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Cycling right next to a freeway sounds gross. All you need to do is take some back roads, slap down some speed bumps, sharrows and other things to slightly anno
by pkulak 14y ago
Cycling right next to a freeway sounds gross. All you need to do is take some back roads, slap down some speed bumps, sharrows and other things to slightly annoy cars, and call it a day: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/348902 http://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/348902
Nice and cheap, plus you get bikes away from cars entirely, not simply relegated to the side of a high traffic, high speed street. I think it's the best option for any city in the US where there just isn't the political will to do anything more.
- mtowle 14y agoYou could also take unused railroad tracks and pave over them. It's been done elsewhere. Nice, long, straight bike paths.
- pkulak 14y agoYes, that is a fantastic option, and why Minneapolis has such great bike path, I believe. But, you've got to have the tracks first, and I'm not sure many cities do. And even then, you can't choose where your paths go.
- jchrisa 14y agoOr the train company owns it and expects to use it "someday" so they stonewall.
- toomuchtodo 14y agoAre there any concepts where you can pave down the center and on the sides of tracks? To keep the track useful for later use, but to still allow cyclists to use them?
- egypturnash 14y agoThis strikes me as a terrible idea for two reasons. 1. Slim bike tires getting stuck in the grooves left for the train tracks. 2. Big trains with a ton of inertia running at ~50-60 mph using the same route as cyclists going at ~10-20 mph.
- toomuchtodo 14y agoI'm not speaking of city tracks, where the rails are integrated with the pavement. I'm talking about tracks where they have ties in the center, and using concrete in the center between the rails to create a path. Also, I'm not implying using it for high-speed trains and bike trails at the same time. I'm suggesting being able to go back to use of the paths for trains, and not tearing the tracks out.
- corwinstephen 14y agoThanks for that video. Really cool to see what they've done!