4 ms·

I ride a bike, and I pay taxes. I'm not sure what you mean by that. What is a fair share for bike riders? We don't have bike lanes on every street, and many of

by grardb 11y ago

I ride a bike, and I pay taxes. I'm not sure what you mean by that. What is a fair share for bike riders? We don't have bike lanes on every street, and many of the bike lanes we do have aren't respected. Drivers double-park their cars on them. They also open their car doors without checking to see if bike riders are coming first. They also swerve in and out of them while texting. They also drive onto them to get around vehicles like garbage trucks, often without looking. Drivers make turns without looking both ways, often putting us at risk. I ride my bike to work every single day in New York. Every week, I have multiple close calls because of careless drivers, and sometimes because of careless pedestrians. I don't run red lights, and I don't even ride that fast. I ride my bike on the correct side of the street. You want me to pay extra taxes for what, exactly? My bike and myself combined are a little over 200lbs. Do I create potholes in the roads? Does my bike cause pollution? I don't think you ride a bike.

dorfsmay 11y ago
I agree with you over all, but, 200 lbs vs 1.5 ton doesn't really matter, it's the pressure in the tires that make a difference in terms of impact to the road.
- eightofdiamonds 11y ago
  You really believe that?
dominotw 11y ago
>My bike and myself combined are a little over 200lbs. Do I create potholes in the roads? Does my bike cause pollution? What about the cost of building and maintenance of bike lanes and other associated costs that would be involved in increased complexity of cleaning/maintenance of roads due to bike lanes (more so if they are secluded from main traffic). Do you think this cost is justified for a minuscule percentage of population who choose to bike on the roads.
- grardb 11y ago
  Have you ever been to New York? Outside of some parts of Manhattan, bike lanes aren't "built." There is some paint splashed onto the side of a street, and based on what I see, not much "maintenance" happens after that. There is no extra complexity because of that paint. Street cleaners disregard the bike lane as if it wasn't there (which I'm fine with). Regardless, I still pay taxes just like everyone else. I used to own a car, and I didn't pay any extra taxes. Why should I now that I have a bike?
  - dominotw 11y ago
    >There is some paint splashed onto the side of a street, and based on what I see, not much "maintenance" happens after that. But that not acceptable( dangerous for both cars and bikers) like you suggested in you parent comment. Bike lanes need to be protected from main traffic which would mean more costs. Protected bike lanes are paramount to safety. Which means regular maintenance equipment like snow plowers/slating won't work. Bike lanes here are totally useless here in winters because we don't the right equipment/training to clean/salt bike lanes.
    - freehunter 11y ago
      It's possible to separate bike lanes from traffic lanes without building more infrastructure. In fact the entire article was dedicated to that concept. I suggest you read it.
- Avshalom 11y ago
  Did you miss the first sentence, the part about paying taxes?
- soperj 11y ago
  In places like Amsterdam it's 15% of all trips that are taken by bike. Copenhagen is around 30%. If they could remove even 6% of the traffic (which is the goal for 2020), that would be worth it in productivity increases alone no?
- ocschwar 11y ago

by grardb 11y ago

dorfsmay 11y ago

I agree with you over all, but, 200 lbs vs 1.5 ton doesn't really matter, it's the pressure in the tires that make a difference in terms of impact to the road.

eightofdiamonds 11y ago
You really believe that?

dominotw 11y ago

>My bike and myself combined are a little over 200lbs. Do I create potholes in the roads? Does my bike cause pollution? What about the cost of building and maintenance of bike lanes and other associated costs that would be involved in increased complexity of cleaning/maintenance of roads due to bike lanes (more so if they are secluded from main traffic). Do you think this cost is justified for a minuscule percentage of population who choose to bike on the roads.

grardb 11y ago
Have you ever been to New York? Outside of some parts of Manhattan, bike lanes aren't "built." There is some paint splashed onto the side of a street, and based on what I see, not much "maintenance" happens after that. There is no extra complexity because of that paint. Street cleaners disregard the bike lane as if it wasn't there (which I'm fine with). Regardless, I still pay taxes just like everyone else. I used to own a car, and I didn't pay any extra taxes. Why should I now that I have a bike?
- dominotw 11y ago
  >There is some paint splashed onto the side of a street, and based on what I see, not much "maintenance" happens after that. But that not acceptable( dangerous for both cars and bikers) like you suggested in you parent comment. Bike lanes need to be protected from main traffic which would mean more costs. Protected bike lanes are paramount to safety. Which means regular maintenance equipment like snow plowers/slating won't work. Bike lanes here are totally useless here in winters because we don't the right equipment/training to clean/salt bike lanes.
  - freehunter 11y ago
    It's possible to separate bike lanes from traffic lanes without building more infrastructure. In fact the entire article was dedicated to that concept. I suggest you read it.
Avshalom 11y ago
Did you miss the first sentence, the part about paying taxes?
soperj 11y ago
In places like Amsterdam it's 15% of all trips that are taken by bike. Copenhagen is around 30%. If they could remove even 6% of the traffic (which is the goal for 2020), that would be worth it in productivity increases alone no?
ocschwar 11y ago