this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2023
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129
Of Course You Can't Bike to Work (jalopnik.com)
submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
27 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Another great piece from Jalopnik.

top 27 comments
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[–] [email protected] 56 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

The site found that despite millions being invested in cycling infrastructure across America, the number of people regularly riding to work has fallen by 75,000 compared with pre-pandemic levels.

This is such bullshit. If you follow the links it does lead to a number or even a lot of investment. Some cities improving stuff but they are also counting people buying e-bikes, and entire cities buying bike fleets. You can spend billions on buying bikes if you want, that's not "infrastructure".

"Millions" across the US is a laughable investment. European cities individually spend more than that, because it's cheaper than maintaining roads for cars, adding more lanes of highways, and climate change.

I bet you the amount of money being poured into new highways is 100x was is being done for bikes.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 years ago

I latched onto the same stat, but for a different reason. What percentage of those 75,000 don't ride to work because they are now working from home?

I don't ride to work anymore, but I put in more miles than ever. 30 miles round trip to grab a beer with a friend on Saturday afternoon, hell yeah! Sometimes I go out on my lunch breaks to wake up and re-energize myself.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I bet you the amount of money being poured into new highways is 100x was is being done for bikes.

You're a orders of magnitude off. Let's assume "millions" means 10 million. I'm also going to generously assume 10 million per year, rather than the more likely 10 million over a couple years.

With those figures highway and street spending is 13,000 more.

Edit: I just reread and saw NEW construction. I don't have that figure.

Edit 2: on secons look, that 130 $bn spending nust be new roads; that looks like insufficient maintaince for the 161,000 mi of highways in the USA, let alone all other roads.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Indeed. How much money per mile of 4-lane stroad with a center turn lane? Is it a million dollars a mile?

[–] [email protected] 53 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

I'm about five miles from my work with OK bike infrastructure to get there. My problem is every dickhead rolling coal on a lifted F350 seems to think I'm worth 500 points. Until they either protect the biking infrastructure or hit these people driving massive vehicles with some real pentalities for driving like idiots, I'll have to keep using my car for safety.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

i wonder if the self-driving cars will make bicycling safer or more dangerous? the recent shrug and pray approaches to the software aren't reassuring enough

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

Physically separate bike paths (like not connected to roads. A.k.a multiuse paths) and bike first intersections are going to be the safest way forward.

Self-driving cars can be safer in some ways, but not always.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Given the fact they are still running over pedestrians, I wouldnt hold a lot of hope.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I sometimes bike to work (~15 miles each way), but fortunately to have a trail I can take a good chunk of the ride to work.

Unfortunately I get off after-dark and its closed (I wouldn't ride it at night even if it were technically open), so stuck riding a sometimes poorly lit stroad for a five-mile stretch home that's down to 1-lane much of the way because of never-ending construction with no shoulder or bike lane (plus stroads most of the other 10 miles home). I couldn't recommend the ride to anyone until the construction is gone. Would be great if they'd put some protected bike lanes there though, but given the trails available during the day, non-night riders and non-bike commuters would probably feel like its redundant.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I recommend getting some bright lights. I have a 350 lumens rear light that makes my bike more visible than most vehicles.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Switch to using an ebike this year, so it has its built in light, I have another rear light that blinks (not very bright and turned so its not directly facing drivers), and recently got a helmet with a front and rear light. Also wear bright clothes and have reflective stickers on my bike and stripes on pannier. I still don't trust some of the cars given passing in-lane is the only option for them to pass and the lane is too narrow for that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

in-lane is the only option for them to pass and the lane is too narrow for that.

In this case the correct thing to do legally is to take the whole lane, but I get that having cars honking at you is stressful.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 years ago (1 children)

biking to work for me means 35 miles of hilly country roads full of speeding trucks. wish I could lol

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 years ago

I started with a 15min commute to the train, 40 lin train ride, 35min bikeride up some KNARLEY hills...but on the way home it was downhill... Then moved cities and was 10min away, which became 1hr 25min training (I'm just commuting i told my brain)...then gota promotion and that was 75mi, 2-3.5hr commute in LA. Pretty soon after we moved away feom all that, live 5min walk from our restaurant & 500m from the med. I hated riding in the US...City bus drivers were THE WORST.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 years ago

Aside from the problems cited in the article, I also find the routing of bike lanes in my area to be confusing as a cyclist and driver. Going from the shoulder, to between a traffic lane and parking lane, to even splitting the center lane with minimal barriers. The transitions from one lane position to the next almost always feels dangerous. If we could get some consistency it would help a lot. Don’t even get me started about the bike lanes that just suddenly end and require a merge with traffic without any signage.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

I just want affordable bicycle enclosures so I can bike somewhere without getting destroyed by weather. I'll figure out the parking after.

Or public transport sadness

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago

I wonder why commuting percentage is higher in Canada, the infrastructure is no better here