The thing that people don't get is that the people who need to use a car are the ones that will most benefit from cycling/walking infrastructure. The less need to drive short distances the more road space for the people who actually need to drive. It sounds wrong but it is what has happened all over the world.
The hatefulness of much of the rhetoric is part of the problem. It’s stupid. Americans always want MORE. If you want cycle infrastructure, make arguments FOR cycle infrastructure. All the videos and articles about how bad cars are, and how stupid suburbs are do not help. Don’t argue for LESS in America. Trust me, I’ve been arguing for less government forever, and it doesn’t work.
@@nunyabidness3075 Because Libertarian arguments are pretty empty. There's very good arguments for why cars and suburbs are flawed, some people just refuse to listen to them(emissions, habitat destruction, forcing all people to be reliant on the auto industry, energy dependence on hostile nations, etc etc)
@@Joesolo13 Thanks for the excellent example of modern rudeness, bias, ignorance, and foolishness. Would you like to withdraw the comment, or do I need to explain to you why that sort of thing is destroying the advances of western civilization?
A way to say it as an visitor of the USA is: "it's weird that in the land of free, you're not free to move in a city unless you have a car and in the land of the brave, the brave ones are those who cycle despite all those disadvantages"
We have anti cycling attitude in the American South. I just moved here from California. They don't even _have_ bike lanes here in suburban New Orleans....It's incredibly irritating.
I think the (sometimes life threatening) heat in the South is a very convenient excuse for not having bike lanes. Plus the political donors have made this urban design discussion into an identity politic.
@@mattk6910 well, maybe. I wasn't there so It's difficult to oppose this. But for example - at the south of Spain there is also quite hot but there are cycle lanes and lot of cyclists too. Not so much as in the Netherlands but quite a lot. And I guess there are also winters when weather is much more pleasant.
That Cyclepath is moving far more people per hour then the cars on the road beside it. And the people it is moving are relaxed and enjoying the day. I hear no shouting, no Angry Words, no horns being honked, and no loud exhaust. Possibility of tell me again why we shouldn't continue to dedicate so much public space to empty metal boxes?
Train trams and bus can move even more people , that overcrowded bus can carry 80 people overcrowded train can carry 800... how about overcrowded bike ?
@@knarf_on_a_bike When I used to commute on a bicycle in Vancouver, there was a lot of hostility expressed, and I always felt myself at signifiant risk of severe and imminent injury. If you're a cyclist, too many car drivers don't care whether you live or die.
@@anubizz3 he said the cycle path, not the bicycle. And he said it was better and more effective than a car, not a bus or train. So what point are you trying to make?
Seems in the video there is only wide open spaces, no rain, no wind, no hills, and no business that require vehicles to pickup/drop off anything heavier than a book or lunch. We have no space, all hills, strong wind (local record of 233 days one year that had 38mph or higher wind, and on a hill above the city, a gust recorded at 155mph) Rain we get about 160 days a year. Floods, slips, cold, black ice, (not much snow, it actually hits the top of a lot of buildings but is slushy rain by the time it makes it to the ground... But apparently in all that, us cyclists deserve more attention than general traffic issues (like the fact that general utilities get less attention than new cycle lanes as ... well cycle lanes do get votes... mainly as nobody can be bothered voting unless you have a soap box to air...
There is a difference between HAVING to do something and doing something by choice. In the 1950's people had to use bicycles to go distances that were took too long to walk, now people have the choice of using a vehicle which doesn't expose them to weather and doesn't involve physical effort to the point they arrive at their destination sweating. I used to cycle a 20 mile round trip to work with hills so I am well qualified to compare the advantages and disadvantages of driving and cycling and understand why the vast majority choose to drive.
I live in the UK. Cycling infrastructure has improved in city centres but outside of there it’s sporadic and rarely joined up means part of a journey might be safe but part is alongside HGVs rendering it all pointless. I cycle 2km to drop my kids at school. We have to cycle 90% on the pavement because the roads are not safe for a 5 and 7 years old. I’d love to see rat run side roads blocked off for through traffic so vehicular traffic is directed to use the main arterial routes. School drop off traffic accounts for a huge amount of peak congestion. Make it safe to do as active travel instead and congestion could actually drop.
Edinburgh council are in the process of blocking off rat-runs where i live (Leith) and the results are fantastic. The back streets are much more pleasant for both cyclists and pedestrians without a near constant stream of cars and vans thundering across the cobbles. When i drive, i still find a choice of different routes that allow me to avoid bottle necks and busy junctions.
@@raithrover1976 that’s really good to hear. Where I am in Croydon they’ve install a cycle lane that the mayor is opposed to so wants to have it removed. Car is king still down here depressingly.
