Cycle friendly streets ?

[Captain Slow]

I live in a suburb of Vancouver and there are lots of bike lanes and we are small relative to most large US cities so bike commuting generally works fairly well here. But obviously individual circumstances can vary greatly.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I think that in general, the US is too spread out for bikes. Exceptions being college towns. They have bent over backwards to keep those bike friendly.

Is Portland, OR a "college town"? I always thought it was a Stump Town.

 

[Alex M]

One of anti-covid measures in Poland was to severely limit the number of passengers on all type of public transportation vehicles. I'm not saying that helped but at least some measures were applied.

Same here in BC Canada. Buses and metro are running half-full, the other half is marked to be left vacant. I'm trying to avoid city transit now but didn't notice problems with bike space on trains. Either restrictions worked, or low population density did, - or maybe both.

New cases per day in BC are not increasing now - the graph below from a week ago, yellow area is projections assuming keeping the current restrictions - BUT note a spike in late April, it could be a plateau now, not a downward slope yet:

BC is not as densely populated as Ontario and Quebec - this TAD explains a better situation, though most of the province live in one city - Vancouver. It is estimated that people have now reduced their contacts to 30% of pre-Covid times. Simulation models show that the ONLY scenario when the epidemic will pass this year is when people will keep contacts at the current 30% (yellow area on the graph above).

If we resume contacts at 100%, it will spike again, and 80% is same bad - projections at 80% contacts, yellow area:

So they've decided that it is "safe" to gradually double the contacts within the next 3-4 months, reaching 60% of pre-Covid times by late August. I doubt they will be able to keep it at 60%, not everybody will follow the rules. At 60% the epidemic would linger indefinitely, increasing slowly - yellow area below:

No changes were made to bike lanes, I doubt they will improve or build new ones this year.

Complete opening with big concerts and live sports events is not even planned yet, and is conditional on "at least one of the following; wide vaccination, “community” immunity, broad successful treatments". Community immunity will take forever - this would require 70% population to become infected, Canada is now at 0.2%. There won't be a vaccine or successful treatment for at least a year.

 

[dblhelix]

I live in a very rural area so no experience with biking in the city, but I spent a few semesters living in London, riding the tube and w/o a car. Bike lanes in central London were busy and fast enough that I did not ride them.
Yeah, chicken s..t, I know. But since the virus hit, I keep reading about cities installing temporary bike lanes to keep folks off public transit.

Links

How We Get Around Determines What We Build, and Also Determines Much of Our Carbon Footprint

Transportation has a much bigger impact on urban design than we think.

www.treehugger.com

United States

The United States is the source of many car-oriented policies that have influenced cities around the world. Today, even as many US cities are demonstrating that change is possible, many systemic challenges persist. US cities have a long history of economic, social, and racial segregation in...

www.itdp.org

For you who are city dwellers, is this a thing now? And can it continue once the crisis passes? Should it?

Comments very much appreciated, I really want to know.

looking into my crystal ball, I see bike lanes cluttered with last-mIle delivery vehicles, perhaps some of them electric. If you had told people three months ago that everyone would be relying on the internet for education, employment, communication and delivery, you’d have been laughed at. As much as people like to complain about FIOS/cable, I’ve heard few complaints about service during this crisis. As a result, telework looks more viable than it did in 2019. The transition to a stay-at-home lifestyle supported by ”gig” workers has been accelerated. I fear that public transportation will get even less support in the future. Several metro stations in the DC area are shuttered, and the NYC trains no longer run 24-7. As more telecommute, public support will decrease for public transportation.

As far as bike sales/repair go, I see people escaping the lockdown blues or spending time with their kids, but I don’t see a transition to a cycling culture with increased demand for infrastructure. I’d say that core/dense downtown is perhaps a little out of favor. I have a lot of friends with Manhattan apartments who are quietly letting their leases run out. Not as cool as it used to be. The top 5 areas in the US for per capita deaths include NY, NJ, MA, DC so my perspective is definitely influenced by the daily reminders to avoid other people, the rock solid broadband and high proportion of white collar telecommuter types. The transition to online from home has been so seamless that I wonder if town halls and government cable channels will survive this decade.

I’ve seen a sharp increase in delivery vehicles, Amazon, Door Dash, Uber Eats, restaurants and other business that utilize delivery blocking bike-friendly infrastructure. Plan to bike around them!

 

[Art Deco]

So far it sounds like telework and paid delivery will stay on a huge scale, with bikes being mostly recreational use in the cities in N. America. In Europe bikes will be transportation. And public transit dropping off a cliff on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

[Jaxx]

So far it sounds like telework and paid delivery will stay on a huge scale, with bikes being mostly recreational use in the cities in N. America. In Europe bikes will be transportation. And public transit dropping off a cliff on both sides of the Atlantic.

Art, you should have seen the London Tube this morning? Crowded. Having said that, have you ever seen a live news link from London streets at rush hour? The number of cyclists commuting is amazing. Mostly dropped handlebars, it's one long procession. I have one pal who rides into Liverpool St. from the edge of North London (12 miles) he told me there's a regular group who join along the way, averaging 15 in numbers. Downhill in the morning, then a 10 mile easy climb getting up the London Basin on a evening.

