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Every article I see on modern transport problems reminds me that I can't understand why we don't have more public infrastructure invested for cyclists? It real

Every article I see on modern transport problems reminds me that I can't understand why we don't have more public infrastructure invested for cyclists? It really seems like the lowest hanging fruit, but there is not enough profit-motive or politcal incentive to really push it forward? I would love to bike to work and take a shower on arrival--daily exercise that I need anyways, avoids stress & danger of driving, feels great to do. It's also a lot better for the environment than electric cars, and saves me a lot of time. It could help with congestion, pollution, obesity, healthcare costs, and possibly improve social morale. I really think it is an issue where no business or politician has enough incentive/ability to capture profit, so it doesn't ever get much traction, but the public benefit is quite large. From what I understand Holland's bike infrastructure is seen as a gold-standard among transportation economists on how to reduce congestion and pollution--no?

mynegation 9y ago
There are people who don't know how to ride the bike. Shocking, I know, it was for me too. It might work in SoCal, but in temperate climates in winter, biking through ice, snow, and sludge is a non-starter for most. I, personally, don't do it during the summer either, because I sweat a lot and there is no shower at my workplace. Bikes get stolen all the time. The bikes stationed throughout the city for rent are heavy, with low centre of gravity and have only 3 gears.
peterwwillis 9y ago
Reasons why there isn't more public infrastructure for cyclists: 1) someone has to pay for it 2) it gets in the way of my car That's it. Seriously. It's no more complicated than that. I have watched bike lanes make their way into major cities and those are literally the only stumbling blocks. But really it's just #2. I don't know why people are downvoting this. I know the people who fought for 6 years to get one cycle track in Baltimore. Residents are still fighting it because it made them drive less fast and park differently.
- bklaasen 9y ago
  Anecdata: a few years ago I was at a party hosted by an acquaintance who's a town planner. He'd invited a bunch of his town planner workmates. I asked each of them if they owned a bicycle. None of them did. They all had luxury marque cars, paid for by the state.
- GoToRO 9y ago
  Exactly that! When the street will be congested with a lot of bikes then things will change. Right now people prefer cars even if it is bad for them for multiple reasons.
tetromino_ 9y ago
In most of the US, enough parts of the ear are too snowy, too rainy, or too hot for biking that relying on a bike as a primary method of commuting is non-viable; you need a car or nearby public transportation. And since you need to have a car or nearby public transportation anyway - there's not much incentive to bike at all.
legulere 9y ago
Here in Germany they build a bit of bicycle infrastructure in the last years, but most of the time you see by the bad results that the planners themselves are still deeply stuck in their mind in a car-based society.
Kadin 9y ago
Because cars. I mean, there's pages and pages to write, but basically it boils down to that. The bicycle existed before the car, will probably exist after it, but at least when cars and fuel was cheap, people preferred cars. So the infrastructure was and is built around cars. And car manufacturing, repairs, etc., are probably a trillion-dollar industry, so they are not really interested in anything that rocks the boat, and influence the political process to try and ensure this. So on one hand you have a public that says, basically, "my car from my cold, dead hands", and on the other hand you have a giant industry which employs a significant number of Americans saying "we want to sell you those cars". It's sort of surprising there is any other transportation infrastructure at all. It's not surprising the places you find the most alternative modes of transportation are where fewer people own cars. (E.g. NYC in particular, which I believe has the lowest rate of car ownership in the US.) There's a chicken-and-egg problem at work to get anything else funded. Expecting the political process to lead us to a solution is, IMO, a mistake. The political process in the US lags behind public opinion by design, it does not lead (and often screws up when it tries). Public opinion needs to change first, then funding will change, and then infrastructure will change.
- ianai 9y ago
  There’s a huge “counterparty” risk as well. That just about everyone else on the road is driving 2000+ lbs of fast moving vehicle practically ensures a bicyclist’s death in an accident. I sort of think of it as an arms race of sorts. The bigger the average vehicle the bigger you should buy your vehicle.
  - wallace_f 9y ago
    Build dedicated bike paths, and tax the negative externalities, like what you mention, which lead to perverse incentive structures.
    - ianai 9y ago
      Probably even substantive emissions taxes would work.
    - 9y ago
beebmam 9y ago
For many Americans, myself included, cycling is only something we can do every so often. I lived without a car for years, and I cycled 15 miles a day for commuting/chores. I developed pretty painful patellar tendonitis, and I went to physical therapy, which helped significantly (but didn't cure the issue). I'm lucky if I can commute 3 days a week on my bike. I love it so much, I even do it when I'm in pain. But it's not possible to do it every day for me, without serious pain. However, I'm currently converting my bike into an e-bike :) That will make it significantly easier on my poor old man joints.
- wallace_f 9y ago
  I think you are right, and I'm sorry you encountered this injury, but I would hate to see this thinking become an impediment to progress for cyclists. 15 miles at 10mph is just 1.5 hours of pretty leisurely exercise. 20mph is reasonable for a fit rider on a dedicated path with just an inexpensive steel-frame road bike. About your pattellar tendonitis: I developed that when I was trying for an ambitious marathon goal. It took 1.5 years to go away -- in my experience nothing helped except the time. You might want to try getting off the bike for several months and picking up something else, like swimming.
- tetraodonpuffer 9y ago
  sorry about your injury, I am sure you must have, but have you tried adjusting your saddle height and riding cadence to see if they help? I had a lot of issues with knee pain but after going to a higher cadence with a better saddle position I haven't had issues for many years even commuting 15mi a day each way every day. This said we're all different so n=1 and all that, good luck!
bagacrap 9y ago
Even better: telecommute.
endymi0n 9y ago
Weather. Weather. Weather. I know it doesn't rain or snow in California but it sure does in most of the rest of the world. Lack of larger transportation possibilities. Yes, there are specialized transport bikes, but they still can't pack an IKEA haul and are almost as expensive as a small or used car. Infrastructure built for cars (i.e. everything far apart). Increased accident risk. Not everyone being able or willing to drive. Bikes get stolen which is super annoying. If I already have a car for all the aforementioned reasons, a bike is an additional expense. Don't get me wrong, I commute by bike every day there's no ice on the streets, but few others go so far, even here in Germany where the biking experience is already much better than in the US (but still a long way to go from the Netherlands).
- wallace_f 9y ago
  I biked year-around in Boston. There is a lot of bad weather, and almost no bike infrastructure. Granted I love to be on my bike, and don't like the cramped Ts. I'm not saying everyone should do this, but my experience goes to show that if public infrastructure simply included some maintained bicycle paths it would be very possible. Bike paths can be plowed in winter just like roads. It's not actually a big deal to bike when it is snowing outside. Our grandparents fought in horrific conditions. We are afraid to do almost anything without a sticker and stamp of approval. If we are going to talk about saving the world, but no one will even think we can put on a jacket and pedal on a bicycle path, maybe we should stop and self-reflect. Maybe we are a generation of spoiled babies. We cry and whine about global warming, pollution, inequality, injustice, but we're not really willing to break a sweat. We just say whatever is politically correct and get on with it. At some point it is worth mentioning that it's all kind of an insult to the opportunity we have been given.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]

