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> Meanwhile, for this year we're just trying to figure out how to get our kids to school without buying a second car. Make them take public transport? If they’

> Meanwhile, for this year we're just trying to figure out how to get our kids to school without buying a second car. Make them take public transport? If they’re older than 10 or 11, let’s say. Or make them walk to school? Assuming you live at about 2 km max from said school (a good half-hour walk to and back from school has never hurt anybody, to the contrary). Now, I understand that there may be laws around where you live that ban leaving kids unaccompanied, but you can and try fighting those laws (I guess there would be other people who might join you). Also, maybe your local public transport is crap, but it’s easier and better for the whole society to try and fix that than to try and impose cycling paths that would be used by only a small percentage of the people living there).

CalRobert 4y ago
We live 1 km from the preschool but it's a narrow country road with tall hedgerows and drivers doing 90-100kph. We live 13km from the primary school (it's the nearest non-religious one) and there is no public transportation. Of course, this was a predictable consequence of moving to the countryside, but it meant we could get a super cheap house to dig ourselves out of a hole. We knew this was a predictable outcome and leaving is a logical step. We're done digging (the plan worked!) "cycling paths that would be used by only a small percentage of the people living there" Odd since many people already bike here, just at great risk to themselves, and a bike path can allow convenient, immediate transport as opposed to public transportation which doesn't work well at our low population densities. I have a bunch of footage of people riding bikes around here I need to put together in to a video, actually - mostly older folks. I'm annoyed the car paths were imposed on us, but here we are.
- bombcar 4y ago
  Build a bike that looks like an Amish buggy. https://www.amishfarmandhouse.com/blog/amish-horse-and-buggies-guide/ https://www.amishfarmandhouse.com/blog/amish-horse-and-buggi...
  - CalRobert 4y ago
    Lovely :-D but it could be pretty heavy to pedal...
  - uxp100 4y ago
    Amish buggy riders get hit and killed by drivers pretty often too.
Reason077 4y ago
> "maybe your local public transport is crap, but it’s easier and better for the whole society to try and fix that than to try and impose cycling paths that would be used by only a small percentage of the people living there" Nonsense. Cycle paths aren't "imposed" on anyone - they're far cheaper to build and maintain than public transport and are an asset to society. It's easy to say "why build cycle lanes when nobody cycles", but the reason nobody cycles in your town is because there isn't safe infrastructure for cycling. If you build enough cycle-friendly infrastructure, people will use it because suddenly a lot of trips become practical, convenient, and safe by bike that weren't before. Plus, you save a lot in long-term healthcare costs by promoting a healthier, more active population! But even die-hard car drivers benefit from increased cycling thanks to reduced traffic and congestion.
- frosted-flakes 4y ago
  Ad I've heard it said, you cannot justify a bridge by counting how many people currently swim across the river.
_hcuq 4y ago
In places with good cycling infrastructure, there are more bikes than cars.

CalRobert 4y ago

We live 1 km from the preschool but it's a narrow country road with tall hedgerows and drivers doing 90-100kph. We live 13km from the primary school (it's the nearest non-religious one) and there is no public transportation. Of course, this was a predictable consequence of moving to the countryside, but it meant we could get a super cheap house to dig ourselves out of a hole. We knew this was a predictable outcome and leaving is a logical step. We're done digging (the plan worked!) "cycling paths that would be used by only a small percentage of the people living there" Odd since many people already bike here, just at great risk to themselves, and a bike path can allow convenient, immediate transport as opposed to public transportation which doesn't work well at our low population densities. I have a bunch of footage of people riding bikes around here I need to put together in to a video, actually - mostly older folks. I'm annoyed the car paths were imposed on us, but here we are.

bombcar 4y ago
Build a bike that looks like an Amish buggy. https://www.amishfarmandhouse.com/blog/amish-horse-and-buggies-guide/ https://www.amishfarmandhouse.com/blog/amish-horse-and-buggi...
- CalRobert 4y ago
  Lovely :-D but it could be pretty heavy to pedal...
- uxp100 4y ago
  Amish buggy riders get hit and killed by drivers pretty often too.

Reason077 4y ago

> "maybe your local public transport is crap, but it’s easier and better for the whole society to try and fix that than to try and impose cycling paths that would be used by only a small percentage of the people living there" Nonsense. Cycle paths aren't "imposed" on anyone - they're far cheaper to build and maintain than public transport and are an asset to society. It's easy to say "why build cycle lanes when nobody cycles", but the reason nobody cycles in your town is because there isn't safe infrastructure for cycling. If you build enough cycle-friendly infrastructure, people will use it because suddenly a lot of trips become practical, convenient, and safe by bike that weren't before. Plus, you save a lot in long-term healthcare costs by promoting a healthier, more active population! But even die-hard car drivers benefit from increased cycling thanks to reduced traffic and congestion.

frosted-flakes 4y ago
Ad I've heard it said, you cannot justify a bridge by counting how many people currently swim across the river.

_hcuq 4y ago

In places with good cycling infrastructure, there are more bikes than cars.