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Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

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Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#141

Post by arethuza »

throwup238 wrote: post #127
consp wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably lost in translation, should have phrased differently. A Valhalla is seen as an alternative phrasing to paradise but probably does not translate well into English and might be a specific cultural thing (and not even Nordic in use, since I'm talking about the Netherlands). It has a bit more "promised land" tone than paradise without the baggage of a large faith behind it.

No that part translated, I was just under the impression that one only got to Valhalla by dying in glorious battle.

I commuted 15km each way for a few years through heavy traffic and had a few close calls - would they count as "dying in glorious battle".

e.g. I was cycling home at night once when kids threw a brick at my head...

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#142

Post by yakireev »

chopsuey5540 wrote: post #131
darkamaul wrote: post #63

As a daily biker in Paris (and for years), I think it is hard to grasp the changes Paris has seen in the last years. You now even get to see some congestion on bike lanes (Bd Sebastopol for instance), because they are too many cyclist on an older (and thus too narrow) bike lane. This change, the new subway lanes, and the reduction of car usage in the city make the city much more enjoyable on a day to day basis, espec…

I've also been a daily cyclist for over 10 years in Paris and paradoxically, I feel less safe now when I'm riding on shared infrastructure (that is roads without a separated cycling lane). I attribute it to the fact that people driving, and especially people who HAVE to drive (taxis, deliveries, etc...) are facing insane levels of congestion and are lashing out on cyclists because they blame them for being stuck in t…

> Given the very limited space available in Paris centre, I don't really see an easy way unfortunately...

Bicycles take less space than cars, both on road and when parked, don't they? A four-lane bicycle highway is as wide as one-lane car road. If anything, people switching from cars to bicycles should produce more free space for the city, not less.

Am I missing something?

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#143

Post by lupusreal »

Retric wrote: post #101
darkamaul wrote: post #63

As a daily biker in Paris (and for years), I think it is hard to grasp the changes Paris has seen in the last years. You now even get to see some congestion on bike lanes (Bd Sebastopol for instance), because they are too many cyclist on an older (and thus too narrow) bike lane. This change, the new subway lanes, and the reduction of car usage in the city make the city much more enjoyable on a day to day basis, espec…

> especially for pedestrians as cyclists are less annoying than drivers As an American pedestrian I find cyclists far worse on average than drivers. They far more often ignore traffic signs and I have seen multiple collisions including one that looked quite serious, though luckily no fatalities. On a per person basis my personal annoyance scale goes subway riders have least impact, followed by busses, normal pedestri…

Seconding this. American cyclists are extremely rude to pedestrians. Whenever somebody brings this up, cyclists dismiss it by pointing out that cars kill more pedestrians than bikes. Well that's certainly true, but I've never had cars yell at me for walking on the sidewalk or over a crosswalk, while cyclists have hurled abuse and (deliberate) near misses at me more times than I can count.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#144

Post by saberience »

l1tany11 wrote: post #90
Tade0 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should that be the case? The amount of sweat is only correlated to the amount of heat generated. Only way to counter sweating is to dress appropriately and/or ride slower.

Cycling economy increases naturally with increased fitness. As with virtually all forms of fitness training. It along with many other factors is why someone can quadruple their possible power output with training. All without melting. Look up cycling economy. Also how much you sweat is a trained response. This is why athletes do heat training before hot events. There is more to it than some oversimplified physics bas…

Sweating is absolutely not a “trained” response.

I’ve always been an athlete from when I was a competitive athlete in my college days (cross-country running) but I’ve always sweated a lot more than average and it’s not correlated with my fitness. I’ve always been slim and fit and I’ve often noticed that I sweat a lot more than people whom I’m beating in races! That is, I can be fitter and faster than someone and still sweat more.

On the flip side, I am extremely cold resistant and when others are chilly and need to wear a sweater or coat, I don’t need it. My body just seems to run hotter than others, for better or worse.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#145

Post by chopsuey5540 »

yakireev wrote: post #142
chopsuey5540 wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also been a daily cyclist for over 10 years in Paris and paradoxically, I feel less safe now when I'm riding on shared infrastructure (that is roads without a separated cycling lane). I attribute it to the fact that people driving, and especially people who HAVE to drive (taxis, deliveries, etc...) are facing insane levels of congestion and are lashing out on cyclists because they blame them for being stuck in t…

> Given the very limited space available in Paris centre, I don't really see an easy way unfortunately... Bicycles take less space than cars, both on road and when parked, don't they? A four-lane bicycle highway is as wide as one-lane car road. If anything, people switching from cars to bicycles should produce more free space for the city, not less. Am I missing something?