mynegation 9y ago

There are people who don't know how to ride the bike. Shocking, I know, it was for me too. It might work in SoCal, but in temperate climates in winter, biking through ice, snow, and sludge is a non-starter for most. I, personally, don't do it during the summer either, because I sweat a lot and there is no shower at my workplace. Bikes get stolen all the time. The bikes stationed throughout the city for rent are heavy, with low centre of gravity and have only 3 gears.

peterwwillis 9y ago

Reasons why there isn't more public infrastructure for cyclists: 1) someone has to pay for it 2) it gets in the way of my car That's it. Seriously. It's no more complicated than that. I have watched bike lanes make their way into major cities and those are literally the only stumbling blocks. But really it's just #2. I don't know why people are downvoting this. I know the people who fought for 6 years to get one cycle track in Baltimore. Residents are still fighting it because it made them drive less fast and park differently.

bklaasen 9y ago
Anecdata: a few years ago I was at a party hosted by an acquaintance who's a town planner. He'd invited a bunch of his town planner workmates. I asked each of them if they owned a bicycle. None of them did. They all had luxury marque cars, paid for by the state.
GoToRO 9y ago
Exactly that! When the street will be congested with a lot of bikes then things will change. Right now people prefer cars even if it is bad for them for multiple reasons.

tetromino_ 9y ago

In most of the US, enough parts of the ear are too snowy, too rainy, or too hot for biking that relying on a bike as a primary method of commuting is non-viable; you need a car or nearby public transportation. And since you need to have a car or nearby public transportation anyway - there's not much incentive to bike at all.

legulere 9y ago

Here in Germany they build a bit of bicycle infrastructure in the last years, but most of the time you see by the bad results that the planners themselves are still deeply stuck in their mind in a car-based society.