@@tristanhawkins8699 I've visited your area on business so didn't have an opportunity to cycle - but I was trying to imagine cycling around where I was. Bloody terrifying! I'm a very confident cyclist, but would be reluctant to use the roads. Driver-ists seem not to understand that enabling cycling would free up space. I bet the majority of drivers wished they had a 'safe' alternative.
so how much cycle traffic actually has those Rat Runs as a destination, or id the plan to remove all the parking on rat runs and chase all the small businesses that rely on products heavier than can be slipped in a backpack of an average bike. At least in UK there's so many roads they could convert some parallels to cycle in the centre, foot on the outsides and no cars... but all the businesses would have to be converted to business that require no daytime deliveries either out OR in. basically a mall with delivery from other warehouses etc... As long as all the businesses are happy to move if they have to, and don't have to pay for relocation. We've had some country cycle lanes moved away from intersections (great) through what used to be the car park for the 2-3 shops that had roadside parking.... not so great... to the point where they have to close because people go where they can drive up, get a quick something, drive away... (and that's a quick pop over to the shop in a car, a 30+ min ride on a bikeif the weather is fine... Ever whipped over the hill to get fish n chips for the kids... on a bike.
Only have 186 miles on my Toyota Tacoma since the first of January. Ride over 100+ miles a month on my bike. Did 12 miles today. Tomorrow I will ride to the store and take the "long way home" for 6 miles.
@@cityforall A 30+ year old Costco (Giant) MTB that I have "dutched". Just put on a new front and rear rack. Installed a N380 CVT rear hub a few months ago and am loving it.
Thankfully here in my county in Central Florida, cycling infrastructure is steadily coming to fruition but we still have a long way to go, at least our city officials and county council members are acknowledging the need for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure…
Cycling, is not only quicker then walking. You can often do it for longer durations. Today nobody walk an hour to work but i know plenty of people that take a bike for an hour to work or other places.
I live in the Midwest US and it is so-so for commuting on a bike. It can be a bit risky. What really gets me is the size of vehicles people drive. Seems like so many people drive these huge full size trucks, but don’t actually use them for anything other than driving like a normal car. Talk about a waste of space.
drivers need a bigger vehicle to feel safe kn the roads haha the irony....i'll need a HGV license to outsize the SUVs all the eco conscious drivers are buying! oxymoron.
The effective way to increase cycling infrastructure is to do at a large and aggressive scale, like it was done in only a handful of years in Paris and Valencia, Spain. Courageous, not demagogue, mayors and politics can do it. Sprinkling disjointed bike lanes only frustrates drivers who don't see traffic on them.
Cities need to be walkable with a good public transit and cycling infrastructure. Everyone will benefit from less traffic and drivers probably most. I am a public transit user but for me public transit and cycling go hand in hand as alternative to driving. It is better for overall well being for everyone if they walk or cycle whatever they can do or preferer to do.
I keep thinking if I could use my bike for most of my needs, I could, but only with a resonable good infrastructure. I drive my daughter to dance lessons 4 times a week, I can easly bike the way, she is phisically capable of doing it, but the traffic is simple prohibitive.
Cycling infrastructure must be safe, of course. And cycling with children is the best indicator of safety. If you are not afraid to let your children cycle - then it's ok.
when cycling infrastructure is deisgned its always along side traffic. why are there no schemes for dedicated cycle routes...i only cycle because i have found off road and canal tow paths so im no where near vehicles ..if i crash thats my own fault. Rush hour is awesome, riding the foot bridges over the gridlocked traffic is a good feeling whatever the weather.
I used to hate cyclists a ton when I first started driving I would get mad at them idk why they were just on the road I was tryna drive on so that alone made me mad but when I started cycling in the city I saw how dangerous it was and I saw how vulnerable cyclist are as road users so I think more people are gonna come around once good infra gets built
In regards to the weather, Not Just Bikes also had a video about the Bahamas, perfect weather yet barely any cyclists because the infrastructure is missing.
In my opinion, the lack of a well-established, heavily frequented bicycle highway to the city center is to blame. Instead of scattered, small paths with car noise, what's important is for people to experience (and feel) what it's like to ride a bicycle in a tight-knit group, like a wave of fast-paced individuals who understand each other well and trust one another.
@@cityforall Some people don't need any encouragement to ride a bicycle, while those who do need it should experience how great it is to ride in a cycling peloton. In my opinion, the significance of this cycling peloton and the joy and energy it brings to participants are often overlooked. Riding in a cycling peloton can be an exhilarating experience. The feeling of being surrounded by fellow cyclists, moving together as a cohesive group, creates a sense of unity and camaraderie. This is a unique energy, which can be seen in cities where 60% of residents commute to work by bike.
@@muzycznarozmowa falando aqui do Brasil, São Paulo - recentemente comecei a participar de um pelotão, concordo com tudo o que você diz! também pedalo sozinho pela cidade, ando mais lentamente mas vejo a cidade com mais detalhes e demoro quase o mesmo tempo que o transporte público.
I have allways use bike. When i was child i use bike to go to school, yes even in winter. I use car but i only drive like 5 years and then turn back to bike and public transit. Now i have not use single time car after that.
That quote from Musk about induced demand is interesting. I think he's right in a very narrow and technical sense. There is a limit to how much demand can be induced. Look are rural highways that are generally empty. They have not induced the demand to fill them. The problem with his quote is that in urban and suburban areas, we are usually no where near the limit of how much demand can be induced. In fact, it may be impossible to achieve that limit because it could take more space than the city has. SO induced demand is real and rational. He is right that there is a limit and that if everyone were able to easily get where they most want to go, no more demand would be induced. But in cities, that will just never happen.
