Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London • Hacker News Board

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

#871

Post by garfieldnate » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 8:54 AM UTC

matsemann wrote: post #118

raphaelj wrote: post #36

Somewhat unrelated to the article, but I live in a mid-size EU city and dumped my car for an e-bike a few months ago. Surprisingly, it hasn't been that hard (my GF kept her car, and I have a car-sharing subscription): Pros: - Immediately stopped having insomnia. Better feel overall; - about €300/month in additional disposable income. That's basically a free lunch everyday! - significantly faster if parking is taken i…

> - might be impossible depending on work or children; The newer style of cargo bikes can for many families replace a car. Have two kids seated in the trunk of the bike and drop them off at kindergarten, then continue biking to work and pick them up on the way home. Those are a bit on the pricier side, though. Still cheap compared to a car, but people often look at them as something "extravagant" or "in addition" to…

In Japan I once saw a woman bike to the grocery store with 4 children on a regular mama-chari. One seat in the front and back, and one child strapped each on her front and back. The most bad-ass mom I ever saw.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by panick21_ » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 9:03 AM UTC

seoulmetro wrote: post #840

panick21_ wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly china embraced 'modernity' and they literally just used the single worst ideas from urban design and traffic engineering. They went with single use superblocks connected by highways. A terrible system in so many ways. Thankfully they protected some of the old city centers and those still have the beautiful chinese urbanism. Thankfully, leadership in China has realized that they really fucked up. Sometimes when…

Single use superblocks? Most Korean/Chinese apartment block regions feature multi-use (without industrial) and do it very well, incorporating commercial slots surrounded by a throng of greenery and apartment blocks for residents, with nearby lower-density, medium-density housing. Got any examples of China? Because Koreans follow density principles extremely well.

The talk I linked goes into detail.

Many Chinese superblocks are not walkable and have no commercial and offices are also in a different place. But its not everywhere.

I don't know about Korea, no comment on that.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by mjevans » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 9:04 AM UTC

dan-robertson wrote: post #670

mjevans wrote: post #641

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hotels, apartments, etc; things designed for such rentals should be in an entirely different category than (intended as single owner / dwelling) housing.

So a block of flats should be intended to be either be all-renters or all-owners?

Regulatory structures and methods of oversight differ. It also impacts civic planning, and as we're seeing in real time, inelastic market needs as the basis of an ''investment'', cause extreme inflation.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by adrianN » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 9:05 AM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #861

hnlmorg wrote: post #488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

London has really good public transportation and, as this article mentions, lots of people in London do cycle to work (half of all the offices I’ve had in London has had an on-premises bicycle “shed”). In fact I’ve met so many Londoners who never even bothered to learn to drive. In my experience, it’s generally American cities that require a car rather than European cities. Generally speaking of course, you get good…

European cities only don't require a car for those lucky enough to live in the city center of major capitals. The further away from city suburbs, one might get a lucky 1 bus per hour if at all.

I lived in the suburbs of a medium sized city. Everything was easily accessible by bike, but of course many people still preferred the convenience of a car. It took about 25 minutes from my apartment to the city center.

My wife grew up in the suburbs of an even smaller city. It took about 10 minutes to reach that city center by bike, but almost everybody drove because the road connecting the suburb to the city center feels very unsafe on a bike.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by bosie » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 9:54 AM UTC

nec4b wrote: post #701

bosie wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not even being snarky but if hitting a pedestrian at 25kmh with a bicycle is so bad, how much worse would it be with a car/truck/bus?

