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In general I think this is more about cities using the reduced traffic and shutdowns to accelerate their existing infrastructure plans. There are a reasons why

In general I think this is more about cities using the reduced traffic and shutdowns to accelerate their existing infrastructure plans. There are a reasons why cycling & walking ties in to COVID-19 (mostly getting people off of public transportation), but all of the places which are doing this were already heading down this path (for good reasons).

closeparen 6y ago
This is the worst possible time to start an infrastructure project. The intermediate states matter, and construction sites are evil. San Fransisco's Vision Zero is why I haven't been able to cycle to work in two years. In the name of bicycle safety, the city tore out my bike lane and replaced it with a ditch. I don't really need it; I'm a confident vehicular cyclist and I'll take a traffic lane. But the lane I need to be in, which used to be a straight line, is now gated behind an extremely dangerous zipper merge around a half-finished bus boarding island. I have never been more afraid on the road than when navigating a situation allegedly intended to make me safer. The sidewalks in my neighborhood are being widened, and pedestrian bulb-outs are being added to make crossings shorter. Which means that for the forseeable future, the sidewalks are narrow passages between construction fences, and it's impossible to social-distance with oncoming traffic. The sidewalks around intersections are completely fenced off; to cross the street, you must get within inches of the cars. All of these things will be great to have, when they are completed in 2030. But until then walking and cycling are much, much worse than they would have been if things were left alone.
- ogre_codes 6y ago
  > This is the worst possible time to start an infrastructure project. The intermediate states matter, and construction sites are evil. The ideal time to do construction is when you have the least traffic and right now cities are seeing less traffic than they have had in decades. > San Fransisco's Vision Zero is why I haven't been able to cycle to work in two years. In the name of bicycle safety, the city tore out my bike lane and replaced it with a ditch. This has less to do with general principals and a lot to do with piss poor planning in SF. Here in Eugene, when they do construction, cycling safety is (mostly) taken into account. > All of these things will be great to have, when they are completed in 2030. Construction sites are a PITA for everyone and are definitely more dangerous for cyclists, but getting the construction over quickly is safer than dragging it out. Considering how bad bike commuting is in many places, dealing with a few years of marginally worse conditions to get much better infrastructure is worthwhile.
JAlexoid 6y ago
NYC has a problem - the debt that MTA has cannot be repaid, unless ridership increases... but ridership has been dropping due to cycling, uber, etc. (I suspect that this problem is also in other cities with large mass transit investment) NYC is also horrible at keeping bike lanes unobstructed and street parking is literally the worst thing in NYC for a road user.
- andrewprock 6y ago
  One wonders how the accrued debt for the roads and streets - which services the MTA and other traffic - will be repaid.
  - JAlexoid 6y ago
    Road construction and maintenance can be paid off using taxes on various things(property taxes and gas taxes). Mass transit relies much more on ridership. (NYC Subway is massively underpriced) Also - road maintenance is highly dependent on road use. Biggest degrading factors for the westside bike path on Manhattan have been natural(weather and flora). I've been on bike paths that were paved in the 60ies and are still in great condition... without maintenance.

closeparen 6y ago

This is the worst possible time to start an infrastructure project. The intermediate states matter, and construction sites are evil. San Fransisco's Vision Zero is why I haven't been able to cycle to work in two years. In the name of bicycle safety, the city tore out my bike lane and replaced it with a ditch. I don't really need it; I'm a confident vehicular cyclist and I'll take a traffic lane. But the lane I need to be in, which used to be a straight line, is now gated behind an extremely dangerous zipper merge around a half-finished bus boarding island. I have never been more afraid on the road than when navigating a situation allegedly intended to make me safer. The sidewalks in my neighborhood are being widened, and pedestrian bulb-outs are being added to make crossings shorter. Which means that for the forseeable future, the sidewalks are narrow passages between construction fences, and it's impossible to social-distance with oncoming traffic. The sidewalks around intersections are completely fenced off; to cross the street, you must get within inches of the cars. All of these things will be great to have, when they are completed in 2030. But until then walking and cycling are much, much worse than they would have been if things were left alone.

ogre_codes 6y ago
> This is the worst possible time to start an infrastructure project. The intermediate states matter, and construction sites are evil. The ideal time to do construction is when you have the least traffic and right now cities are seeing less traffic than they have had in decades. > San Fransisco's Vision Zero is why I haven't been able to cycle to work in two years. In the name of bicycle safety, the city tore out my bike lane and replaced it with a ditch. This has less to do with general principals and a lot to do with piss poor planning in SF. Here in Eugene, when they do construction, cycling safety is (mostly) taken into account. > All of these things will be great to have, when they are completed in 2030. Construction sites are a PITA for everyone and are definitely more dangerous for cyclists, but getting the construction over quickly is safer than dragging it out. Considering how bad bike commuting is in many places, dealing with a few years of marginally worse conditions to get much better infrastructure is worthwhile.

JAlexoid 6y ago

NYC has a problem - the debt that MTA has cannot be repaid, unless ridership increases... but ridership has been dropping due to cycling, uber, etc. (I suspect that this problem is also in other cities with large mass transit investment) NYC is also horrible at keeping bike lanes unobstructed and street parking is literally the worst thing in NYC for a road user.

andrewprock 6y ago
One wonders how the accrued debt for the roads and streets - which services the MTA and other traffic - will be repaid.
- JAlexoid 6y ago
  Road construction and maintenance can be paid off using taxes on various things(property taxes and gas taxes). Mass transit relies much more on ridership. (NYC Subway is massively underpriced) Also - road maintenance is highly dependent on road use. Biggest degrading factors for the westside bike path on Manhattan have been natural(weather and flora). I've been on bike paths that were paved in the 60ies and are still in great condition... without maintenance.