The lack of any secure bike parking puts people off in the UK (amongst a plethora of other reasons). Also, our trains no longer allow bikes to board - well, maybe 2 per train. It's absolutely rubbish. Each train used to have a guards carriage into which 20+ bikes could be stashed. British politicians just don't want to solve this. Boris tried in London and to be fair rental bikes in London, Birmingham and Manchester do seem to be popular judging by the empty racks I have seen in those cities recently but if I wanted to get from my rural, central England location to London or Edinburgh, I've no choice than to drive. It wouldn't be a massive change to equip buses with carriers, trains with bike space, and bike parking in the cities which takes up FAR less space than a car park (but it really must be SECURE bike parking). So because I can't reasonably ride to work, I ride AFTER work which is pleasant enough but it's such a waste of time when I could get my exercise done in my commute with relatively small changes to our infrastrcture.
Sweet to see pictures of Stockholm as a good example. Stockholm is a fun example of excellent individual projects yet with a missing bigger picture plan for biking.
that's because on the "world stage" people only know about the capital and maybe a few other cities of other countries. that's why you always hear about Amsterdam being the cycling utopia of the world, but ask any Dutchie and they will tell you Amsterdam is (one of) the worst cities in The Netherlands to cycle. like to much cars/moped and lots of tourist who don't know how cyclepaths work (walking all over them). if you want to really get a good look at how cycling works in The Netherlands you should go to some of the medium sized cities. and the more rural provinces and see how the connection between different places (town to town) works.
@@ChristiaanHW Yes in Amsterdam the people on bicycles think that if they ride on a bicycle path they do not have to stop for a zebra crossing. Or if someone is walking on the bike path that you can run them over. In fact, (most) Amsterdam cyclists behave like motorists as in other countries. I was almost hit by a bicycle because I had the courage to cross it on a zebra crossing with my 2-year-old grandson. The cyclist yelled at me BIKE PATH!
@@betsytb694 cyclist should stop/slow down at zebra crossings. (however i think that if the pedestrian doesn't cross when the cyclist slows down for them the pedestrian gives the cyclist the right to go on. otherwise everyone has to stop completely before anyone moves and that's inefficient) the thing about Dutch cycling is that you have to (non verbally) communicate with the people around you. and if you have the right of way (sometimes) you should just take it. (be confident) 99% of the times the others will respect it you have the right of way, and take it. there are however zebra crossings with stop lights for the pedestrian and at those the lights should be followed. so a red pedestrian light at your zebra crossing means you have to wait until it turns green.
@@ChristiaanHW Yep, when I've visited The Netherlands a few years ago I've enjoyed Delft, Utrecht and Eindhoven much more than Amsterdam. They are more convenient and cyclists there much more pollite.
I've also heard the argument that cycling infrastructure is only for 'fit people...' which is absolutely not true, as making roads, sidewalks/paths, and cities overall more accessible for non-car forms of mobility (as cyclists will have to walk, people using wheelchairs or mobility scooters will need similar road design to cyclists for safety, etc) benefits a wide range of users
when cycling is brought up why do the able bodied driver suddenly seem soo concerned about ppl that might not be able to cycle? I was unfit to cycle and then started to cycle and now fit enough not to drive! haha
Where I live I bike to work simply because it's faster and cheaper than driving, also get more fresh air and exercise, and I feel better about not burning as much petrol. It's the prevailing opinion here that the fastest cheapest healthiest and most sustainable mode of commuting to work should be unsafe, in order to prop up car travel.
There is a phrase that I just made up and it sums it up perfectly Train alternative is a bus, metro and tram, one is excellent for long distance travel while the others are better for city travel and Car alternative is cycling, walking, etc then that means Car is better for long distance travelling and others are better for city travelling
I live in Berkeley, Ca in the USA. I ride a recumbent trike and I have some ideas on how bicycle infrastructure can be done. First, like the Netherlands, we need protected bicycle infrastructure combined with protected intersections that have separate lights for bicycle and have priority over cars. Second, roads need to be closed to cars but not for bicycles, thus increasing car travel distance. Next, there needs to be better bicycle parking. Last, we need a combination of long distance rail, metro, and local busses. If only these things could be combined, cities in the USA could be better.
There is certainly a HUGE anti-bike culture in the city where I live (even though it is probably the most bicycle-friendly in Australia). Much of this is driven by our troglodyte mass-media operators (Murdoch's News-corp) but also an entrenched car-centric culture in society and roads authority engineers who reflect and magnify this.
"There are people who are used to it for whom it's difficult to imagine it could be anything different and this has to be changed." Here you've identified the root cause of the barrier to better biking 🚲 infrastructure for most cities. It's like an abusive/violent relationship. Citizens will complain incessantly about traffic congestion, then fight tooth & nail to stop any changes to infrastructure & policies that would help mitigate the problem. This is the insidious hegemony of the automobile 🚘.
It's a very relevant parallel. I've also noticed that people often justify any inconvenience of urban life, even if they feel worse for it. Maybe they are afraid that it will get even worse
depending on whats being planned most drivers are too lazy to cycle and oppose anything that reduces their access by car so no one is allowed to cycle. Just look how ppl go to the gym...they have to park closet to the entrance to get exercise! haha mounting the kerb when there are spaces further away. That mentality sums it up - refusing to walk a few extra steps to go get some exercise! 😂
Great, BUT if you've not noticed? Italy has proposed bicycled to have licencing, number plates and insurance. So bicycles are going to be made as expensive as cars.
