536
City roads should be ‘ripped out completely’ to fight pollution, says government adviser
(www.telegraph.co.uk)
this post was submitted on 02 Dec 2023
536 points (93.5% liked)
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Who besides rich boys can afford to ride their bikes to work?
Single mothers getting their kids to elementary and middle schools?
The elderly going to their doctors appointments?
Working stiffs who can’t afford to live in downtown?
What do you think will happen to rents when is forced to get an apartment in one of the existing blocks?
Ah, yes. Rich people and their... *checks notes* Bicycles..? lol
i bike to work in no small part because i can't afford to drive there
in civilized countries, they can use a cargo bike (what the dutch call a bakfiets) to carry the kids. or the kids can ride their own bikes.
many elderly people can still cycle. you may even see electric assist tricycles on the bike path in civilized countries. and of course elderly people also benefit from accessible and convenient public transit.
this is a real concern and i absolutely share your desire to build large-scale dense public housing developments in downtown around transit stations, as well as doing the same around more outlying transit stations such that taking public transit also becomes a viable option.
wait, i thought you wanted to build public housing to address housing affordability? was that just me offering a solution, and not you? that's weird
That is not a solution, it is a communist fantasy.
How are you supposed to have busses without roads?
So all we have to do is get rid of rent and make everyone live in government housing,
Magically levitate supplies into the stores,
Get my 90 year old parents and people with sick infants to bike in to the doctors in the snow and rain,
So these lawyers on their $2,000 carbon fiber Trek bicycles can win their argument at city hall.
Speaking of fantasy, you certainly have some interesting thoughts bouncing around in your head.
Next time there is someone whining about this at your city council look at who it is. It will be a rich white boy.
Next time someone on a bike is blocking rush hour traffic even though there is a bike lane, look who it is.
It will be a rich guy on an expensive bicycle.
"Communist fantasy"? Oh my god. Are you for real? You sound insane.
When you know you are wrong, you can always switch to ad hominem attacks
Saying dense urbanism with plentiful public housing is a "communist fantasy" is literally too dumb to dignify with a response.
Meet me in Vienna and I'll buy you a beer.
I am pretty sure that they have roads in Vienna.
You seem to be under the impression that a bicycle is more expensive to buy and run than a car. I'd love to see your working for this.
Renting a home close enough to your workplace to make biking every day practical is usually more expensive than owning a car and living further away - especially if you have a family and need more than a studio apartment. In that sense, owning a bicycle and not a car is more expensive.
That said, this could be fixed with better public transit.
And better zoning laws, allowing mixed zoning (within reason).
The average US commute is about 30 minutes.
That distance on bike in a city is about ~~10~~ 2.5 hours.
In a city you can go about 5 miles in 30 minutes on a bike
I live in a city with an MSA of, let’s call it 2 million people.
What is it going to cost to cram 2 million people into a 5 mile circle and not have roads to bring in food?
The average US commute distance is 20 miles one-way. That’s about 2 hours by bike at a slow-ish pace (10 mph). Did you accidentally calculate a walking pace (2 mph) which would take the 10 hours you suggested?
I think you are correct. Good Catch.
Before COVID, I used to often have a 45 minute commute by car or a 35 minute commute by bicycle. It's an 8 mile bike trip that is easy enough for me, a not particularly fit 56 year old, or a 9 mile car journey with 25 minutes of sitting in traffic. An electric bike would make it even easier to go further.
So, I'd question your numbers.