High gas prices lead to a New York City bike shortage. Dana Goldstein has a nice column about cycling as well. Basic bike-friendly policies -- some lanes, some parking -- are pretty cheap for local government to implement and a pretty large number of people live in places that are sufficiently high-density for bikes to be a viable car replacement for at least some trips.
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Bike Shortage
02 Jun 2008 03:21 pm
Comments (23)
Basic bike-friendly policies -- some lanes, some parking -- are pretty cheap for local government to implement.
I wouldn't be surprised if the healthcare savings alone (at least if you're talking about the public sector as a whole) more than pay for a fairly robust implementation of bicycle infrastructure.
Bikes get a lot of coverage, in part because those who do ride are passionate about it. But New York is already so dependent on mass transit and so pedestrian friendly that it's not as if bikes are the key to getting people off the road. In fact, generally, a little more blogosphere screaming about funding for mass transit would be nice. The only time it seems to make headlines is for the more unlikely and extravagant promise of high-speed rail between cities not currently served by train.
In the cities I have experience as a cyclist (Minneapolis, Madison, NYC) many motorists seem unaware of (or, more likely, indifferent to) the fact that bicycles are vehicles and have just as much right to city streets as cars, trucks and buses. The flip side of this coin is the cyclist who seems to take a perverse pleasure in holding up a line of cars who can't pass on a narrow street.
Dedicated bike lanes are only viable on wide avenues and a few cross streets that don't have cars parked on both sides. Motorists and cyclists are going to have to accept each other's presence on the streets. As a cyclist who has spent the last 3 weeks on my couch recovering from a run-in with a swerving van in Brooklyn, I would like these issues to receive more attention from bike-friendly policy cheerleaders.
Drivers: Bike lanes are not a convenient zone for double parking. Bike lanes are not turning lanes. Occasionally, a cyclist may prevent you from reaching the red light at the end of the block a few seconds sooner than you would have liked. Deal with it.
Cyclists: You are on a vehicle. Obey all traffic laws including red lights, stop signs, and pedestrian crossings. If you want to use a sidewalk, get off the bike and walk. (And a special note to bike messengers: pedestrians crossing with the light do not have to get out of your way.)
Perhaps now that Senator Clinton's Presidential campaign is winding down she can open up a start up business buying bikes from small children to sell to NYers. Talk about constituent service!
A big bike friendly policy that needs more promotion: more stringent driver's license tests, both written and moving, including pedestrian safety and safe behavior around bikes, motorcycles, and pedestrians.
In Florida, any warm body can drive; I cannot allow my family members to bike anywhere outside of our neighborhood. My wife has been hit twice in the past year (while driving a car, happily) after managing to avoiding car accidents for the entire first 50 years of her life outside of Florida). I mean, you generally hear about it being old people (HRC voters) with bad eyesight, but for us it was young women both times!
Anyway, point is it has to be safe for bikers, and that means better driver training in addition to the obvious things like usable bike lanes, bike-friendly infrastructure and design, etc.
For a guy who questioned the aesthetics of cycling you are certainly a zealous convert.
But seriously, summer must have arrived in DC- how are you holding up, Matt? Despite what you might suspect I find winter cycling preferable- even up here in NYC.
I'm with Mr. Haber. They had the annual bike vs. train/car public relations event the other day, and what was lost in the "bike is the best" message was that getting people out of their cars is the priority in NYC, not bashing the subway.
Re: The flip side of this coin is the cyclist who seems to take a perverse pleasure in holding up a line of cars who can't pass on a narrow street.
Along with cyclists who ride against traffic, run stop lights etc. Too many cyclists donlt realize that with very few exceptions they are required to obey the same laws as cars. They are allowed to travel less than the minimum speed and to share a lane with another vehicle, but that's about it for exceptions.
Re: If you want to use a sidewalk, get off the bike and walk.
Some walkways (especially bike-paths) are designed for both pedestrian and bicycle use.
Re: In Florida, any warm body can drive; I cannot allow my family members to bike anywhere outside of our neighborhood.
In St Pete enough of the residential streets connect that I could bike across town without too much hassle. In Fort Lauderdale we were hemmed in by the river, the Turnpike and I-95 and my biking radius was very limited because I refused to use the major roads. In passing, I have an especial animus for people (anywhere not just Florida) who allow their dogs to run loose. I flipped over the handlebars last March trying to avoid a dog that was chasing me (I sideswiped a telephone pole).
Re: But seriously, summer must have arrived in DC- how are you holding up, Matt?
Here in Baltimore, where I just moved, it's been unseasonably cool with just a couple uncomfortable days and mainly due to humidity not heat. By way of asinine policies, I will be living close enough to work to bike, and the secure garage at my office building has a place for bikes to be locked. So far so good. But: I can only access the garage if I pay $102 a month for a car parking spot. There's a pedestrian entrance into the garage from within the office building itself but you have to have a card keyed to the door to use it.
Anybody here have experience with folding bikes? The idea is that you can put them under your desk, and not in the garage.
re dogs: apparently the whirl of a bike wheel creates a high-pitched whine that humans can't hear but which is really annoying to dogs. That said, everyone should tie/lock up their dogs. There's nothing to stop aloose animal from chasing cars and getting itself killed.
I don't ride, but have a lots of friends who do. I take the commuter train from San Francisco to Palo Alto for work and the trains typically have one to two cars that have bike storage areas. I see a lot of folks with the folding bikes, which actually seem to be pretty cool. My employer actually heavily promotes alternative methods of transit to work (bikes, car pools, train, walking) and offer cash incentives to do so. It also is nice for the bikers that both the San Francisco and Palo Alto train stations have bike lockers available for rent should you want to do that.