Another thing hindering bike infrastructure in the US is the review process. We've made it so everyone gets every chance to review the design, and people abuse it as a result. This holds up American projects A LOT, and comparable European projects typically take 1/2 to 1/3 the time as American ones.
@@cityforall one would think so, and perhaps without a hyper-capitalist feedback loop that would be the case. What I see happening far more often is those with more capital and political power using them to hold up the process, e.g. developers, property owners. A good current example in the SF Bay Area where I live is wealthy homeowners in the Berkeley Hills using their wealth and power to pick apart the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) which is part of a study to build more transit-oriented UC Berkeley student housing. There is a housing shortage in the Bay, and this project would be objectively good. It's literally just a handful of wealthy homeowners slowing the process. I have personally had projects I'm working on held up by corporate developers and other special interest groups. I also fully agree that the community should have a say in ALL projects. However, what often happens in the US is the process gets held hostage by a minority with the money and power to do so. Anyway, great video, and keep up the good work!
@@karl_margs Reminds me of the capital crescent trail in DC, it was a railroad spur line that hadn’t been used for about 50 years, and the wealthy homeowners in that area got used to thinking it was a free extension of their backyards. There was an initiative to use it for what would have been a very useful light rail line, and they blocked and defeated it after a couple of years. Thankfully though the compromise in the end was to use the right of way as a bike path.
I would argue that an e-scooter is a much better way of traveling, cause it doesnt pollute, it is faster than a bicycle, and you dont get tired getting anywhere, unlike bicycles which arent the best to use to get home when your already exhausted by working all day. What planners or average bike enthusiast doesnt understand is, that traffic is not made within the city, but mostly by people who come to the city to work and leave the city when they are done, now good luck getting people to cover 15 or 20 miles on a bike, thats just stupid to expect from the average worker, you need efficient public transport but it wouldnt be enough, you either move the jobs outside of the city or think of a better solution
I swear when I typed this it had like 21 likes I just watched one of your latest video about grassy tram tracks and saw it got a lot of views so I checked this video where I commented and jeez it Didi get a lot of likes
I live in the Toronto area and the thing about those European countries that we don’t do in Ontario is that there’s literally signs in trails that say no winter maintenance so they don’t clean when there’s snow. Also it snows more here and is much colder. Unless it’s downtown streets aswell bike lanes are usually covered up by snow plows pushing the snow from storms to the side
@@cityforall There's also Montréal, which arguably gets more snow than Toronto, which seems to have figured out the whole winter cycling thing. Watch Oh the Urbanity! for more information on that.
People who say that cycling isn't viable because of snow don't appreciate how much effort the city puts into making driving viable in the snow. If the city put 0 effort to maintain roads, driving would be _less_ viable than biking in the snow. Cars cannot drive in thick snow. And they are not flexible devices. If they get stuck, you're screwed. Bicycles _are_ flexible devices. If you get stuck in the snow, you can dismount and walk it to a place where you can cycle again. And, also, the city maintenance effort to allow bikes to operate is less than what's required for cars, because bicycles require less space. Both cars and bicycles require city maintenance to operate in the snow, but bicycles less so than cars.
I agree, but car drivers don't. If they can't move because of the weather it because city officials are bad. But if cyclists can't - it's because bicycles are bad :)
Very true. Here they are pretty good about keeping sidewalks and paths clear of snow. They have little mini tractors that drive around and plow them and spread salt. I ride year round, using Nokian studded tires in the winter.
and for places where it rarely snows how is that a concern? haha i cycled to work for 5 years and never encountered snow...ice though thats nasty, hurts alot slipping on that stuff. cant say cars cope well with that either.
The most important are bicycle paths in representative and atmospheric places where cycling is fashionable. A good example are the boulevards of Warsaw, where even the enemies of bicycles ride bikes because it is appropriate. The more places where cycling is popular, the more drivers there will be on bikes.
The main point of advocating for improved infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation is to provide alternatives for moving around a city and reduce unnecessary car trips, among many benefits too long to list here. The car-brained individual gets angry about any such infrastructure as they don't fundamentally understand that it benefits them too. Adding bicycle lanes and transit lines reduces the amount of cars on the street, so less traffic.
ah but you forget...misery loves company...if they're the only drivers there they will feel left out of cycling conversations with nothing to complain about when the congestion is gone too!
