7 ms·
That doesn't work in many low density areas (prime example is American suburbia). So your answer for those people is to make them move to a more dense area that
by dtwest 7y ago
That doesn't work in many low density areas (prime example is American suburbia). So your answer for those people is to make them move to a more dense area that can support such solutions. Which isn't a bad idea, but it's a much harder thing to accomplish.
- kennywinker 7y agoEbike/scoot to transit hub, trains to commercial areas. It’s not rocket science.
- flyingfences 7y agoBikes and scooters are great (provided there are safe riding lanes and trails) until there's any weather. If I have to show up at work looking presentable then biking through a downpour simply isn't an option. If there's any sort of snow or ice on the ground then biking simply isn't an option.
- dannyking 7y agoYes. You also need to factor in things like having young kids. Before I had them taking an ebike to a train would make perfect sense. Now though, without a car it would be incredibly difficult to get them to daycare and make it to work on time without waking up before Dawn.
- wffurr 7y agoYou can't put the kids on the ebike to daycare? Seems like that would be faster and easier than dealing with a car. Just wait until you start in on the total mess that is school drop-off when every parent decides they have to drive their kid to school. Much faster to breeze past the stopped traffic on a bicycle, unstrap the kids and send them on their way, and bike to the train.
- mises 7y agoNot every one has only two kids. It's going to get awfully tough for those with four or five without a minivan.
- stevenhubertron 7y agoSo when you get to that edge edge case they drive a mini-van. No one is saying ban cars, just use them less.
- wffurr 7y agohttps://bikeportland.org/2012/06/28/with-six-kids-and-no-car-this-mom-does-it-all-by-bike-73731 https://bikeportland.org/2012/06/28/with-six-kids-and-no-car...
- ThePowerOfFuet 7y agoThis seems like one of the consequences of the decision to have so many children.
- lovemenot 7y agoOnly three kids, but it was never a problem not to own a car, here in a city with good transportation and where riding with a kid front and back of bicycle is normal.
- wffurr 7y agoIt's not hard to wear rain gear or budget some time to clean up once you arrive at your destination. Any sort of plan to encourage active commutes should also include facilities in workplaces for this sort of thing. Snow and ice: not as big a problem as you think. Cities and towns can plow and salt bike paths even easier than they do streets. You can also put studded tires on bicycles if you're in a particularly snowy area. See Oulu, Finland or Winnipeg, Canada for cities with plenty of winter cyclists: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/feb/12/ice-cycles-northerly-world-cities-winter-bicycle-revolution https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/feb/12/ice-cycles-no...
- mises 7y agoI think when he says "show up looking presentable", it may be that he needs to be in suits or business casual, preferably unwrinkled. Also, I am exceptionally disinclined to bike through below-zero weather, snow tires or no (referring to the hypothetical canadian). Let alone Texas summers, which regularly hit 105 this time of year. I don't care if there are showers or not, it's just darn unpleasant to be outside this time of year.
- rjbwork 7y agoSub-zero weather isn't too bad down to maybe -10C. After that, it's pretty brutal. I do try not to take superfluous trips on my e-bike above maybe 95 though.
- drivers99 7y agoSince he's talking in F (e.g. 105), when he says sub-zero, he means -18C or lower. Or did you mean -10F?
- rjbwork 7y agoAh okay fair enough. I'm from the US, but lately I've been playing a game with temperature set in C, and am used to working in C from talking with a bunch of international people in programming chats. Yeah sub -18C is extremely cold. Definitely not cycling out there. I don't think I've ever seen below 0 Fahrenheit where I live.
- IshKebab 7y agoDo you think people don't cycle in the rain? Just get a waterproof and waterproof trousers.
- throw0101a 7y agoThe Dutch don't seem to have a problem: * https://www.iamexpat.nl/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/biking-safely-during-dutch-winter https://www.iamexpat.nl/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/biking-safe... * https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/cycling-in-the-rain/ https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/cycling-in-the... In Toronto I cycle from April to December, rain or shine. I know folks that also do it January to March, but I can't be bothered to buy the extra insulation layers so I take transit. I have two panniers: one for my lunch and the other for my rain gear: * https://www.rei.com/c/cycling-jackets/f/f-waterproof https://www.rei.com/c/cycling-jackets/f/f-waterproof
- acuozzo 7y agoHave you ever attempted to ride one of these through snow? Also, how would something like this work with little kids?
- wffurr 7y agoBiked in snow plenty of times. It's fine. Also cities can plow bike trails even easier than they plow streets. Plenty of bike options for little kids. Seats, trailers, box bikes, etc. etc.
- davrosthedalek 7y agoHow can they plow bike trails easier than streets, especially in the case where the trail is not attached to a street?
- throw0101a 7y agoIn my city there is often street parking during non-rush times, and so parked cars can get in the way of the plows and so it may be hard to clear. On a bike trail there are no such obstacles: just push the snow to the side.
- timClicks 7y agoUse smaller plows. They can be fitted to ATVs/quads.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- derefr 7y agoYou're assuming a "commercial area" (i.e. a downtown core) that is any less spread out than the suburbs. In a lot of car-centric American cities, it's just a continuous sprawl where the residential sprawl gets called "suburbs" and the commercial sprawl gets called "downtown", without any increase in density.
- wffurr 7y agoOr build out infrastructure in those areas too. In suburbs, there's plenty of room for separate bike paths and trains. It doesn't require everyone to move into Soviet-style superblocks and towers.
- torpfactory 7y agoTrains don’t work in suburbs not because of space limitations - there just aren’t enough paying customers per mile of track to make the economics work.
- Decade 7y agoThere are not enough taxpaying residents to make roads work, either. https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/4/30/my-city-has-massive-infrastructure-liabilities-so-do-99-of-the-cities-in-america https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/4/30/my-city-has-ma...
- squeaky-clean 7y agoYou NEED roads though. Even if you can reach 100% of the city through walking and public transportation, what do you do when you move? Take a train trip for your sofa, and another for your dining room table, and so on? How do local stores and restaurants get their goods delivered? How do you get packages larger than an envelope delivered to your home? How do emergency services and fire rescue reach your home? Do towns exist with public transportation but no roads?
- esotericn 7y agoHeh, yeah. The 'apartment living on a bike' hypothesis is really at odds with itself in this sense, I feel. If you own and live in a place long term then you can slowly bring materials to it, build up furniture, etc, it all works and makes sense. But really this all seems to be based on hyper-specialism. The moving company is the only one allowed to use the roads. You've no space for tools or materials, so no DIY, get the joiners in. And so on and so forth. Personally I find that really depressing. You may as well just plug yourself into the wall and turn on VR.