I'm sure flying a plane with 300 people on board while being drunk is worse than driving a car drunk. But that doesn't mean it's now OK to drive under influence, because there is something even worse out there you could do while being drunk.

cool. that was not even my intent by asking the question. i was wondering how lethal it is being hit by a car at 25kmh.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by rkangel » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 9:54 AM UTC

toss1 wrote: post #149

fipar wrote: post #96

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About not killing someone if you ride after drinking, Obviously it is ver difficult for a bike to directly kill someone other than the rider (as opposed to a car, where this is very easy), but a drunk cyclist can still hurt other people directly or indirectly (causing a bigger accident by forcing someone to avoid them). Even on a city free of private cars, you’d still share the road with pedestrians, other cyclists,…

Nice suggestion, but drunk-cycling is self-limiting in a way that drunk-cycling is not. Drunk-driving you are seated, and only need to be barely conscious. for drunk-cycling, you still must be sufficiently functional to balance on a bike, which puts a bit of a floor on the level of perceptual and cognitive function available, in addition to the far lower bike vs car ceiling on available momentum to do damage. Not rec…

I think "self-limiting" is a key point here. People who are moderately drunk are not very dangerous, and people who are very drunk are just not capable of cycling - it requires a certain degree of coordination.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by rkangel » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 9:57 AM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #81

alkjsdlkjasd wrote: post #66

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> - weather might make the ride unpleasant; As the Dutch like to say: there is no such thing as bad cycling weather, only bad cycling clothes. I would strongly recommond a pair of water/wind proof trousers to go over your regular trousers, if you don't already have some. This has lead to a much more pleasant riding experience, especially in winter. They aren't very practical on a regular bike as they make you uncomfo…

>> As the Dutch like to say: there is no such thing as bad cycling weather, only bad cycling clothes. Easy to say in a country famously flat, small, and with a relatively narrow weather window. I welcome any Dutch person to attempt a 15+km commute during a rocky mountain winter. I know of driveways in US/Canada with more vertical than any Dutch commute.

I have a close friend who lives in Edinburgh (Scotland) who has an electric cargo bike. Edinburgh is full of very steep roads, lots of them cobbles rather than tarmac. It's also cold and wet in the winter (although nowhere near as snowy as the rockies).

The electric cargo bike works well there - the hills make electric an absolute necessity, but once you've done that it works very well.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by substation13 » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 10:02 AM UTC

rickydroll wrote: post #399

substation13 wrote: post #292

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This is why cities are better for the environment. I don't think rural car usage has nearly as much negative impact as driving in a big city though, so this shouldn't be a strong policy focus. Awesome that the kids can ride to school!

I think the rural/city better for the environment is a bit of cherry picking of statistics. It's important however to respect what's good for each of us. For me, living in the city meant shitty health outcomes, spending way too much money on rent and food, way too many people trying to stick a hand in my pocket for entertainment etc. For me a good life means dark skies, green trees, a chance of dying every time I go…

Trouble is, wild areas are being destroyed to make room for suburbia.

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by olswtf » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 10:50 AM UTC

szundi wrote: post #792

mrcartmeneses wrote: post #721

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Larry vs Harry Bullit rider here. my wife and I even rode it from London to Berlin (cheated with the ferry and train a lot) when we moved in late December. We have 2.5 kids. No car. I use car sharing when I need a van or wanna drive to the airport. Life is good

Condolences for losing half a kid ;)

hey maybe he found half a kid instead

Re: Cyclists now outnumber motorists in City of London

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Post by blitzar » Tue, Mar 21, 2023, 11:14 AM UTC

Karrot_Kream wrote: post #616

rickydroll wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A bit of refinement on that thought. In America, inner-city schools are mixed bag. If you live in someplace like Cambridge, schools tend to be good. Boston is a mixed bag. Same is true for other adjacent cities. However if you go to places like Westford, Newton, Wellesley which are very high earner high value properties, the schools tend to be consistently very good. Then you start moving into more rural places in Ma…

A lot of American school districts depend on property tax values for funding. You get natural class-based school segregation as a result.

Parents with kids move to the suburbs for schooling, parents that are mobile and move for schooling bring to the suburbs things that make schools better (taxes / school meddling etc) which makes parents with kids move to the suburbs for schooling which ...