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I bike every day to work because I finally live in a place where there's bike paths/roads almost everywhere there's car roads. I would never dare to do so wher

I bike every day to work because I finally live in a place where there's bike paths/roads almost everywhere there's car roads. I would never dare to do so where I lived before: I'd almost certainly be a blob of blood and guts splattered on the road by now. It's infuriating how little thought is given to anything that is not a road for The Car. Billions of taxpayer money spent on massive road construction and repair but god forbid we build bike paths for 1/20th of the cost and 1/100th of the upkeep.

SoftTalker 2y ago
The majority of people can't rely on biking. They're too old, too fat, the weather is bad, or too hot, or too cold, they're going too far, or they have to take two kids somewhere and pick up groceries, etc. If biking works for you, where you are, great. But it's at best a pretty small part of the solution.
- andrepd 2y ago
  You're looking at it wrong. The mere fact that you have to chauffer your kids around everywhere until they're old enough to drive is a consequence of the fact that everything revolves around the car, as is the fact that you have to shop on a big box 10 miles away instead of walking 5mins to the store. In the Netherlands kids bike everywhere with their friends, because it's safe and comfortable to do so. If they want to play sports they grab their bikes and go, they don't have to sit in traffic for 45mins in the back of their parents SUV. The Netherlands also has some of the happiest children on earth according to studies. Go figure :)
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    glad the Netherlands are nice like that. I'm in Los Angeles and it's dangerous living downtown with kids. Even if things are walkable I would never let my theoretical kids walk around on the streets. There's a lot more than urban planning that needs to be fixed before a walkable city becomes a reality here.
    - andrepd 2y ago
      Agreed on that point, but very few places in the US—safe or unsafe—are walkable. Even the safest upper middle class suburb is totally untraversable without a car. So the problem clearly isn't just crime.

SoftTalker 2y ago

The majority of people can't rely on biking. They're too old, too fat, the weather is bad, or too hot, or too cold, they're going too far, or they have to take two kids somewhere and pick up groceries, etc. If biking works for you, where you are, great. But it's at best a pretty small part of the solution.

andrepd 2y ago
You're looking at it wrong. The mere fact that you have to chauffer your kids around everywhere until they're old enough to drive is a consequence of the fact that everything revolves around the car, as is the fact that you have to shop on a big box 10 miles away instead of walking 5mins to the store. In the Netherlands kids bike everywhere with their friends, because it's safe and comfortable to do so. If they want to play sports they grab their bikes and go, they don't have to sit in traffic for 45mins in the back of their parents SUV. The Netherlands also has some of the happiest children on earth according to studies. Go figure :)
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  glad the Netherlands are nice like that. I'm in Los Angeles and it's dangerous living downtown with kids. Even if things are walkable I would never let my theoretical kids walk around on the streets. There's a lot more than urban planning that needs to be fixed before a walkable city becomes a reality here.
  - andrepd 2y ago
    Agreed on that point, but very few places in the US—safe or unsafe—are walkable. Even the safest upper middle class suburb is totally untraversable without a car. So the problem clearly isn't just crime.