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The new large cycling strips that appeared in the last 5-6 years are so good. At commute time there are frequently jammed with /cyclists/, but let's face it it'
by frnx 7mo ago
The new large cycling strips that appeared in the last 5-6 years are so good. At commute time there are frequently jammed with /cyclists/, but let's face it it's miles better than being stuck in a car. I shudder to think about the alternative where each cyclist was instead alone in a small car, this wouldn't even fit on the roads.
- suddenlybananas 7mo agoI do wonder how many cyclists in Paris are really replacing cars versus replacing metro usage. Obviously, it's still good for people to cycle as well since the metro can be insanely crowded at times, but living in Paris, my impression is that the people who cycle are the kinds who would have been unlikely to own a car in any case.
- saltysalt 7mo agoExactly.
- nchagnet 7mo agoThat's a really good point, I hope at the very least it enables a "car -> public transport -> bikes" flow. So even if these people were taking the metro, all that extra metro space can accomodate car-owners who wish to switch.
- martinald 7mo agoIt depends though. At least in London a lot of cycleways were made by removing bus lanes and replacing them with high quality segregated cycle lanes. This has led to a big increase in %age terms of cyclists in London, but a fairly significant decline in bus passengers. I think roughly 300m/yr cycle journeys were added, but bus has lost 500m pax/yr (mainly because of increased congestion making them less and less attractive). Note this isn't all down to bus lane removal, but it's a significant part of it.
- kergonath 7mo ago> I do wonder how many cyclists in Paris are really replacing cars versus replacing metro usage. That’s not necessarily a problem, particularly for saturated lines like the 13.
- philamonster 7mo agoI would love to be on what amounts to a group ride to and from work safely. That has to do wonders for all kinds of things both physical and mental. If it were safe I would do it year round.
- recursivegirth 7mo agoI would rather float to work like the Swiss. https://www.businessinsider.com/switzerland-workers-commute-by-floating-down-rivers-video-2023-7?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/switzerland-workers-commute-...
- tw-20260303-001 7mo agoYeah, unless you’re a pedestrian. Cyclists in NL in cities like Utrecht or Amsterdam are worse than car drivers.
- david-gpu 7mo agoAs a pedestrian, I would rather risk a crash with a cyclist than with a car.
- tw-20260303-001 7mo agoAs a pedestrian I would hope that those cyclists remember when they’re pedestrians too. Both can kill you easily. But cars don’t sneak up on you silent from behind when you’re on a sidewalk.
- financetechbro 7mo agoUnless they’re EVs tho right
- tw-20260303-001 7mo agoYou reckon EVs drive on a sidewalk? Maybe you consider moving. Seems like you’re surrounded by idiots.
- jfengel 7mo agoOn a nice day it's fantastic to be out, but Paris can be cold and rainy. They really need to have a plan for those days, too. Paris Metro is pretty nice, and reaches most of the car free area. But I'm not sure if it can handle all of the cyclists if they're all trying to avoid a déluge.
- nchagnet 7mo agoI live in the Netherlands where the weather is arguably tougher than in Paris (rain, cold and wind for large portion of the year) yet everyone bikes year in year out. And not just young active people, it's a habit found across all age groups, parents bike their children to school (or with them if old enough, etc.) All that to say I wouldn't worry too much about the feasibility issue, it's really more of a mindset to adopt, and it's happening more and more in France.
- prpl 7mo agoIn amsterdam, few people wear modern/synthetic rain coats as well. Just riding around in the rain with what I assume must be waxed duck out something
- jacquesm 7mo agoParis has one thing that Amsterdam does not that makes cycling more challenging: elevation. (Ok, Amsterdam has bridges but those are for the most part really short and momentum is enough to carry you across).
- nchagnet 7mo agoOh I agree. When I lived in Lyon, who is also quite bike-friendly, it was a lot more challenging than Amsterdam. But with electric bikes becoming more affordable, hopefully the gap can eventually close.
- jacquesm 7mo agoI've become utterly addicted to my e-bike. You can have my car, but my e-bike stays.
- consp 7mo agoYou haven't been in a bicycle-jam until you've been before an open bridge just before the university colleges start in the Netherlands. Hundreds of cyclists trying to squeeze through a tiny bottleneck. Still costs less time than by going in a car.
- drnick1 7mo ago> At commute time there are frequently jammed with /cyclists/, but let's face it it's miles better than being stuck in a car. Cycling is wonderful, except when it rains, when it's cold, when it's hot, when it's windy, or when you want to carry stuff. So it's not a practical solution 80% of the year.
- gambiting 7mo agoGod I hate this argument so much - it's just such an obviously incorrect statement which is always hard to win against because then the other side will always say "well what if you live in Novosibirsk and it's -60C outside, WHAT THEN CYCLISTS" - well nothing, if you live there then yeah I guess it doesn't work. But if you live in London, Paris, Warsaw, Barcelona, Talin or Stockholm it just doesn't hold water , and these are places that get very hot, very cold, get plenty of rain, snow and wind. It's like that old thing about beetles being too heavy to fly but also they can't read so they don't care - somehow cyclists in these places just get on their bikes and get to work and carry stuff and stay dry or cold or warm and it's fine, despite what the internet thinks.
- marc_g 7mo agoI’m with you. As someone who cycles every day, just put the right clothes on when the weather calls for it, and if you need to buy a sofa, then rent an hourly car for ten bucks.
- hectdev 7mo agoI've been to Copenhagen in the dead of winter with snow on the ground and my mind was blown by how many bikes there were on the streets. It really is an adaptable activity.
- ndsipa_pomu 7mo agoI believe they prioritise clearing snow/ice from the cycle lanes. Personally, I enjoy cycling on snow as it's often not that slippery and due to the cold, I'll usually have a fair amount of clothing to act as padding for if I do come off. Black ice is worse as the rest of the road may be fine, so you go fast until suddenly you're sliding down the road.
- throw-the-towel 7mo agoWell IDK, as a pedestrian in Paris I hate cyclists way more than I hate cars. Cycling in the Netherlands is wonderful; here, it might well have been a mistake.
- jay_kyburz 7mo agoI don't love the waist high black poles that separate the roads from the cycle lanes on some roads. They are not visible enough. When we were there a few years ago we saw a young woman on a bike slam into one on her morning commute. I nearly nutted myself a few time too.