As a dedicated year round cyclist (on milder Martha's Vineyard) I am glad to learn that Canada has politicians who are just as knuckleheaded as the ones in the USA.
Pre-Covid, one of our favorite vacations was to go to Montreal for several days. Once we drove into town and parked the car, we never have driven it in Montreal. The bike infrastructure is so good we ride everywhere (even if it is raining).
I LOVED living in Melbourne, working for Daryl Jackson Architects on 120 Collins Street. Even in the late '80's the streetcars, arcades and code-mandated overhangs over sidewalks were brilliant urban planning. The way parks and public squares are threaded through the city is SO nice. Seattle has a lot to learn from Melbourne.
Glad you got to visit Melbourne! I would add, the running in the city is equally fantastic. It is so pedestrian friendly one easily forgets that Melbourne would be the third largest city by population in North America - a testament to sensible planning for people not cars.
The plan should include legal bicycling on sidewalks, and curb cuts at cross streets. It does in Seattle. Bicycling on the sidewalk is legal Throughout the state of Washington. I feel safer bicycling on the sidewalk, and get along well with pedestrians. Seattle has a good system of bicycle lanes.
Here in NYC, while there has been a big expansion of separated bike lanes, there is a very vocal anti-biking movement that strongly overlaps with the anti-congestion pricing crowd. They harp mostly on two things (aside from the “money grab” tax that they allege congestion pricing is). One is the misconception that, as you brought up, bike lanes (as well as dedicated bus lanes and now restaurant sheds, introduced during Covid) have increased congestion by removing vehicle traffic lanes. No amount of discussion or recitation of facts will dissuade them.
The other reason for the opposition, though, has a degree of truth to it: the increased number of cyclists (Citibike, which now has e-bikes in its fleet, is widely used) has included, unfortunately, an increased number of speedy, often reckless e-bike riders – and particularly delivery bikes. I have to say, as an avid cyclist and advocate for all means of discouraging cars, bicycle opponents are not wrong. There is a serious problem of speeding through red lights, going the wrong direction, and scaring and endangering (sometimes seriously injuring) pedestrians. Never mind that being hit by a faster and heavier car has the potential for far worse injuries, and that more bikes means fewer cars.
I’ve been advocating for an educational program to tackle this issue. (Not the arbitrary police stops that occasionally pop up.) I’m even, at this point, endorsing licensing of commercial cyclists. Without an effective change, we run the risk of this self-inflicted problem reversing the gains over the last few years and ending the addition of more separated bike lanes. (And with no hope of passing an Idaho stop-type law.)
On a happier note, I just cycled Broadway down from the lower 30s (Herald Square) to Union Square, with most of it newly blocked off to cars. It was delightful.
Here in San Diego, California, the city has done a very good job of creating bike lanes. I've biked here for 40 years, and the contrast is remarkable. Streets on which I used to be squeezed between parked cars and traffic now have bike lanes between the parked cars and the sidewalks. Very safe! I can bike from home to downtown and lots of other places completely or almost completely on bike lanes now.
There is pushback. In some places the bike lanes have reduced parking for cars, and boy, does that get people angry.
As a dedicated year round cyclist (on milder Martha's Vineyard) I am glad to learn that Canada has politicians who are just as knuckleheaded as the ones in the USA.
Pre-Covid, one of our favorite vacations was to go to Montreal for several days. Once we drove into town and parked the car, we never have driven it in Montreal. The bike infrastructure is so good we ride everywhere (even if it is raining).
I LOVED living in Melbourne, working for Daryl Jackson Architects on 120 Collins Street. Even in the late '80's the streetcars, arcades and code-mandated overhangs over sidewalks were brilliant urban planning. The way parks and public squares are threaded through the city is SO nice. Seattle has a lot to learn from Melbourne.
Glad you got to visit Melbourne! I would add, the running in the city is equally fantastic. It is so pedestrian friendly one easily forgets that Melbourne would be the third largest city by population in North America - a testament to sensible planning for people not cars.
The plan should include legal bicycling on sidewalks, and curb cuts at cross streets. It does in Seattle. Bicycling on the sidewalk is legal Throughout the state of Washington. I feel safer bicycling on the sidewalk, and get along well with pedestrians. Seattle has a good system of bicycle lanes.
Here in NYC, while there has been a big expansion of separated bike lanes, there is a very vocal anti-biking movement that strongly overlaps with the anti-congestion pricing crowd. They harp mostly on two things (aside from the “money grab” tax that they allege congestion pricing is). One is the misconception that, as you brought up, bike lanes (as well as dedicated bus lanes and now restaurant sheds, introduced during Covid) have increased congestion by removing vehicle traffic lanes. No amount of discussion or recitation of facts will dissuade them.
The other reason for the opposition, though, has a degree of truth to it: the increased number of cyclists (Citibike, which now has e-bikes in its fleet, is widely used) has included, unfortunately, an increased number of speedy, often reckless e-bike riders – and particularly delivery bikes. I have to say, as an avid cyclist and advocate for all means of discouraging cars, bicycle opponents are not wrong. There is a serious problem of speeding through red lights, going the wrong direction, and scaring and endangering (sometimes seriously injuring) pedestrians. Never mind that being hit by a faster and heavier car has the potential for far worse injuries, and that more bikes means fewer cars.
I’ve been advocating for an educational program to tackle this issue. (Not the arbitrary police stops that occasionally pop up.) I’m even, at this point, endorsing licensing of commercial cyclists. Without an effective change, we run the risk of this self-inflicted problem reversing the gains over the last few years and ending the addition of more separated bike lanes. (And with no hope of passing an Idaho stop-type law.)
On a happier note, I just cycled Broadway down from the lower 30s (Herald Square) to Union Square, with most of it newly blocked off to cars. It was delightful.
Here in San Diego, California, the city has done a very good job of creating bike lanes. I've biked here for 40 years, and the contrast is remarkable. Streets on which I used to be squeezed between parked cars and traffic now have bike lanes between the parked cars and the sidewalks. Very safe! I can bike from home to downtown and lots of other places completely or almost completely on bike lanes now.
There is pushback. In some places the bike lanes have reduced parking for cars, and boy, does that get people angry.