrastructure is built for them with cycling infrastructure being laughable and often regressive. On top of that, most people are just too fat and lazy to cycle by choice.

That is correct. You will not convince most people to ditch the car unless you deliberately make it horrible or by completely banning it. It’s like poisoning alcohol during prohibition.you’re putting “public” interest over personal interest at all costs.

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

#323

Post by stjohnswarts »

cogman10 wrote: post #315
moistbar wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary, if you act like a car, using the same streets as the cars is quite safe in my experience. I've safely cycled with a cello on my back by simply following the rules most cyclists claim to follow but ignore: stopping at stop lights, signalling when I'm about to turn. You know, looking out for my own safety. EDIT: If following the same rules as everyone else is too much to ask, maybe you should just stay…

My near misses have never been at intersections or due to missing hand signals. My near misses have been because some idiot decides to hug or even drive in the cycling lane (usually while texting) or when someone parks a car in the cycling lane forcing me to move into the road (with cars being incapable of waiting for me to get around the idiot that decided to park in the cycling lane). Those are instances of followi…

There simply aren't enough cyclists to be a voting block so it's a chicken and egg problem. People aren't going to cycle because it's dangerous because there aren't enough people to vote in change for cyclists. It just goes around in circles.

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

#324

Post by [deleted] »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #302
TomSwirly wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then _don't drive in the city._ Why is this so hard to understand? Unless you're a delivery vehicle, driving in a city is just antisocial.

If you're just used to regular US cities, this is hard to grasp. Average US cities -- even bigger ones -- the public transport is slow, sparse, and unreliable; biking is uncomfortable and dangerous; and everything is so spread out that walking is mostly impractical. When you're thinking in that context and imagine switching modes...it just sounds terrible. Because it is. That doesn't mean the solution is everyone dri…

[deleted]

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

#325

Post by dang »

lovegoblin wrote: post #224
samcheng wrote: post #142

I'm surprised at all of the anti-cycling sentiment here. It's really a better mode of transportation than the car, in certain situations. It's healthy, relaxing, good for traffic and the environment, and convenient for short trips. The article isn't saying that you need to ditch the car for a bakfiets, just that you can have a significant positive impact by doing SOME of your trips via bicycle. Remember that most car…

> I'm surprised at all of the anti-cycling sentiment here. Given how profoundly anti-bicycle North America in general is, I'm actually surprised it's not a lot worse.

Please don't take HN threads into regional or other flamewar. It's not what this site is for.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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

#326

Post by stjohnswarts »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #302
TomSwirly wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then _don't drive in the city._ Why is this so hard to understand? Unless you're a delivery vehicle, driving in a city is just antisocial.

If you're just used to regular US cities, this is hard to grasp. Average US cities -- even bigger ones -- the public transport is slow, sparse, and unreliable; biking is uncomfortable and dangerous; and everything is so spread out that walking is mostly impractical. When you're thinking in that context and imagine switching modes...it just sounds terrible. Because it is. That doesn't mean the solution is everyone dri…

Also cycling in 100+ degree weather is rough in Texas, Arizona, etc

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

#327

Post by dang »

jeddy3 wrote: post #279

Oh my god, the pushback in every single article that even mentions bicycles are so predictable. As soon as one straw man argument is adressed, it's changed to the next one. - First, But what if you need to move a sofa, or are disabled?? - Then, but what if you have 20 miles to your job, and 20 miles in the opposite direction for groceries?? - But what if you have four kids? - What if it rains sometimes? - What if you…

Please don't repeat flamewar tropes, even if other comments are also repeating them. It just contributes to the tedious repetition. The drivers-vs-cyclists flamewar is one of the nastiest and most repetitive that we ever see.

The only solution to bad comments is some weighted average of (a) adding more good comments and (b) not adding more bad comments.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

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

#328

Post by fvdessen »

Laarlf wrote: post #314
fvdessen wrote: post #307

Cycling is not only good for the environment, but for cities in general. During the last confinement, when car traffic completely stopped, I realised that cars are the single biggest reason why living in the city can be unpleasant. People may not realise it consciously, but when they move out of the city, what they are looking for is a place with not as much cars driving around. Cars destroy cities by making a viciou…

I look at European city centers where cars often times get thrown out now and: they don’t agree. Profits were way down even before COVID. Even if you offer people the option to not use their car, they will avoid it. No form of transportation will ever be as pleasant to use. Cars don’t make cities unpleasant, cities themselves are unpleasant. No matter if cars exist or not. Bikes, pedestrians and cars must be properly…

The cities were there for thousands of years before the cars. In fact part of them were literally destroyed to make room for cars. It is from that point that the upper middle class left the city to live in the suburbs. Before they lived in the center. Now they are too many living in the suburbs, the traffic is hell, and everybody loses. Neighbourhoods where they removed the cars are a big success, where have you seen it happen differently ?

And I don't understand your issue with the jobs. Most jobs are in the cities, which is why people commute there. Why not live in the city then ?

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

#330

Post by jtdev »

estebank wrote: post #112
jtdev wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You going to shower at work? How do you get your kids to school? Are you going to put them on the handlebars?

https://www.google.com/search?q=dutch+children+bike&source=l...

Using NL as an example here is a major stretch... NL has been designed around non motorized transport; it’s like using Venice as an example for why gondola based transit is a good idea for North America
Post reply on HN