4 ms·

The article is mixing a few different points in a strange way. Paris has an excellent subway system with about 350 stations, everywhere you want to go there is

The article is mixing a few different points in a strange way. Paris has an excellent subway system with about 350 stations, everywhere you want to go there is a subway station less than 500 meters away, sometimes you have 2-3 stations in this range. There is also the RER that connects to surrounding cities and villages. Driving is Paris does not make too much sense to me. But building lots of bicycle lanes is not making any significant difference, as a person that used to use the bicycle to commute to the office I can tell I had just 6-7 months when I was able to do that - in hot summer and in the middle of the winter it is simply too unpleasant to use the bicycle. On the other side, the article suggests part of the disagreement with the mayor is because she is a woman. Well, that is a bad excuse, I don't think anyone has a problem with her gender. Then it mentions the piss smell. Yes, it is there, it is terrible, but greening and piss have no relationship. There are some obvious causes for the piss smell in some neighborhoods, but they are not even mentioned because it does not match the political color of the newspaper. No comment. But then it jumps into the Airbnb problem: while this is a real problem, it has nothing to do with "greening" the city. It should be discussed separately, not thrown in the pot and stirred just to put more words in the article or put more substance in the list of problems, even if there is no link to the subject.

TulliusCicero 7y ago
Paris too hot in the summer? C'mon, the average high is like 25C. Too cold in the winter? Oulu, Finland would like a word. As Germans would say, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. Or in this case, probably bad infrastructure. Only visited once, but Paris didn't seem to have all that many protected bike lanes and paths compared to even Munich -- which definitely still favors cars over bikes -- let alone compared to Dutch cities.
- AdrianB1 7y ago
  You don't go to the office on the average temperature, everything higher than 25 degrees, some longer distance and/or some small hills and you get there sweaty and smelly. Anything over 30 degrees guarantees that and an average high of 25 degrees means you can have 2-3 hotter days every week - it is enough to make cycling unpredictable. I currently work in Bucharest and the average high is higher, from May to September you have 30 degrees or more, while in the winter you have snow on the road and it is illegal to ride a bicycle. Not Finland and not Cairo (Egypt), but good enough to make cycling unpleasant.
  - hokkos 7y ago
    Now there is something called electric bike that solve the summer and hills problems. And clothing that solve the winter one. I used to take public bus on an unconvenient path with a lot of walking, but now with an electric bike on 150m of positive climbs I take less time.
    - Faark 7y ago
      > And clothing that solve the winter one. How exactly does that help you get grip on snow and ice? Combined with less light (harder to notice bikes) and generally more rainy days, biking just isn't an all around the year thingy here in central Europe. I do try as much as possible, though. And Paris might not be as bad as well.
      - korethr 7y ago
        Same solution that cars have for winter weather overwhelming the traction capability of their normal tires: tires intended for improved traction in snow and ice. Yes, carbide studded snow/ice tires for your bike will cost more than the normal tires, but the same applies for cars. Yes, you're still more liable to slipping and losing control if you move or turn too quickly, but the cars have the same problem. The solution is also the same: slow down a little, and be attentive for (potential) ice in your path. Less light in the winter can also be addressed: put lights and reflectors on your bike and/or on your person. One can get wind-breaking bike jackets in bright, high-visibility colors, and covered in plenty of reflective material. Wicking and warming layers can be worn underneath. A well-focused, reasonably-bright-for-your-circumstances light on the front makes it easier for you to see, and also be seen. A red light on the back also helps with being seen.
      - CydeWeys 7y ago
        It flat out does not snow that much in Paris. I live in NYC which gets more snow and there's rarely a single day per year where it snows enough to make biking impractical. It just doesn't actually snow that much, and when it does, it's cleared quickly. On the very rare day where there's enough snow on the roads to make biking impossible, just don't bike on that day. Take the subway, or work from home, or whatever.
- enz 7y ago
  Paris can be pretty hot in summer. Last summer, Paris had a peak at 41 degrees C.
  - CydeWeys 7y ago
    Are we sure that the subway is gonna be any better in those situations? At least you get a breeze. Here in NYC I find the subway (specifically the un-air-conditioned stations) much more unpleasant than biking.
  - jdnenej 7y ago
    That would be mid day though. The times people are commuting by bike are mostly a lot cooler.
arkh 7y ago
> The article is mixing a few different points in a strange way. Paris has an excellent subway system with about 350 stations, everywhere you want to go there is a subway station less than 500 meters away, sometimes you have 2-3 stations in this range. There is also the RER that connects to surrounding cities and villages. Driving is Paris does not make too much sense to me. But building lots of bicycle lanes is not making any significant difference, as a person that used to use the bicycle to commute to the office I can tell I had just 6-7 months when I was able to do that - in hot summer and in the middle of the winter it is simply too unpleasant to use the bicycle. It is okay-ish when you live in Paris and go work in Paris. When, like most people, you have to live outside Paris and go work there or worse: go work on some other side of Paris the public transportation system is shit.
- valcker 7y ago
  However, it is still better than in the most of the other European cities and it would probably take less or equal time if you had to do the same trip by car.
golemiprague 7y ago
For the hot summers you can use an electric bike
ElFitz 7y ago
One of the Uber drivers I rode with would disagree with you on that. He apparently considered a woman would only be suited to run a small suburbs town. At most.
- baud147258 7y ago
  Most Uber drivers are not living in Paris, so they don't have a say in who's the mayor and they are impacted in their work with all the roads closure, so of course they're critical of her.
  - ElFitz 7y ago
    Of course. I immediately thought the same. Doesn't change what he explicitly and unapologetically said.
megaremote 7y ago
> as a person that used to use the bicycle to commute to the office I can tell I had just 6-7 months when I was able to do that I had no problem riding every day of the year in Paris. Loved it. The cobblestones were worse than the weather.
- CydeWeys 7y ago
  Same here in NYC -- I and many others bike commute year round. It's certainly true that numbers decrease in the depths of winter (though not in summer), but it's not correct to suggest that the weather is unsuitable for biking. I'd much rather bike the same distance than walk it, in both extreme heat and extreme cold. When facing extreme heat, you get the nice breeze which cycling generates that you don't get when walking. In extreme cold, wear the right clothing and the heat generated from cycling will make you warmer than walking will.