In Paris, most people who are now biking are people who would have taken public transportation before, so the amount of cars on the roads is roughly the same as before.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#146

Post by Retric »

CalRobert wrote: post #139
Retric wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> especially for pedestrians as cyclists are less annoying than drivers As an American pedestrian I find cyclists far worse on average than drivers. They far more often ignore traffic signs and I have seen multiple collisions including one that looked quite serious, though luckily no fatalities. On a per person basis my personal annoyance scale goes subway riders have least impact, followed by busses, normal pedestri…

Cars (drivers, really) are very, very dangerous. They are the leading cause of dead children. They are also one of the reasons kids don't play in the street. I find that far less annoying than cyclists.

Drivers are a lot more common than cyclists in the US.

So yes cars kill ~7,000 pedestrians per year vs ~4 (2013-2020) for bikes, but normalize the numbers and bikes are also very dangerous in the US especially on a per mile basis. https://www.nationalworld.com/news/politics/pedestrians-kill...

https://www.statista.com/chart/17194/pedestrian-fatalities-i...

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#147

Post by bombcar »

tremon wrote: post #122
mattcantstop wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a problem I desperately hope the US has to encounter soon. Too much demand and we have to accelerate our plans to satisfy all those people on bikes!

Too much demand That's interesting because the article says the opposite, that supply (mostly) proceeds demand when it comes to mobility infrastructure. The fact that demand is showing so readily indicates there is much unrealized potential there.

It's called "induced demand" when people don't like it - but for almost all transportation you need the supply before the demand because there's not really any other way to go about it. You can try to work out where people are currently traveling and build on that, but it's such a feedback loop it may not work.

One of the most common examples I know of is building a metro line to "nowhere" (e.g. a few stops past where it ends) - in 5-10 years that will be a bustling area because now it's connected.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#148

Post by trgn »

twoWhlsGud wrote: post #31
kindatrue wrote: post #15

"I really hope US cities head in this direction" The US is headed on the path of autonomous vehicles as the solution. It's the perfect combination of things our society loves: 1) No new public investment. 2) Continuous, end-to-end air conditioning

Done properly (I know…) autonomous vehicles could be a godsend for cycling in the US. If vehicles behaved properly you wouldn't theoretically need cycling infrastructure at all – the dream of vehicular cycling would actually start working and you could share the road anywhere.

the aspirational future of AI-traffic is kei cars and vans puttering around. Hope to see it in my lifetime still.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#149

Post by extr »

patall wrote: post #134
extr wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Northern European climates are not comparable to even mid-atlantic US cities. Take a look at a comparison between Amsterdam and Washington DC. https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/51381~20957/Comparison-of... . Pay special attention to the "Chance of Muggy Conditions" chart.

As I said, just cycle in winter. Your chart says that it does not get muggy from November to April, i.e half of the year. And yes, I do not mind the cold, and do not need it flat, I live in Stockholm and not in Amsterdam.

I think you should come live for a year in DC and see what you think about the winters. Notice that the comparison also shows it snows quite a bit more, ~~and is on average colder during core winter months~~! Weather is just more of a "thing" for the average US city. And when you start by subtracting half the year for heat, at least a month for snow, more days for harsh freezing conditions (not uncommon to have some weeks in winter that dip to -10C) etc etc... (edit: forgot you lived in stockholm where it's quite cold, I admit)

The point is not that cycling is impossible but that it's attractiveness is highly variable depending on local/daily conditions, since you are exposed to the elements. Less consistency in conditions means the entire form of transportatin is percieved as unreliable.

Re: Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to investment

#150

Post by saberience »

Tade0 wrote: post #58
random_kris wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After biking for some months a 15min ride shouldn't get you too sweaty

Why should that be the case? The amount of sweat is only correlated to the amount of heat generated. Only way to counter sweating is to dress appropriately and/or ride slower.

Yeah this is absolutely not accurate, some people just sweat more and it’s not correlated with fitness.

I’ve noticed that I sweat a “lot” more than people who are much less fit than I am.

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