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We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

citylab.com

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Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#51

Post by inertiatic »

skrebbel wrote: post #35
dcolkitt wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The biggest counterpoint here is what about families? A mom with three young kids in tow pretty much needs a car to get around. Or elderly people? I can't really take my 90-year old grandma out to dinner if it requires her to bike her way to the restaurant. Thinking about non-car based transportation methods is great. But the reality is that large segments of society are always going to need some sort of car-based op…

> The biggest counterpoint here is what about families? A mom with three young kids in tow pretty much needs a car to get around. Bakfiets: https://www.babboe.nl/bakfietsen/big

That's cool, how do I carry that up the stairs to my apartment?

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#52

Post by blhack »

Wr tried. People threw them in the ocean and got cities to ban them.

It’s going to take me a long time to get over how broken hearted I am about people’s reactions to various bike and scooter share programs. I understand not using the services, but people were openly hostile to them.

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#53

Post by abyssin »

glangdale wrote: post #46

I'm curious as to what planet you'd have to be living on to think that if we have billions of dollars to spare on huge transport infrastructure projects that aren't cars, that it should go to bikes and not public transport + walkability. I'm guessing it's a special magic planet with startlingly good weather year-round, without disabled people, where everyone gets to age into spry Euro-oldsters. Not wanting to kick of…

You could visit Amsterdam or Copenhagen, they aren't exactly tropical cities. And the situation isn't binary. Because switching to something else than individual cars as the default mode of transportation doesn't mean there's no way for disabled people to get around.

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#54

Post by missosoup »

donjoe wrote: post #47
glangdale wrote: post #46

I'm curious as to what planet you'd have to be living on to think that if we have billions of dollars to spare on huge transport infrastructure projects that aren't cars, that it should go to bikes and not public transport + walkability. I'm guessing it's a special magic planet with startlingly good weather year-round, without disabled people, where everyone gets to age into spry Euro-oldsters. Not wanting to kick of…

Yah... Bad weather isn't an argument though. I'm faster with my bike no matter the weather. Especially when it's snowing outside. Gosh, snow slows cars down massively. I love this time of the year: no one tends to speed any more since drivers are afraid of crashing their cars.

Try riding to work on a 45 degree australian summer day when the UV index is so high that 5 mins is enough to get serious sunburn.

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#55

Post by enriquto »

glangdale wrote: post #46

I'm curious as to what planet you'd have to be living on to think that if we have billions of dollars to spare on huge transport infrastructure projects that aren't cars, that it should go to bikes and not public transport + walkability. I'm guessing it's a special magic planet with startlingly good weather year-round, without disabled people, where everyone gets to age into spry Euro-oldsters. Not wanting to kick of…

OK that public transportation is essential. But your climate argument is a bit shaky. Denmark and the Netherlands have comically bad weather all year round, yet bike transportation thrives on their cities. I'd say that an important factor of the viability of bikes is whether the city is flat. For example, biking in sunny and hilly Lisbon can be very tiring.

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#56

Post by abyssin »

baxtr wrote: post #50

A bit off topic: but what I’ve asked myself since I’m biking through town daily. Is there an increased lung cancer risk for city bikers with all the car traffic out there?

Yes there is, but it is statistically countered by the benefits of physical exercise that cycling provides. Car drivers are also exposed to pollution, although they don't breathe as heavily.

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#57

Post by enriquto »

inertiatic wrote: post #51
skrebbel wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The biggest counterpoint here is what about families? A mom with three young kids in tow pretty much needs a car to get around. Bakfiets: https://www.babboe.nl/bakfietsen/big

That's cool, how do I carry that up the stairs to my apartment?

The same way that you carry your car.

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#58

Post by jerven »

inertiatic wrote: post #51
skrebbel wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The biggest counterpoint here is what about families? A mom with three young kids in tow pretty much needs a car to get around. Bakfiets: https://www.babboe.nl/bakfietsen/big

That's cool, how do I carry that up the stairs to my apartment?

Same way you carry your car up the stairs park it in the bike garage or your car parking spot.

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#59

Post by flukus »

cgrealy wrote: post #3

I live in Christchurch, NZ. After a massive earthquake in 2011, I had high hopes that we might redesign the city for the next 100 years instead of the previous 50 (i.e. for people, not cars). Instead the city council built a few bike lanes and even then people lost their goddamn minds. "You're taking away parking space!" "All these bike lanes are slowing traffic" "No one wants to bike into the city" Meanwhile, cyclis…

> "You're taking away parking space!" "All these bike lanes are slowing traffic"

The part that always makes me laugh is when they inevitably call cyclists entitled. It's always "I demand massive amounts of probably subsidized infrastructure, to be able to drive at maximum speed all the way and to have a personal space reserved to store my car for the next 8 hours, but those entitled cyclists get in the way".

Not to mention the reliance on the government to provide the infrastructure to drive on, to build the ports to import fuel, huge multi-national companies to extract and transport the fuel, multiple foreign governments and the military interventions necessary to keep them in line, all so you can get that feeling of freedom when you drive.

Re: We Need to Dream Bigger Than Bike Lanes

#60

Post by urban_winter »

missosoup wrote: post #54
donjoe wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yah... Bad weather isn't an argument though. I'm faster with my bike no matter the weather. Especially when it's snowing outside. Gosh, snow slows cars down massively. I love this time of the year: no one tends to speed any more since drivers are afraid of crashing their cars.

Try riding to work on a 45 degree australian summer day when the UV index is so high that 5 mins is enough to get serious sunburn.

The UV issue is a red herring. There are many reasons why people need to be outside and cycling is only one of them. UV is a manageable problem for walkers and outdoor workers, cyclists are not a special case.

I guess that you've never been on a bike on a very hot day. It's much, much more pleasant to be ventilated by your self-created airflow on a bike than it is to to have sweat pouring down your back as you walk around.

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