The local council are removing all the parks in front of my building to put in a replacement Cycle lane for the existing one... which is between the parks and centre line at the mo, and we're in a cul-de-sac that could just be turned into a shared 15kph zone... So what is the impact... Our shop (The only one in the capital) that repairs machinery up to 200kg will now have customers pushing their often non mobile machinery round a corner and down the road to deliver them. But that's fine, the increase in cycle customers may raise by 100% at least... (In 14 years I've fixed a couple of bikes (for free as I'm a mechanic and bikes are quick fixes usually).. and the only ACTUAL customer that arrived on a bike in those 14 years was a friend who arranged to drop by in his car to pick up a new piece of kit (approx 40kg but at least on wheels). It seems that councils care 0 about any business on a proposed cycleway even tho 99.99% of our custom comes from people in trucks, vans and cars. BTW, The business has been in the Cul-De-Sac for at least 50 years, my boss has had it since 2006.. I'm also a bike rider, motor cyclist, van/car driver and pedestrian... but of all the vehicles using the road (And next door is a paint/panel business that needs parking to rotate their work, the cycles are getting 100% of the side use of the road... (We also have 2 work vehicles and 2 residential people with cars in the unit, so we don't even get close parking for ourselves... Sometimes councils put minorities over the major majority because they want to get voted back in. (Yet paid no attention to one of the 1st lanes in the city from a 2 lane (nearly 4 lanes wide) valley into a narrow dangerous (for both cycle and drivers now faced with parked cars appearing to be in the middle of the road at night or in the rain.. which we have a LOT of) road that a large majority of the valley opposed, it got built anyway, was a disaster, was quoted as millions to restore, spent millions on "modifications" instead which equated to removing near 1/4 of roadside parks... and it's still dangerous.. eg.. You have grass strip from the houses... about 20ft wide, then foot path, then cycle lane, then 2m safety clearance filled with speed bump islands, then car parks, then a narrow lane, repeated from there in reverse to the other side... Now take a bike on that lane, coming up to an intersection, divert the bike onto the footpath, through pedestrians loading onto a bus, and back onto the cycle lane immediately in front of the bus, within 2 meters of the intersection... where cars passing the bus and turning across in front of it, has a bike come off the footpath from besied the bus, directly in front of the bus, beside the turning car... and has right of way ahead as the car turns either into them or they pile into the side of the car. As I said, I'm a cyclist... Non electric, but I can hit 50k... And they want me to hit the curb then exit beside turning cars... oooo did I forget to mention the pedestrian crossing that is right on the corner so the cars have to be watching for that too... We're NOT the NETHERLANDS.. We Don't have their budget, we don't have the space, we have a LOT of hills... we have a LOT of barely 2 way lanes even when there are no cars parked in them... Yet our council still has yet to side on the car/business side of a proposed lane.. (bar one that they are still trying to push that will see ALL parking removed from a road lined with shops that cycle traffic accounts for barely 10% of the custom. I'm not Anti cyclist... But it's getting harder and harder to keep that up (And I've been cycling on the roads, hills and tracks for 50+ years. Is it just me or does it seem in this "Modern" world, if your not a minority, no one cares. I am SO average I don't exist anymore.
I’m a lazy slob, and have a 20 km+ commute to work, the public transport to my work takes between 1 hour, 15 minutes and 2 hours, each way. So I’m car dependent, but I live in The Netherlands, the cycle infrastructure is not just good cycle infrastructure, it’s also good infrastructure in general. The better they take care of the most vulnerable participants in traffic, the safer traffic is for everyone involved.
Use at least sometimes e-bike or e-scooter which can travel more than 25 kmph. Some e-scooters can travel up to 80 kmph but that is extreme and dangerous. Or use normal motorbike but it is more expensive and less practical because you can't go anywhere with it.
@@frantiseknovotny2674 nope, not an option. The things you suggest are either really expensive here in The Netherlands or just plain and simple illegal. For long distances like trips to Amsterdam that are better connected with public transport, I use the train.
@@cityforall It can depend on connections. As a university student I had to make a connection on my commute. At busy times the buses ran every 15 minutes, so if I missed a connection I would be fifteen minutes late. After peak hours the buses ran every half hour, so then missing a connection could cost me thirty minutes.
@@cityforall In most cities in North America, buses don't have dedicated lanes and thus are as subject to traffic as the cars. This can cause tremendous slowdowns.
It's baffling to think there's even an Anti Bicycle mentality, to begin with. Just as everyone loves cars, why not bikes? They're more fun to be on than always driving. As someone who lives in Southeast Florida (Miami), there isn't a huge stigma for bicyclists, but it is still less safe than driving and public transport; despite most commuters, driving. There should be more standards for bicyclists just as there are standards for drivers and pedestrians such as having a sidewalk. While there are plenty of bike lanes in my area, I think Public Transportation should have more room for bicyclists that commute; whether they park at a station or in the bus.
There's a lot of car folks who hate the "wrong" kind of cars. Truck guys LOATHE Priuses, they basically froth at the mouth at the idea of cyclists....unless you put a motor on your bicycle. Then they think you're cool. It's like they're all struggling with a identity crisis and have to attack anything they don't personally like.
I understand that biking is good for the city when compared to cars. But man I hate the bike jams that happen every morning. If just more people could take the tram so I could commute to work with my bike without getting stuck behind cargo bikes and 10 year olds that take up two bike lanes... that would be great.
