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Yup. Bit like how it's hard to argue for building a bridge by the number of people swimming across the river. It's even worse since the bridge will be built wi

Yup. Bit like how it's hard to argue for building a bridge by the number of people swimming across the river. It's even worse since the bridge will be built with connecting roadways on both sides so it will be instantly popular. But often a few bike lanes will be constructed in isolation,t then people will complain "Look, we built these expensive bike lanes to nowhere and no one is even using them!" It takes a rich network of safe bike infrastructure to get average riders to use bikes. At least eBikes make hills less of an impediment.

photojosh 5y ago
What compounds the problem is that the bike lanes are often built where it is easy and non-controversial to do so... and so the actually difficult spots get left until last... which are often the key points that dissuade people. Key example [0], the difference between the north and south entrances to the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway, which are under different local governments. The North Sydney council is actively fighting an upgrade [1], whereas on the south side it's smooth access expanding into a network of bike paths. In my city, the major conflict points are all short stretches of busy narrow road, while paths are going in elsewhere. [0] https://bicyclensw.org.au/a-tale-of-two-sydneys/ https://bicyclensw.org.au/a-tale-of-two-sydneys/ [1] https://architectureau.com/articles/sydney-harbour-bridge-cycle-ramp-proposal-falls-flat/ https://architectureau.com/articles/sydney-harbour-bridge-cy...
robotresearcher 5y ago
This is a very important point. Bikeways, like roadways, are a system. My South Bay commute has nice bike paths part of the way, but they stop just short of a major highway-freeway intersection. Sure, it would be tough to build a good bike lane through this busy, high speed intersection. So there isn’t one. So the bike path just… stops. And you have to navigate this scary section to proceed. So almost nobody does. It’s such a shame since we have among the best bike-weather in the world, and a fairly flat basin to ride in. A little more infrastructure would help a lot. And e-bikes have their place for people going more than 20 mins and need to arrive feeling presentable.

photojosh 5y ago

What compounds the problem is that the bike lanes are often built where it is easy and non-controversial to do so... and so the actually difficult spots get left until last... which are often the key points that dissuade people. Key example [0], the difference between the north and south entrances to the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway, which are under different local governments. The North Sydney council is actively fighting an upgrade [1], whereas on the south side it's smooth access expanding into a network of bike paths. In my city, the major conflict points are all short stretches of busy narrow road, while paths are going in elsewhere. [0] https://bicyclensw.org.au/a-tale-of-two-sydneys/ https://bicyclensw.org.au/a-tale-of-two-sydneys/ [1] https://architectureau.com/articles/sydney-harbour-bridge-cycle-ramp-proposal-falls-flat/ https://architectureau.com/articles/sydney-harbour-bridge-cy...

robotresearcher 5y ago

This is a very important point. Bikeways, like roadways, are a system. My South Bay commute has nice bike paths part of the way, but they stop just short of a major highway-freeway intersection. Sure, it would be tough to build a good bike lane through this busy, high speed intersection. So there isn’t one. So the bike path just… stops. And you have to navigate this scary section to proceed. So almost nobody does. It’s such a shame since we have among the best bike-weather in the world, and a fairly flat basin to ride in. A little more infrastructure would help a lot. And e-bikes have their place for people going more than 20 mins and need to arrive feeling presentable.