Kadin 9y ago

Because cars. I mean, there's pages and pages to write, but basically it boils down to that. The bicycle existed before the car, will probably exist after it, but at least when cars and fuel was cheap, people preferred cars. So the infrastructure was and is built around cars. And car manufacturing, repairs, etc., are probably a trillion-dollar industry, so they are not really interested in anything that rocks the boat, and influence the political process to try and ensure this. So on one hand you have a public that says, basically, "my car from my cold, dead hands", and on the other hand you have a giant industry which employs a significant number of Americans saying "we want to sell you those cars". It's sort of surprising there is any other transportation infrastructure at all. It's not surprising the places you find the most alternative modes of transportation are where fewer people own cars. (E.g. NYC in particular, which I believe has the lowest rate of car ownership in the US.) There's a chicken-and-egg problem at work to get anything else funded. Expecting the political process to lead us to a solution is, IMO, a mistake. The political process in the US lags behind public opinion by design, it does not lead (and often screws up when it tries). Public opinion needs to change first, then funding will change, and then infrastructure will change.

ianai 9y ago
There’s a huge “counterparty” risk as well. That just about everyone else on the road is driving 2000+ lbs of fast moving vehicle practically ensures a bicyclist’s death in an accident. I sort of think of it as an arms race of sorts. The bigger the average vehicle the bigger you should buy your vehicle.
- wallace_f 9y ago
  Build dedicated bike paths, and tax the negative externalities, like what you mention, which lead to perverse incentive structures.
  - ianai 9y ago
    Probably even substantive emissions taxes would work.
  - 9y ago

beebmam 9y ago

For many Americans, myself included, cycling is only something we can do every so often. I lived without a car for years, and I cycled 15 miles a day for commuting/chores. I developed pretty painful patellar tendonitis, and I went to physical therapy, which helped significantly (but didn't cure the issue). I'm lucky if I can commute 3 days a week on my bike. I love it so much, I even do it when I'm in pain. But it's not possible to do it every day for me, without serious pain. However, I'm currently converting my bike into an e-bike :) That will make it significantly easier on my poor old man joints.

wallace_f 9y ago
I think you are right, and I'm sorry you encountered this injury, but I would hate to see this thinking become an impediment to progress for cyclists. 15 miles at 10mph is just 1.5 hours of pretty leisurely exercise. 20mph is reasonable for a fit rider on a dedicated path with just an inexpensive steel-frame road bike. About your pattellar tendonitis: I developed that when I was trying for an ambitious marathon goal. It took 1.5 years to go away -- in my experience nothing helped except the time. You might want to try getting off the bike for several months and picking up something else, like swimming.
tetraodonpuffer 9y ago
sorry about your injury, I am sure you must have, but have you tried adjusting your saddle height and riding cadence to see if they help? I had a lot of issues with knee pain but after going to a higher cadence with a better saddle position I haven't had issues for many years even commuting 15mi a day each way every day. This said we're all different so n=1 and all that, good luck!

bagacrap 9y ago

Even better: telecommute.

endymi0n 9y ago

Weather. Weather. Weather. I know it doesn't rain or snow in California but it sure does in most of the rest of the world. Lack of larger transportation possibilities. Yes, there are specialized transport bikes, but they still can't pack an IKEA haul and are almost as expensive as a small or used car. Infrastructure built for cars (i.e. everything far apart). Increased accident risk. Not everyone being able or willing to drive. Bikes get stolen which is super annoying. If I already have a car for all the aforementioned reasons, a bike is an additional expense. Don't get me wrong, I commute by bike every day there's no ice on the streets, but few others go so far, even here in Germany where the biking experience is already much better than in the US (but still a long way to go from the Netherlands).

wallace_f 9y ago
I biked year-around in Boston. There is a lot of bad weather, and almost no bike infrastructure. Granted I love to be on my bike, and don't like the cramped Ts. I'm not saying everyone should do this, but my experience goes to show that if public infrastructure simply included some maintained bicycle paths it would be very possible. Bike paths can be plowed in winter just like roads. It's not actually a big deal to bike when it is snowing outside. Our grandparents fought in horrific conditions. We are afraid to do almost anything without a sticker and stamp of approval. If we are going to talk about saving the world, but no one will even think we can put on a jacket and pedal on a bicycle path, maybe we should stop and self-reflect. Maybe we are a generation of spoiled babies. We cry and whine about global warming, pollution, inequality, injustice, but we're not really willing to break a sweat. We just say whatever is politically correct and get on with it. At some point it is worth mentioning that it's all kind of an insult to the opportunity we have been given.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]