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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

#461

Post by dfgdghdf »

titzer wrote: post #348
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…

Step 1. Paint bike lanes. Step 2. Fine bastards who violate them.

Painted bike lanes do not feel safe enough to most potential cyclists so they don't lead to much modal shift.

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

#463

Post by imgabe »

msla wrote: post #459
imgabe wrote: post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By definition, you would only have to get a few weeks worth of groceries once every few weeks. Do you need to drive alone in your car every single day because you need to get groceries once a month? > whiteout blizzard Why the hell are you driving anywhere in a whiteout blizzard? Stay home. You don’t need to go into the office and update the TPS report during a blizzard. A blizzard happens maybe once every one or two…

> By definition, you would only have to get a few weeks worth of groceries once every few weeks. Do you need to drive alone in your car every single day because you need to get groceries once a month? This thread is about giving up the car. Entirely. > Why the hell are you driving anywhere in a whiteout blizzard? Shit. Happens. Ideally, emergencies would never happen. Still have to prepare for the less-than-ideal.

> This thread is about giving up the car. Entirely.

No, it's not. I never claimed that. Having biking as an option doesn't mean you're never allowed to touch a car again. This may shock and dismay you, but it is possible to have multiple viable alternatives for transportation. Bike when it's convenient. You'll probably get to enjoy it and seek out more ways to bike once you discover how good it feels and how nice it is to not have to worry about parking.

If a situation arises where a car is truly necessary, then use a car. I'd estimate for most people probably 90% of car trips could be replaced if they lived somewhere more bike and pedestrian friendly. That would be a huge win for the environment. The other upshot is that if everyone does that, then when you do need to use a car, or for people who are, say, disabled and really can't bike, then the roads are much emptier and driving is more pleasant.

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

#464

Post by irrational »

rtlfe wrote: post #411
zip1234 wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Community board meetings in general are a problem that nobody has found a great solution to. Oddly enough, the pandemic has caused most of these to go virtual, which has nerfed a lot of the power of the highly motivated old people with too much time on their hands.

Honestly the easy solution is to ignore the CBs. Surveys show that the majority of people want more bus and bike lanes, so just build them and skip all of the "community input" aka "giving veto power to a small minority". https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-bike-lane-survey-dat...

A small minority who overwhelmingly votes and has lots of money. Of course the politicians listen to them.

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

#465

Post by jnsie »

tzs wrote: post #428
zip1234 wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It still boggles my mind that, with a 15% car ownership rate, how NYC not only still allows cars, but subsidizes them with absolutely free parking on city streets. The real estate price for a single parking spot in NYC must be astronomical.

45% of NYC households own cars, which is probably more indicative of how many people use them than how many individuals own cars.

I found this staggering though it is accurate. It's less surprising (though no less accurate) when you consider how the numbers skew by borough:

"Ownership is lowest in Manhattan, where only 22 percent of households own a car, while ownership is highest in Staten Island where cars are owned by 83 percent of all households. Queens (62 percent) is also above the city average, while the Bronx (40 percent) and Brooklyn (44 percent) look more like the city as a whole."

https://edc.nyc/article/new-yorkers-and-their-cars

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

#466

Post by therealx »

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 thing that changes this is good public transport. Not buses - buses have a mindset issue. Subways, light rail, and bikes for the last mile.

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

#467

Post by an_opabinia »

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…

> Switching from gas to electric is something I can do all on my own.

What if you don't have a garage to charge your electric car?

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

#468

Post by tzs »

doikor wrote: post #58
bluefirebrand wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

- You live somewhere warm enough to bike year-round.

A lot of people cycle to work in Finland in the winter. This also applies in the northern parts like Oulu. All you need is a good cycling network that is properly maintained in the winter and people will use it. A okish video about winter biking https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU Basically the temperature does not really matter much. It has more to do with the maintenance. If the cycling paths exist and are in good conditi…

I don't know how this affects bikes, but temperature does matter for cars in snow. In places that get below freezing for long periods, the ground freezes, and snow that lands on the ground stays snow. You end up with a snow layer on top of the ground.

In places where it gets cold enough to snow, but doesn't stay cold enough long enough for the ground to freeze, the snow near the ground can melt and then freeze as more snow lands on top, leaving you with an ice sheet between the snow layer and the ground. That can be much more treacherous to drive on, and I'd guess to cycle on.

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

#469

Post by gowan »

non-leisure city biking is hard. the hardest things for me to learn was

* if you are getting into a tight spot then own the lane. it is better for a car to see you and hit you then for it to not see you and hit you.

* always have high intensity blinking lights ... (in some places it's illegal to ride at night without lights)

more safety tips: https://bicyclesafe.com/

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

#470

Post by null_object »

lillecarl wrote: post #284
colpabar wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

In Stockholm, Sweden there's 36 cars to a 100 people, the rest use a combination of walking, cycling, electric scooters, taxis and public transport. There are still jams in Stockholm, but only for people who chose to ride by car, their problem!

> In Stockholm, Sweden there's 36 cars to a 100 people, the rest use a combination of walking, cycling, electric scooters, taxis and public transport.

I can’t really tell from your comment whether you think this is a high or low number of people using cars(?) but I certainly hope you’re not trying to give the impression that Stockholm or Sweden in general is some sort of haven for cycling, because it’s a terrible country for cyclists.

Country roads are notoriously dangerous to cycle on, and cycle infrastructure in towns and cities is most often under-dimensioned and very poorly designed - often with dangerous features such as posts or obstacles stuck in the cyclist’s path.

I wish Stockholm was better than this, but it’s a hellhole for cyclists - unlike Oslo or Copenhagen.

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