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Electric bikes are speed-limited by law so that they are actually usually slower than what I'd ride a manual bike when I'm in a hurry. > Do they belong in stre

Electric bikes are speed-limited by law so that they are actually usually slower than what I'd ride a manual bike when I'm in a hurry. > Do they belong in streets, along with cars? No, the rider is at great risk. You could equally ask do cars belong in the streets, along with pedestrians and regular cyclists? They put every other street user at great risk. Yet we subsidize new electric cars with up to $15,000. How many people die in car accidents every year? How many die from bicycles?

ehnto 3y ago
Cars very much took over streets, and not that long ago, so it's a fairer question than the current situation makes it feel like. My answer is no, they belong on roads. Streets are for people doing things, roads are for people going longer distances. We don't have a birthright to drive directly into a busy city and park next to the store we want, those streets should be for the people actually using the city areas. This is up to the cities to decide and implement, but any city area that prioritizes peds and other light transport gets a vote in my book. I intentionally say city area not city, so it's understood I mean certain districts like downtowns and CBDs. Suburbia is what it is, you need a car there at this stage.
sbilstein 3y ago
Not in an urban area. E-bikes fly through sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks in NYC. Threatening pets and people at all times. Bikes were already bad, now it’s just more and faster.
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geophile 3y ago
I agree with you, and with the commenter who discusses the distinction between streets and roads. Restrictions on where cars can go would be wonderful, for many reasons. But given the current design of cities and suburbs, ebikes are unsafe, and subsidizing them is therefore a mistake. Maybe the way to proceed is to subsidize ebikes in combination with turning over to ebikes some lanes or streets or roads that accommodate cars currently.

ehnto 3y ago

Cars very much took over streets, and not that long ago, so it's a fairer question than the current situation makes it feel like. My answer is no, they belong on roads. Streets are for people doing things, roads are for people going longer distances. We don't have a birthright to drive directly into a busy city and park next to the store we want, those streets should be for the people actually using the city areas. This is up to the cities to decide and implement, but any city area that prioritizes peds and other light transport gets a vote in my book. I intentionally say city area not city, so it's understood I mean certain districts like downtowns and CBDs. Suburbia is what it is, you need a car there at this stage.

sbilstein 3y ago

Not in an urban area. E-bikes fly through sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks in NYC. Threatening pets and people at all times. Bikes were already bad, now it’s just more and faster.

deleted 3y ago

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geophile 3y ago

I agree with you, and with the commenter who discusses the distinction between streets and roads. Restrictions on where cars can go would be wonderful, for many reasons. But given the current design of cities and suburbs, ebikes are unsafe, and subsidizing them is therefore a mistake. Maybe the way to proceed is to subsidize ebikes in combination with turning over to ebikes some lanes or streets or roads that accommodate cars currently.