There are basically two sources of anti-cycling mentality: 1. The belief that cycling is merely a recreational activity. People may respond that the public doesn't need to subsidize peoples' hobby (or not any more than it already does.) 2. The idea that cyclists ride dangerously. (Usually meaning in a way that a driver might accidently hit them.)
there is also the safety aspect of public transport. forgot how bad some areas sre and safety can be an issue unfortunately. The verbal abuse you can get when the wrong group of people get on its unfortunate, even the bus driver gives up.
responding to 1. drivers dont want cycling to be viable because they feel they will be forced to stop driving when it becomes the norm. 2. They're jealous that cyclists can do questionable manoeuvres to get ahead in traffic. I can dismount and use the pedestrian crossing and continue my journey jumping back on to get around red lights, most crossings are mixed use so include bikes anyway nowadays. Drivers dont like it when motor/bikes filter to the front in stationary traffic...they expect you to drive by car rules anything else is unfair.
"if the transport system exceeds public travel needs, there will be very little traffic." not untrue. Problem is it is literally impossible to do that if the main form of transportation is cars
I am an avid cyclist. I cycle for fitness and I ride about 10 km every day. I'm however opposed though to cycling in the downtown core. It's just not safe enough. What I believe cities need is mass transit systems. They should be subsidized with public money. First of all mass transit brings people downtown, and that helps downtown retailers. More than that mass transit reduces downtown traffic. That reduces congestion, it reduces the demand for parking, it reduces the emission of sulphurous and nitrous oxides, and it reduces the noise and the heat that the traffic generates. Mass transit makes cities more livable, and It makes it easier for those who prefer to drive their vehicle downtown to get around, and to find parking. A well run public transit system can be clean, safe, convenient, and inexpensive, and it makes the city more accessible and more livable for everybody.
Driver will never ride a bike? Of all the excuses this is the funniest. I've been a car nut since long before I could drive and yet I started riding last year. I love my cars, and plan on starting work on my second hobby car this year, and yet I absolutely enjoy riding my two bicycles, and would use it more if I weren't afraid to ride on most streets. Love of motion cannot be confined to one ride.
I live in a very car dominated town in the UK. Some cycle infrastructure but mostly badly managed and not of any practical use. The local authorities are schizophrenic, they put the infrastructure in, then allow it to become car parks whilst congratulating themselves on a job well done.... some departments are very keen on promoting active travel ( our organisation works with them) but there are other departments that actually promote car use by deliberately ignoring parking violations saying that "people need to park somewhere " . ... yes this was in reply to an email I sent them... neighbouring towns are doing better and maybe ours will follow... maybe.
for a family of 4 even if all of them rode the heaviest e-bikes you still only need to mine about 100kg of materials from the earth, on average now cars are what 1200kg (1,2 tonne) where most of the time they spend parked or carrying 1-2 people. A moving bicycle will always carry it's maximum capacity of people (excluding cargo bikes) and if you are daring enough it can even carry more than 100% of it's capacity... now that is fucking efficient.
What would you do to redesign cycling infra for places like Kuala Lumpur where it’s hot, humid, rain, thunderstorm and a very car centric city where government revenue are from collecting lots of money from car taxes and petroleum production.
I'm starting to wonder if drivers don't want bike lanes because then more people will cycle. If more people cycle, then they might outnumber the cars on certain roads, and they might lose more space as the demand for cycle lanes increases. I wonder if that's what they are worried about.
They're worried they'll look out of place when cycling becomes the norm. Because cars no longer rule the roads they will be "forced" to cycle. Sounds stupid but its about as much logic as driver's make in their excuses.
Another key issue here is the sense of inequality and entitlement. Why should I be the one to ride a bike when someone else can enjoy the benefits of sitting in a car? No one wants to be “worse off” when they can afford a better option. However, if the government increases the cost of owning a car, these people go back to the old argument of “why only the rich can drive?”. By the way I am from Singapore, where the cost of car ownership is highest in the world by a mile and I own a car but ride my bike on a daily basis.
I think some cities use cycling infrastructure as a way to spend less on public transit while still investing in transportation. Why build a new light rail or metro line when we can build a new cycle path for a fraction of the cost? Problem is a 10km long cycle path deep into the suburbs is not going to attract that many commuters. Most commuters who don't live in the inner city aren't going to cycle all the way to work, it's too far and takes too long. I think cycling infrastructure should consider first and last mile use in combination with some form of mass transit as a significant proportion or even a majority of trips, and that needs to be convenient for people to use. So you still need to build the new mass transit infrastructure, you can't cheap out by thinking most people will be willing to cycle 20km a day. I think there's also sometimes an all or nothing approach when it comes to car traffic. There's a lot of talk about car dependency, but for people in low density suburbs, you're not going to make them less dependant, not unless you force them to move. But you can provide alternatives to driving all the way to the city center, such as park and ride at railway stations and cheap cycle hire within the city if their workplace isn't close to a station (though in the long run it's probably better if it is). That gets rid of a lot of the congestion problems even if they still use their car every day.
Of course, good mass transit should be a core of city mobility. Then cycling. And as for me in most cases cities that develop cycling infrastructure also develop a public transport at the same time.
The anti-cycle is real*. Beware, be careful - keep the faith, keep pedalling! * - Trust me I have been spat at, sworn at, had cars driven at me intentionally and outright attacked and thrown off my bike - it won't stop me cycling however!
impressive determination. not for me. i still cycle but prefer safer more peaceful routes. there is no need to put up with that if there is an alternative...which is what proper infrastructure is supposed to provide.
