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Yup, and approximately 0 people would die if we made the speed limit on city streets 15mph. Give the bikes going 18mph a speeding ticket too, that doesn't even

Yup, and approximately 0 people would die if we made the speed limit on city streets 15mph. Give the bikes going 18mph a speeding ticket too, that doesn't even make me mad. Remember that the average speed in Manhattan is less than 5 mph. There is little to be gained in travel time by careening down neighborhood streets.

adolph 4y ago
I'd be less sanguine about the potential reduction in death. It'd be interesting to see the stats in terms of distance from home to freeway, and freeway to destination and get the change in commute time compared to deaths occurring between those segments. If you live 10m from a freeway, then at 35mph just over 15m is ok. At 5mph 2 hours seems less than acceptable. I can be math-dumb, so it wouldn't be surprising if I'm way off. (10/35)*60 = 17 (10/5)*60 = 120 Even at just 2m away the difference in commute is substantial. (2/35)*60 = 3.4 (2/5)*60 = 24.0
- jrockway 4y ago
  Just as a sample, I used to have a 3.5 mile commute in NYC. It's about 45 minutes by walking, 25 minutes by bike (google maps says 15 minutes, I never did it that fast), 12 minutes by subway, or 19 minutes by driving. That's with current speed limits. New York City is so clogged with traffic that walking is actually competitive with driving, and biking would be faster than driving currently if the traffic lights weren't timed for an imaginary 25-35mph speed limit (that is never achieved). Out in the suburbs, the distances are long and speed does matter. That makes the situation very tough; 15mph speed limits are going to severely devalue your real estate investment. I really have no answer for a sane transition here, and that's a big problem American society faces. (On the other hand, the ocean consuming New York City is going to severely devalue real estate investments, too.)

adolph 4y ago

I'd be less sanguine about the potential reduction in death. It'd be interesting to see the stats in terms of distance from home to freeway, and freeway to destination and get the change in commute time compared to deaths occurring between those segments. If you live 10m from a freeway, then at 35mph just over 15m is ok. At 5mph 2 hours seems less than acceptable. I can be math-dumb, so it wouldn't be surprising if I'm way off. (10/35)*60 = 17 (10/5)*60 = 120 Even at just 2m away the difference in commute is substantial. (2/35)*60 = 3.4 (2/5)*60 = 24.0

jrockway 4y ago
Just as a sample, I used to have a 3.5 mile commute in NYC. It's about 45 minutes by walking, 25 minutes by bike (google maps says 15 minutes, I never did it that fast), 12 minutes by subway, or 19 minutes by driving. That's with current speed limits. New York City is so clogged with traffic that walking is actually competitive with driving, and biking would be faster than driving currently if the traffic lights weren't timed for an imaginary 25-35mph speed limit (that is never achieved). Out in the suburbs, the distances are long and speed does matter. That makes the situation very tough; 15mph speed limits are going to severely devalue your real estate investment. I really have no answer for a sane transition here, and that's a big problem American society faces. (On the other hand, the ocean consuming New York City is going to severely devalue real estate investments, too.)