What is Bike Friendly?
by Matthew Sparkes, London, UK on 05.20.07
Grist has an interesting article on what it means for a city to be bike-friendly. The addition of a few miles of bike lanes does not cut it - it takes a far more holistic approach. I personally spend half my time in London, and half in Amsterdam, and those two cities are about as far apart in their approach to cyclists as it's possible to be.
Cycling in London is a risky, stressful, but actually quite exciting affair. In Amsterdam it's far different, as a cyclist you are in the majority by a large margin, and feel safe. Cars crawl along, because the streets are so small and there are always bikes and walkers clogging them.
In London you park your bike where you can, but most fences and railings have warnings that any parked bikes will be confiscated. In Amsterdam bikes are chained three, four or five deep on any immovable object. They're also left unlocked, standing up in the middle of pavements and roads. Shops have their own bike racks, the new American Apparel store in Amsterdam has its own branded rack outside.
So, to be bike-friendly takes more than painting a bike lane down the road and not even punishing drivers who plough through it. It takes lanes with physical barriers between it and the road, it takes shops who cater for, rather than punish, those who leave cycles outside. And it takes a government who protects cyclists, and punishes drivers who put them in jeopardy. :: Grist
See also :: European Bike Paths Travel South to the Antipodes
amen!
Pavements and Roads? What's the difference?
I couldn't agree more. I wrote some letters earlier this year about the issues that plague bike riders to my local city council folks, and got a letter saying they will not spend any more money on infrastructure like bike lanes, but would be increasing police programs regarding bicyclists.
I was disappointed that even thought the three largest roads, with a proven track record for car vs. bike accidents had been a front page story in our paper, it would not be addressed.
Then, to add insult to injury, I saw the police program. It's about how they will now be ticketing bicyclists. There was a cursory 'share the road' slogan attached, but the message was clear they thought bikers were the problem.
I guess that means doing things the right way get you about where I expected in my area. And they wonder why some bike riders brandish their u-locks rather than try to work for a good solution. Not that I condone that.
Pavements and Roads?
You obviously haven't been to Europe if you think anything that is paved must be a road.
I would suggest learning about this amazing human creation called the "plaza" - a paved area in which only pedestrians are allowed.
http://www.pps.org/squares/
Totally agree and all true, only "They're also left unlocked" is not really true. And if you find a bike that is, its probably stolen.
Reminds me of the bike riders in Edinburgh wearing bright yellow vests, so as not to be run over by the vicious car drivers there...and you don't neccesarily need physical barriers to protect bike riders, it's more a question of watching each other and everything will be fine.
Pavements is British for sidewalk.
Hmm.... well as far as I'm concerned, Pavement = anything paved, thus the street, the sidewalk, the plaza, the driveways etc... Bikes, of course, belong in the street or on bike paths, which are pavement, unless you got yourself a mountain bike!
Every lane is a bike lane when you treat bicycles as legitimate vehciles. The problem is that most people were taught that bikes are weird, "special", and not serious vehicles. As long as we have people, including bicyclists, thinking that bikes don't belong in the public streets, cyclists will continue to be treated as second class citizens.
Instead, I say start biking like you belong in the public streets! Cyclists were there before cars! Cycling is more sustainable! Cyclists, and other human powered vehicle operators, should out-number motor vehicles on the streets! If we want this to happen, we need to get away from the mentality that shuns cyclists onto the sidelines, and instead get into the mentality that puts cyclists all over the streets, and makes every lane a bike lane, not only legally (like it is already in most places) but also socially (in your mind!).
Reclaim the streets! (Don't give them up!) Don't let fear get the best of you. Do whatever you need to do to bike where you belong, in the streets. I use a trailer, a flag sticking out the left side, and a stuffed gorilla to make my commuting a little less scary. It's not the streets that are the problem, it's people's beliefs that bicycles don't belong on the rooads that are the problem. And the only way to change people's beliefs about bikes belonging in the streets is for more bicyclists to be in the streets, acting like they belong there.
OK? OK!
The American Apparel store in Amsterdam has a bike rack outside? I don't know of any AA stores in NYC that has a bike rack. Lame!
Segregation of bike from motor vehicle traffic is fraught with concerns. In general, maintenance on the segregated path will be inferior to the regular road. Smart, effective cycling starts with your head, and ends with your feet; lane and destination positioning, as well as signaling help reduce crashes and collisions for all road users.
Bicycle driving is more than balancing and pedaling; route selection, lane positioning, obeying traffic rules, regulations, and cultural norms- as well as wearing a helmet to reduce many types of brain injuries; that and specific skills to avoid road hazards all combine to be diplomats, exemplars of proper road use.
I know in the United States, and in most other countries as well bicycles are expected to be treated as vehicles; the operator is expected to act that way, also.
Hi, I`m from Delft a small city south of Amsterdam.
We have our inner city closed to cars and it´s great.
It´s not normal to leave your bike unlocked if you want to keep it, but other than that cycle paths are as common as pavements :) and every city has them.