 

[Art Deco]

Art, you should have seen the London Tube this morning? Crowded. Having said that, have you ever seen a live news link from London streets at rush hour? The number of cyclists commuting is amazing. Mostly dropped handlebars, it's one long procession. I have one pal who rides into Liverpool St. from the edge of North London (12 miles) he told me there's a regular group who join along the way, averaging 15 in numbers. Downhill in the morning, then a 10 mile easy climb getting up the London Basin on a evening.

I am not happy to hear the tube is still jammed, but I have seen London's rush hour traffic a few years ago. Also I remember the smell of exhaust fumes and the smell of the tube. Not good.

 

[Jaxx]

I am not happy to hear the tube is still jammed, but I have seen London's rush hour traffic a few years ago. Also I remember the smell of exhaust fumes and the smell of the tube. Not good.

Neither has gone away. Same smells and the clicking of Diesel London Cabs

 

[AHicks]

In Geneva they have widened bike lanes as a result of the current situation. But this has probably caused more problems than anything else. The bike lanes are now so wide that drivers no longer see them and drive on them. In the end, these temporary measures are not only impeding car traffic but also putting cyclists at greater risk. It goes to show that cycling infra needs to be designed extremely carefully!

Yes, cycling "infrastructure" needs to be WAY more than a painted line to be safe. The sooner powers that be figure that out, the better! The question to ask them would be "would you let your kids ride their bikes to school using the design you are considering"?

 

[Art Deco]

Yes, cycling "infrastructure" needs to be WAY more than a painted line to be safe. The sooner powers that be figure that out, the better! The question to ask them would be "would you let your kids ride their bikes to school using the design you are considering"?

But would they want their kids cycling to school with any infrastructure? Or would they just drop them off in a SUV because of weather, distance, dangerous people, too much gear to carry, or ( insert excuse here) ? It doesn't seem likely that kids will be the main focus, untill adults are using bikes a lot IMO.

 

[Jaxx]

But would they want their kids cycling to school with any infrastructure? Or would they just drop them off in a SUV because of weather, distance, dangerous people, too much gear to carry, or ( insert excuse here) ? It doesn't seem likely that kids will be the main focus, untill adults are using bikes a lot IMO.

Very good points you make Art.

 

[Art Deco]

Another link to BBC coverage. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52689372

Really we may need to think beyond bikes. I have heard that a few southern us cities (Peachtree City outside Atlanta Ga) have banned cars in the the downtowns and are using golf carts as transit. IDK how that is working out.

 

[Jaxx]

Another link to BBC coverage. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52689372

Really we may need to think beyond bikes. I have heard that a few southern us cities (Peachtree City outside Atlanta Ga) have banned cars in the the downtowns and are using golf carts as transit. IDK how that is working out.

The guy from the Automobile Association (AA) wasn't too happy last night when interviewed on BBC.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

In civilized places, like the Netherlands and Portland, OR, children are encouraged to bicycle to school. And the cities build the infrastructure to make that possible and safe.

You don't necessarily need grade-separated bike lanes to make that happen. The Dutch concept of fietstraat and Portland's bicycle boulevards show another way forward. As for weather, I will point out that both Portland and Amsterdam are rather soggy places.

It is well-understood how to make bicycle transportation safe. As an added bonus many of the same features make automobile travel safer as well, and can also contribute to moving people and stuff around faster and more efficiently. These are solved problems. All that is needed is execution.

 

[AHicks]

Education and THEN execution. Not the other way around....

 

[Solom01]

I agree that the Dutch are pretty advanced when it comes to cycling. Hopefully along with their other ideas we can pick up not wasting time with helmets. No sane person in the Netherlands would use them, the few people who do are always tourists who come from countries where they have been brainwashed into thinking that helmets are needed.

 

[Jaxx]

I agree that the Dutch are pretty advanced when it comes to cycling. Hopefully along with their other ideas we can pick up not wasting time with helmets. No sane person in the Netherlands would use them, the few people who do are always tourists who come from countries where they have been brainwashed into thinking that helmets are needed.

Damn right Sol, I often go to Amsterdam. We call it a Dutch Dash. North Sea Ferries leave Hull every evening for overnight crossing (during the winter months a berth is available for £10. Have met and befriended many Dutch folk, most ride bikes. Very few wear any protection.

 

[Art Deco]

I wear a helmet, but don't know why actually, It's what I did while riding motorcycle. What are the objections to wearing one? And here I go off topic again ..

 

[Jaxx]

I wear a helmet, but don't know why actually, It's what I did while riding motorcycle. What are the objections to wearing one? And here I go off topic again ..

When they introduced compulsory helmet wearing in Australia, a few years ago, cycling numbers went down.

 

[Art Deco]

We used to have compulsory helmet laws for motorcycles here in Pennsylvania, but they dropped the requirement right after Harley Davidson built their new motorcycle factory here. I'm sure it was just a coincidence ...