4 ms·
Cities are generally built on flat terrain. There are some famous exceptions [0] but for obvious reasons the slopes of streets within city limits tend to be tra
by college_physics 4y ago
Cities are generally built on flat terrain. There are some famous exceptions [0] but for obvious reasons the slopes of streets within city limits tend to be tractable. With the e-bike revolution one can also address the edge cases (historic cities, elderly populations etc)
So there is a massive opportunity to de-congest cities by shifting to (e-)bike transport. The key obstacles I see are:
* weather conditions. unfortunately bikes are not particularly practical in harsh winter conditions. So the goldilocks bike zone is not available to all. inventing potential means to extend it would be doing god's work.
* cultural. while oversized monster trucks are a particularly american obsession, the fact is that the common car has become a symbol of affluence and convenience across the planet. bikes were always a poor man's transport. politicians riding bikes still make people go "wow - how humble". the challenge is to change this perception
* vested interests. a good fraction of the global economy revolves around cars. an optimal reconfiguration of cities would not eliminate cars, but it would still significantly reduce the numbers in circulation. there will be resistance for as long as people can neglect the externality of wasting enormous resources for no good reason
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_steepest_roads_and_streets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_steepest_roads_and_str...
- vanilla_nut 4y agoHaving lived in a city that doesn't clear most of their side streets when it snows (and does a pretty shoddy job of clearing the major thoroughfares, too), I'm not sure cars are particularly practical in harsh winter conditions, either. Cold is a problem, but with the right gear, you can stay plenty warm down to 0F. I'm sure we could use microcars (https://microlino-car.com/en/microlino https://microlino-car.com/en/microlino) or some other variation on enclosed ebikes to share bicycle infrastructure safely with folks who can't use bikes when it's truly cold out. The same strategy could work for extreme heat and humidity. The real problem is safety, rooted in snow clearing and ice buildup. Many cities refuse to maintain bike infrastructure at all during the winter, allowing snow and debris to build up on bike paths and lanes between Nov and April. This means that even when roads are clear, bikes aren't able to use dedicated bike infrastructure during much of the winter months, forcing bikes into car lanes. And my experience as a bike in those circumstances tells me that many drivers are NOT accommodating to bikes in that situation. This problem exists year-round, but snowy conditions make it even more obvious that cars, pedestrians, and bicycles don't mix well in our cities. Nobody needs to drive around massive SUVs, pickup trucks, and semis around dense downtowns. Many European cities get by with cargo bicycles and minitrucks (https://minitrucks.net/pages/direct-import-mini-trucks https://minitrucks.net/pages/direct-import-mini-trucks) to move 99% of packages and large items in city centres. The USA needs to keep large vehicles out of dense urban centres and turn as much infrastructure as possible over to pedestrians, public transit, bicycles... and microcars and mini trucks for the niche situations where those other modes of transportation won't work.
- college_physics 4y agomunicipalities might have a counter-incentive to encourage bikes over cars. parking fees / taxes must be a sizeable chunk of income.