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That's true, but there's something to be said about culture. Bikes in the Netherlands are a way of life. Bikes in the US are recreational/occasionally professio
by hardwaregeek 6y ago
That's true, but there's something to be said about culture. Bikes in the Netherlands are a way of life. Bikes in the US are recreational/occasionally professional. If people are inconvenienced, they just won't use it.
Not to mention in New York, there's already significant risks that come with biking/scootering. You always always have to share the road for at least some part of the trip and are constantly at risk of car doors, pedestrians and ironically, really fast e-bikes. I know that during the summer the benefits outweigh the risks, at least during pandemic. During the winter with ice and snow? Hell no.
- ryukafalz 6y agoCulture might be the reason the Netherlands started down the path they're on today of building more bicycle infrastructure and we haven't, but... The thing is, culture influences infrastructure, but the reverse is also true. Bikes in the Netherlands are a way of life partly because it's very safe to bike to your destination there! You don't need Dutch culture to get to that point, look at Vancouver: https://youtu.be/N9JHfFutvik https://youtu.be/N9JHfFutvik You're right that at the moment, bikes in the US are mostly considered to be recreational, and as a result they're not treated seriously as transportation. But I think people will get to where they're going however is most convenient, and as a result we can get more people cycling by making it more convenient. (You can count me as one of those people; I have little interest in cycling for recreation, but I would absolutely bike around the city if it were safer. Given the limited reach of our public transit, it would honestly be the quickest way to get where I need to go most of the time.)
- m463 6y agoIt's like finland has bicycle superhighways. What a cool environment.