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Something special is happening in Barcelona

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Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#81

Post by pietrovismara »

frereubu wrote: post #40

I had an idea similar to this, based on my experience of Critical Mass cycle rides in London: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass_(cycling) It was called "Cycle Pods", which would be mini-critical mass rides for commuters. You'd probably need between five and ten riders who cycle the same route each day at a roughly similar pace, so you could register with a route and see whose rides were similar to yours. Th…

I like the second idea, but you need reliability in order to choose the bike as a transportation to, say, work. You can't afford to wait to randomly meet someone to share a ride with if you need to be somewhere at a specific time. This also doesn't provide the safety a critical mass would provide.

Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#82

Post by pietrovismara »

throwaway984393 wrote: post #80

I can't wait to scroll down and read the comments from angry drivers who just want these damn kids to get out of the road so they can get to wherever they won't be able to park even faster. Edit: I was not disappointed.

Seriously. I feel like my health and my wellbeing are hostage of a mass of angry egocentric drivers who can't possibly conceive taking a bike ride or using public transportation. Given their aggressive and uncompromising approach, I feel the only way to make this work is to literally force it on cities through critical masses, basically using the same coin they use.

They don't care about my health? I don't care about them being late to work.

Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#83

Post by nbzso »

pastacacioepepe wrote: post #79
nbzso wrote: post #76

[flagged]

> Guys and girls. This starting to look exactly like communism Is this some kind of a joke I don't get? If you're serious tho, it sounds like a positive to me. > Cars are not the enemy They are. Most modern cities are an unlivable toxic mess thanks to the fact we based transportation on private cars. There is no clean tech that can sustain the large scale usage of cars we currently have. Even electric pollutes a lot…

>Is this some kind of a joke I don't get? If you're serious tho, it sounds like a positive to me.

How much of your life you have spend under communistic regime? A assume none. That's was the point of my comment. You are a sitting ducks and the rational thing is to educate yourselves, but emotions are a default response. As always.

>You know that only an infinitesimal part of the population will ever be able to afford a Porsche?

Porches synthetic fuel has nothing to do directly with their cars.

This and bio-fuel will be the actual thing to reduce the global emissions. Not some group biking. What about people that have a disability and cannot bike? Inclusive approach is the answer in design and in systematic thinking. Not exclusive activism that is so popular in the West now (mainly as result of libertarian-communistic minded educational system for the rich kids and the lucky ones).

Please, do a little research before making a response to my comment: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2021/09/porsches-new-synthetic-...

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry-news-environment...

https://evcentral.com.au/synthetic-petrol-understanding-pors...

>I promise you, I love this idea so much I am going to dedicate myself to spread it and make it a reality.

Wish you luck in this crusade.:)

Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#84

Post by throwawaysea »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #59
throwawaysea wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have spent a lot of time in Barcelona, and love the city, although I’ve only had short stays (~weeks) and haven’t resided there in the traditional sense. I think increasing car hostility makes it less hospitable and accessible to many people away from the core. There’s also a tradeoff which isn’t being acknowledged here. A city that manages its density appropriately will have faster travel times via cars compared t…

Are you suggesting Seattle has a better commute situation than Barcelona? Respectfully, that's insane. Moreover, large parts of the city were designed prior to motorized vehicles and encourage frequent mode mixing. High speed is simply not on the table for discussion. The choice is between low speed, low density car traffic, or mixed mode. The latter is clearly much better for neighborhoods and the city as a whole.

Yes Seattle has a better commute situation than Barcelona. It is easy to get from a suburb to the core or to cross the city by car. Even if you live right on a rapid bus line or light rail stop, simply not having to wait for the next bus/train means the car commute is significantly faster. I'm not sure what you find 'insane' in my claim. Certainly Seattle is changing, because the recent local governments have been pushing controversial zoning changes that increase city density - but even in 2021 a public transit commute in the Seattle metro area is far worse than private car commute. No public transit system in the world can offer a similar travel time as a car in a city like Seattle, since the cars are moving through much of that distance at speeds greater than 60 mph (100 kmh).

Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#85

Post by pastacacioepepe »

nbzso wrote: post #83
pastacacioepepe wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Guys and girls. This starting to look exactly like communism Is this some kind of a joke I don't get? If you're serious tho, it sounds like a positive to me. > Cars are not the enemy They are. Most modern cities are an unlivable toxic mess thanks to the fact we based transportation on private cars. There is no clean tech that can sustain the large scale usage of cars we currently have. Even electric pollutes a lot…

>Is this some kind of a joke I don't get? If you're serious tho, it sounds like a positive to me. How much of your life you have spend under communistic regime? A assume none. That's was the point of my comment. You are a sitting ducks and the rational thing is to educate yourselves, but emotions are a default response. As always. >You know that only an infinitesimal part of the population will ever be able to afford…

It's crazy how deeply insecure capitalists are about capitalism. Now some people riding a bike together are a sign of a rising communist regime.

> How much of your life you have spend under communistic regime? A assume none

Communism means a stateless society, free from classes and exploitation. I wish I could live in a communist society, obviously not in a regime.

But I can tell you, I've lived my entire life under capitalism and exploitation, I've seen the good and the bad and I hate it with every fiber of my being.

Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#86

Post by jdavis703 »

Darmody wrote: post #68
yawaworht1978 wrote: post #38

I used to live in Barcelona, the infrastructure is definitely anti car in every aspect, it's desired to be. For such a large city, the car traffic is minimal, there are not enough parking opportunities, especially at the beach. There would be space, but the government knows better, if you have ever been in a tourist destination in Spain during peak season you will know that there is no way to accommodate all the cars…

It has a good public transport system, yes, but ironically it's the only city where I felt kind of insecure in the subway. Always making sure nobody is going to pickpocket me or I don't look the wrong way at some guy looking for trouble. A friend of mine works there as security and after all the stories he told me I rather get in a car and deal with the traffic. And I'm saying this as someone who uses the subway to c…

Anyone who works as security/law enforcement is going to have a significantly more cynical view of humanity. Not unlike how software professionals are leery of software quality (e.g. us being generally opposed to digital elections).

Personally public transport in Barcelona felt safer than the equivalent in most major North American cities. For example there’s what I believe is a bullet hole in the glass at one of the stations I frequently use — and I know for a fact that several people have been shot dead directly outside that station.

Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#87

Post by peterburkimsher »

vanilla_nut wrote: post #74
peterburkimsher wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the optimum density of parks in a city? A possible suggestion is to change our metric for success from financial gain to connectedness. For city planning, like everything else, that could be achieved using a Sierpiński triangle: lots of space in the middle (with walking & bike paths) and high-density on 3 sides. Are there any SimCity players here who could simulate this for us? Whether the city is willing to…

I would think that for optimal citizen mental health, you want something like a honeycomb: citizens should ideally have 2 parks within walking distance of their homes where they can get outside, relax, enjoy nature. Similar principles apply for coffee shops, grocery stores, bars, and many other amenities: you can get by with one within walking distance, but you ideally want at least two options to insulate against cl…

Good idea! Honeycombs are hexagons, and they tile the plane. And they're made of triangles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thOifuHs6eY

We need parks, not car parks! Rather getting zapped on power lines or pooping on cars, the birds can have branches to sit in and flower beds to fertilise.

Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#88

Post by Darmody »

jdavis703 wrote: post #86
Darmody wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has a good public transport system, yes, but ironically it's the only city where I felt kind of insecure in the subway. Always making sure nobody is going to pickpocket me or I don't look the wrong way at some guy looking for trouble. A friend of mine works there as security and after all the stories he told me I rather get in a car and deal with the traffic. And I'm saying this as someone who uses the subway to c…

Anyone who works as security/law enforcement is going to have a significantly more cynical view of humanity. Not unlike how software professionals are leery of software quality (e.g. us being generally opposed to digital elections). Personally public transport in Barcelona felt safer than the equivalent in most major North American cities. For example there’s what I believe is a bullet hole in the glass at one of the…

You said it, North American cities. These are not safe cities according to my standards.

Re: Something special is happening in Barcelona

#90

Post by GongOfFour »

throwawaysea wrote: post #20

This would be incredibly frustrating to me as a car driver. I don’t think having shared roads for a vocal minority of bikers makes sense. It basically slows down everyone to bike speed, which I realize is the unspoken strategy of bike activists, and it is also why I am against supporting bike-friendly policies in their current form. It makes more sense to have cities build raised biking/walking lanes outside of the t…

Don't live in a city then. I don't anymore and it's the best thing I've ever done. This kind of performative assertion of space doesn't exist outside highly dense urban areas.
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