4 ms·

Meanwhile, in São Paulo, the mayor is trying very hard to remove bike lanes already built, and are passing laws that make it a lot harder to build new ones.

sevensor 9y ago
Why on earth? An aunt who used to live there tells me the air pollution is quite bad -- one would think reducing emissions by encouraging cycling would be a priority.
- ufo 9y ago
  Those bike lanes were put in place by the previous mayor and the new mayor is trying to undo things the previous mayor did. Basically, stupid politics. (To be fair, the bike lanes weren't perfect but they should have been improved instead of removed)
- thomasfortes 9y ago
  The previous mayor was from PT, a kinda left-wing party that a good part of the middle class loves to hate (there are a few good reasons, but the hate at this point is insane), so the actual mayor won with promises to revert the policies. Combine that with the fact that São Paulo is a city where people seems to love cars more than their relatives and have an upper class that oppose bike lanes in front of their houses because "people that ride bikes aren't the kind of people that we want in our neighborhood" and you have a recipe for disaster. These people (the upper class, not the middle) are also against subway expansion because it would be easier for people from the poorer regions of the city to come to their neighborhoods. It's a mix of car loving, a party hate and prejudice that makes São Paulo a complete chaotic city when we're talking about transport. I love São Paulo, have a lot of friends there, but almost everything that is being done right now seems to be in the opposition of the public interest.
  - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    > These people (the upper class, not the middle) are also against subway expansion because it would be easier for people from the poorer regions of the city to come to their neighborhoods Guess why the D.C. Metro doesn’t go to Georgetown and the Phoenix light rail doesn’t go to Scottsdale?
  - sevensor 9y ago
    Interesting -- much as I have a chip on my shoulder about spandex cyclists who look down on bike commuters like me, maybe they have a valuable role to play. If you can't sell rich people on cycling as an exclusive, upscale activity, they're going to fight against it and win. The next time some twit blows through a stop sign and cuts me off while clipped into his $6500 bike, I'll have to remind myself of this conversation. I'd rather have rich jerks on bicycles than rich jerks in hummers.

sevensor 9y ago

Why on earth? An aunt who used to live there tells me the air pollution is quite bad -- one would think reducing emissions by encouraging cycling would be a priority.

ufo 9y ago
Those bike lanes were put in place by the previous mayor and the new mayor is trying to undo things the previous mayor did. Basically, stupid politics. (To be fair, the bike lanes weren't perfect but they should have been improved instead of removed)
thomasfortes 9y ago
The previous mayor was from PT, a kinda left-wing party that a good part of the middle class loves to hate (there are a few good reasons, but the hate at this point is insane), so the actual mayor won with promises to revert the policies. Combine that with the fact that São Paulo is a city where people seems to love cars more than their relatives and have an upper class that oppose bike lanes in front of their houses because "people that ride bikes aren't the kind of people that we want in our neighborhood" and you have a recipe for disaster. These people (the upper class, not the middle) are also against subway expansion because it would be easier for people from the poorer regions of the city to come to their neighborhoods. It's a mix of car loving, a party hate and prejudice that makes São Paulo a complete chaotic city when we're talking about transport. I love São Paulo, have a lot of friends there, but almost everything that is being done right now seems to be in the opposition of the public interest.
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago
  > These people (the upper class, not the middle) are also against subway expansion because it would be easier for people from the poorer regions of the city to come to their neighborhoods Guess why the D.C. Metro doesn’t go to Georgetown and the Phoenix light rail doesn’t go to Scottsdale?
- sevensor 9y ago
  Interesting -- much as I have a chip on my shoulder about spandex cyclists who look down on bike commuters like me, maybe they have a valuable role to play. If you can't sell rich people on cycling as an exclusive, upscale activity, they're going to fight against it and win. The next time some twit blows through a stop sign and cuts me off while clipped into his $6500 bike, I'll have to remind myself of this conversation. I'd rather have rich jerks on bicycles than rich jerks in hummers.