Cycling provides marvelous opportunities. It provides the underclass the opportunity to mug the cyclist and / or steal their conveyance. I know I'd love to cycle through parts of NYC I don't want to drive through most especially at hours I wouldn't consider taking public transit. While bucolic cycling images are painted here cycling in inclement weather is far from pleasant. If you consider it a solution, that's great I'm happy if it works for you. Conversely, I can understand why becoming a driver is considered an American rite of passage. Don't get me started on public transit. Public transit is something to be endured not enjoyed or simply experienced. You may post your self-righteous replies as you wish, the problem isn't too many cars, there are too damn many people.
You definitely don't understand much if your entire thought process is just standard fear-mongering. Crime rates are far lower than last decade, which was lower than the decade before, which were lower than the decade before. But you're still terrified of that miniscule chance...while tons of people are killed in crashes daily.
I liked your video very much. However, you ended it saying “views against cycling have to be changed”. Please make us a video on how to shift attitudes. As a cyclist, I don’t know what to say to the many people who oppose cycling infrastructure. Thank you.
That's a good question. And a difficult one :)) I'll try to make a video on this topic. By the way, some of the answers may be in this video - ruclips.net/video/OJT9dx2Dty4/видео.htmlsi=t4p7Zwetcyt2XDZ8
@@cityforall about five years ago, Seattle traffic dept proposed a nice separated bike lane on 35th Ave NE through our Wedgwood Seattle community . Unfortunately a handful of shrill, passionate, terrified locals stopped it. I and other bike people tried to dissuade them but failed. Frankly we did not know what to say to their concerns that “reduced parking will kill local businesses”, “careless children cyclists will be struck by cars and killed” or “by slowing down traffic on 35th, frustrated drivers will take a short cut onto the parallel streets and speed by in front of our homes” or “how will I get out of my driveway when I have to cross both a bike lane and a traffic lane?” Or finally “it’s just too much change”. We need to sell bike lanes to non-cyclists, people who see bikes as toys only for children. People who haven’t ridden a bike since childhood and can’t imagine why anyone would NOT want to use an e-bike for errands instead of a car. They only know cars, own at least one car and drive it everywhere. I remember watching a young couple drive literally 200ft to the local tennis court …. to play tennis. For 40 years, Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel has spent untold thousands of dollars to lawyers to delay and stop the Burke Gilman trail for passing in front of his business. The city even proposed building an elevated trail past his property so his cement trucks would not be hindered but he his lawyers killed the idea. This is what we ask your help with: how do we persuade such entrenched people? Thank you.
nevermind cycling infrastructure. if you look at the retail parks in the UK there is hardly any footpaths to get from.one side to another and you can see people jumping back in to their cars to drive to the store a few hundred yards away in the same retail park. i like the way they put cycle racks in the car parks which involve cycling thru the dangerous car park to get there. cant even walk the bike there without getting run over. cycle provisions are currently a token gesture....bike racks are typically put in an unused bit of space outside a store - an after thought or inconvenience if its required by the company's green policy.
Which kind of demand do you want to induce? Efficient and safe, or inefficient and dangerous? The answer is clear. Induce cycling, walking, public transit demand, not car demand.
Not an expert, but just to clarify for anyone that's not aware of the facts: 1. Cyclists don't wanna force you to park your car and never use it again, we want to have the option to SAFELY get around the city without risking one of the more moronic drivers killing us (Something I fear even when in my car). 2. Weather conditions don't affect cycling as much if you're prepared well enough, knobby (mountain bike) tires and fenders for rain so you're safe and dry, studded for snow and ice, slick for dry days, much cheaper than car tires and just needs a quick release (standard on low-mid range bikes) 3. It's perfectly acceptable to ride for sport/recreation and drive to work, the store and similar, nobody wants to take your car, we all drive but we wanna be able to choose NOT to get stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam every day.
@@cityforall When it's a matter of you being on "Their" road, nothing else matters! Also, I love how they say cyclists should pay a road tax if they want to use it...yet at least 70% of adult cyclists most likely also own a car, meaning we DO pay, but even then a bicycle doesn't damage the road as much, meaning I'd pay 5$ a year.
I'm up for more cycling, but here in the uk they seem to have used idiots with the thinking capacity of a 5 year old to deseighn them. So hat we have are confusing entrances to junctions ,endless volume of signs, so the drive is overwhelmed by a storm of information and road centre lines taken from pacman. Engineering pushed hard by beaurocriacy (spelt wrong) and activist politician only makes the plce worse. Do about 100 miles a week on pedals, some of these schemses are poor, and more dangerous for the cyclist at certain junctions and entrances to properties.
We have even better solution that European love, its called motorcycle, no need to have special exclusive lane, can be ridden more than 5km , use just a little bit more space than bike to park, often have passenger, scooter type even have build in storage......
It's still noisy and just unpleasant to be around. Not exactly what you want in a city. Also lanes are designed for cars, so when you are driving you take up just as much space. But I see your points.
Motorcycle requires license and boring classes unless if you are super interested in motorcycle. Having bicycle infustrure would get rid of road rage and lessen motorist in a road.