TulliusCicero 7y ago

Paris too hot in the summer? C'mon, the average high is like 25C. Too cold in the winter? Oulu, Finland would like a word. As Germans would say, there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. Or in this case, probably bad infrastructure. Only visited once, but Paris didn't seem to have all that many protected bike lanes and paths compared to even Munich -- which definitely still favors cars over bikes -- let alone compared to Dutch cities.

AdrianB1 7y ago
You don't go to the office on the average temperature, everything higher than 25 degrees, some longer distance and/or some small hills and you get there sweaty and smelly. Anything over 30 degrees guarantees that and an average high of 25 degrees means you can have 2-3 hotter days every week - it is enough to make cycling unpredictable. I currently work in Bucharest and the average high is higher, from May to September you have 30 degrees or more, while in the winter you have snow on the road and it is illegal to ride a bicycle. Not Finland and not Cairo (Egypt), but good enough to make cycling unpleasant.
- hokkos 7y ago
  Now there is something called electric bike that solve the summer and hills problems. And clothing that solve the winter one. I used to take public bus on an unconvenient path with a lot of walking, but now with an electric bike on 150m of positive climbs I take less time.
  - Faark 7y ago
    > And clothing that solve the winter one. How exactly does that help you get grip on snow and ice? Combined with less light (harder to notice bikes) and generally more rainy days, biking just isn't an all around the year thingy here in central Europe. I do try as much as possible, though. And Paris might not be as bad as well.
    - korethr 7y ago
      Same solution that cars have for winter weather overwhelming the traction capability of their normal tires: tires intended for improved traction in snow and ice. Yes, carbide studded snow/ice tires for your bike will cost more than the normal tires, but the same applies for cars. Yes, you're still more liable to slipping and losing control if you move or turn too quickly, but the cars have the same problem. The solution is also the same: slow down a little, and be attentive for (potential) ice in your path. Less light in the winter can also be addressed: put lights and reflectors on your bike and/or on your person. One can get wind-breaking bike jackets in bright, high-visibility colors, and covered in plenty of reflective material. Wicking and warming layers can be worn underneath. A well-focused, reasonably-bright-for-your-circumstances light on the front makes it easier for you to see, and also be seen. A red light on the back also helps with being seen.
    - CydeWeys 7y ago
      It flat out does not snow that much in Paris. I live in NYC which gets more snow and there's rarely a single day per year where it snows enough to make biking impractical. It just doesn't actually snow that much, and when it does, it's cleared quickly. On the very rare day where there's enough snow on the roads to make biking impossible, just don't bike on that day. Take the subway, or work from home, or whatever.
enz 7y ago
Paris can be pretty hot in summer. Last summer, Paris had a peak at 41 degrees C.
- CydeWeys 7y ago
  Are we sure that the subway is gonna be any better in those situations? At least you get a breeze. Here in NYC I find the subway (specifically the un-air-conditioned stations) much more unpleasant than biking.
- jdnenej 7y ago
  That would be mid day though. The times people are commuting by bike are mostly a lot cooler.

arkh 7y ago

> The article is mixing a few different points in a strange way. Paris has an excellent subway system with about 350 stations, everywhere you want to go there is a subway station less than 500 meters away, sometimes you have 2-3 stations in this range. There is also the RER that connects to surrounding cities and villages. Driving is Paris does not make too much sense to me. But building lots of bicycle lanes is not making any significant difference, as a person that used to use the bicycle to commute to the office I can tell I had just 6-7 months when I was able to do that - in hot summer and in the middle of the winter it is simply too unpleasant to use the bicycle. It is okay-ish when you live in Paris and go work in Paris. When, like most people, you have to live outside Paris and go work there or worse: go work on some other side of Paris the public transportation system is shit.

valcker 7y ago
However, it is still better than in the most of the other European cities and it would probably take less or equal time if you had to do the same trip by car.

golemiprague 7y ago

For the hot summers you can use an electric bike

ElFitz 7y ago

One of the Uber drivers I rode with would disagree with you on that. He apparently considered a woman would only be suited to run a small suburbs town. At most.

baud147258 7y ago
Most Uber drivers are not living in Paris, so they don't have a say in who's the mayor and they are impacted in their work with all the roads closure, so of course they're critical of her.
- ElFitz 7y ago
  Of course. I immediately thought the same. Doesn't change what he explicitly and unapologetically said.

megaremote 7y ago

> as a person that used to use the bicycle to commute to the office I can tell I had just 6-7 months when I was able to do that I had no problem riding every day of the year in Paris. Loved it. The cobblestones were worse than the weather.

CydeWeys 7y ago
Same here in NYC -- I and many others bike commute year round. It's certainly true that numbers decrease in the depths of winter (though not in summer), but it's not correct to suggest that the weather is unsuitable for biking. I'd much rather bike the same distance than walk it, in both extreme heat and extreme cold. When facing extreme heat, you get the nice breeze which cycling generates that you don't get when walking. In extreme cold, wear the right clothing and the heat generated from cycling will make you warmer than walking will.