Folding bikes are mostly just OK at best. I've had three of them at various times. The best ones fold OK for a trip but don't really fold small enough to fold under your desk. The ones that are truly small enough to fold under your desk are pretty worthless for more than a mile or two.
As I've gotten older I tend to prefer recumbents, but they don't make the best commuters unless you have a long commute and relatively empty streets. The last few years my commuter of choice has been either a tadpole tricycle (I have one that folds somewhat so it can be stored) or a crank forward bike. My crank forward bike is made by RANS but Electra makes the Townie which is a very nice and inexpensive version. The reason I prefer those bikes is because, not only is the seating position quite upright, but you can flat foot them while keeping the seat at the proper distance from the pedals. Very useful in the city.
Here is a link to my crank forward bike which also has an Xtracycle built on trailer: http://slkatz.home.netcom.com/samobile/samobile.jpg
I use it as a "truck" for my business for supplies and also to advertise with signs.
It seems like people are finally beginning to discover what I've know for over 40 years, that bicycles could be a major part of the solution to our transportation problems.
While I am an all around cycling enthusiast, my passion is utility cycling. Here is a link to a Wikipedia discussion of utility cycling - which is using bikes for useful purposes and not just recreation: I http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_cycling
It discusses a lot of the infrastructure issues.
I am currently thinking seriously about opening a shop specifically to sell bicycles and supplies for people who want to be utility/commuting cyclists. It would also provide a lot of community support for cycling. I'd probably sell electric bicycles too although I am extremely ambivalent about them. They can also serve an important purpose for people who are not quite up to pedaling the distance or who don't want to.
One thing that would make bicycling a lot more plausible for commuters are showers and lockers at the workplace.
One thing that would make bicycling a lot more plausible for commuters are showers and lockers at the workplace.
Posted by Joel | June 2, 2008 8:40 PM
The classic solution for commuters is baby wipes and cycling clothing. Baby wipes in the bathroom keep you fresh and cycling clothes dry off very rapidly if you have an office or closet you can hang them in for a short time before storing them.
Re: The classic solution for commuters is baby wipes and cycling clothing.
Cycling clothing assumes you have some place you can change. Most offices don't, other than a bathroom stall. And some office dress codes are strict enough that showing up in cycling clothing would not be permitted.
Often there is a nearby health club. I would ride to the health club, change there, sometimes leave my bike there, leave my cycle clothing in the locker at the health club and leave from there at night. I don't think I've ever worked anywhere where there wasn't a health club in walking distance.
However, my experience is that if you want to do it you'll find a way. Purell works well too (instead of baby wipes). Even when I worked at a really stuffy law firm with a serious dress code I still found a way.
What finally deterred me in LA, when I worked downtown, was riding home through the riots. However, shortly after that I stopped working downtown. Living and working outside the city, cycling works very well except when the distance is too far.
Most of the "reasons" people give for not cycling are just rationalizations. It can be daunting if you haven't done it. It does require some attention to logistics. It isn't for everyone. I used to try to proselytize people about cycling, but I realized eventually that my love of cycling and desire to do it even when inconvenient isn't the same for others.
My guess is that without a lot of social supports, cycling as an alternative to driving will just be a fad. Too bad, I wish the US could be like Holland where cycling makes up about a third of all trips.
In the cities I have experience as a cyclist (Minneapolis, Madison, NYC) many motorists seem unaware of (or, more likely, indifferent to) the fact that bicycles are vehicles and have just as much right to city streets as cars, trucks and buses.
In the South, you'll find places where drivers regard cyclists as a personal affront: they get angry. In other parts of the South, people just regard cyclists as weird: the assumption is that they either have their licenses suspended or are somehow mentally defective or are children in adult bodies.
The presumption is that the only legitimate use of bikes for adluts involves loading them onto SUVs and driving out somewhere to ride. Getting past that involves better driver education and a (car-based) police force that's prepared to step in and deal with drivers who deliberately intimidate cyclists.
I've essentially had to give up the bike where I am, because the only outlet is to a four-lane+turning lane road. I've had my share of spills elsewhere, but there are enough heavy car accidents on that road to put me off.
Matt, you're nothing but an industry shill for Big Velocipede!
:)
The majority of bikes on the market now seem to be for the Spandex crowd and are not designed for practical transportation. The last time I shopped for a bike, I had trouble finding one that would accept a rear rack and a lock holder. Front baskets seem to have gone the way of the buggy whip. Fenders and other forms of rain/mud protection are practically unheard of. And could we please go back to bells instead of shouting "on your left?"
Re Virginia
1. Fenders are an after market product which can be purchased at venues like REI.
2. A Trek 520 is an example of a bike that will accept both fenders and a rear rack (it has separate eyeholes for them).
I don't think I've ever worked anywhere where there wasn't a health club in walking distance.
Really? I don't think I've ever worked within walking distance of a health club.
Also, I spent a month as an exchange student in Japan, where I had to ride a bike to school every day, about 45 minutes each way. Each day I would arrive drenched in sweat. Yuck. No thanks.
Later, in college, I tried biking to a summer job I had, but it was up and down some hills. Wow, hills are a major pain in the ass while biking. That's the last time I ever rode a bicycle. If it works for you, more power to ya. But biking's not for me. I'd rather take public transit.
Re Adam Villani
NO pain, no gain.
Comments closed June 16, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
What NYC needs is an ordinance mandating bicycle storage for employees in office buildings. I believe Chicago has one. I'd love to be able to ride my bike to the office on weekends, but I've got no place to put it.
Posted by TH | June 2, 2008 4:00 PM