@@anubizz3 Americans cant see or care about motorcycle on road, that is why barely Americans use it for only cheaper transportation...i can think of European the same way
I always hated the idea of having to own a car... I hate all aspects of, and all industries related to the car... replace all owned cars with Google autonomous cars... If a Google car hits a Google car who pays for it??? The rider???
If you mean those buzzing things with small petrol engines - I don't like them, they are to noisy and smelly. But if they are electric and traffic is well organized and safe - the I think that's ok.
As a Torontoian who drives a stupid LSUV to protect my family in daily traffic jam, I don't like ignorant car-centric residents and insane cyclists who never stop at red. Wish more bike infrastructure to come in Toronto.
If you think congestion is the big problem that needs to be solved your brain is already hijacked by the car industry. Cars cause a ton of problems in cities, but congestion doesn't bother me one bit. My train goes right past all the idling cars, no problem at all
I always go around by bike here in Strasbourg France. Most of the city center is walkable and we have a good network of bike lanes around the city. Walkers have the priority over bikes. When someone is on your way, you slow down and signal yourself with a gentle ring and they'll move out.
Well, if bike lane is shared with pedestrians then it's not a bike lane, but a shared space. And also - bike lane is part of traffic lanes so I think pedestrians shouldn't walk there.
you should have both a bike lane and a pedestrian path to prevent conflicts. and in places where you only have one people should walk at the sides of the path to keep the middle clear for bikes. and cyclist should slow down when passing the pedestrians. but those shared spaces should only occur in like (old town) city centers where there's no space to place dedicated paths/lanes, and where people don't cycle fast.
"Cycling without bike lanes is dangerous". No it isn't, and in some cases (e.g. much of the UK) cycling can be more dangerous on bike lanes than on the adjacent road thanks to gormless pedestrians (especially those with dogs) and the discontinuity of bike lanes at junctions which puts the cyclist in a hazardous situation. Many cyclist deaths in the UK are as a result of cycle lanes encouraging cyclists to go up the inside of left turning large vehicles at traffic light controlled junctions.
Of course it's much more complex and we can dive deeper but my point here is that riding the bike without ANY infrastructure on a road with cars and trucks is dangerous
How do I transport anything around on a bike, I can hardly fit all the things I need for my family and I in my Van...I use my bicycle to commute to work and back but this whole bicycle utopia is a dream.
Hardly, really shouldn't blindly support the status quo like you are. They want us controlled in giant, easily tracked boxes. A few cheap bike paths represent a threat to that and the profits of oil companies and auto makers.
Cities need cycling infrastructure, but what they don't need is anti-car bigots who pretend that everyone lives in a 5 minute radius of the center, while in reality most of those cars are from the suburbs where there's no markets, no sidewalks and no bus lines to get people towards the center. If you want to improve your traffic, just do what even we in east Europe have done 100 years ago and have sidewalks in every street, transport in or near every neighborhood and various shops, markets, pharmacies,etc. I can equally be a driver, pedestrian or bus rider and not be forced to choose like I would in America, moreover I hardly need to go anywhere far, since I have everything in reach, unlike American suburbs where you have to go on a trip across the city for milk.
@@cityforall I think zeliko means that the design of cities and towns can resolve many of the issues discussed here, instead of traveling across town to a gigantic supermarket as they do in the us, having lots of small ones within walking distance (as is usually the case in EEU), the problem doesn’t arise
I understand the need to make a living but in my city a lot of Door Dash and Uber Eats cyclists have decided that even though we have bike lanes all over the place the sidewalk is where they need to chaotically ride their bikes and flagrantly park them blocking foot traffic. I’ve been hit by cyclists having the right of way and sorry I just step over them as they lie on the ground in pain. As Dave Foley once said…”side-WALK!”
"Changed people's habits" my arse - they cycle because of the opposite extreme - anti-car policies. The Netherlands is the most expensive country to own (not just buy) - own a car! A small family car on LPG, is extorted with the same 260$ 3 month tax as a 6 liter Camaro! Sounds to me like these countries simply made it too expensive for the majority of people to legally own a car. Same for Finland - it has the highest road taxes around, and it says a brand new midrange car yearly upkeep can cost around 3000 euro, and up to 7000 euro when the car starts aging. Seems very similar to how Norway is practically forcing people to buy EV's to "save the planet." - this very much reminds me of how bicycles became "popular" for a while in my country. During the 90s fuel prices were high, buying or even maintaining a car was impossible for average people, so my dad and many people were forced to go everywhere in a bike. Those countries are basically the opposite extreme of anti-cycling - no wonder people ride bikes in horrible weather. I don't think countries that punish car ownership are a "good example" to promote better cycle infrastructure. Especially since they tax the crap out of motorists, to make and maintain it.
Norway isn’t forcing people to get an ev to save the planet. It’s to save themselves. The still happily make gazillions from oil drilling. Car owners deserve to be punished via heavy taxation, just like cigarettes and booze.
Gallup conducted a survey of positive and negative emotions - experiencing respect, pain, worry, feeling well rested, or sad, in which Nordic countries did not score anywhere near the top. Instead the Top 3 happiest countries were Paraguay, Panama and Guatemala - turns out GDP and money doesn't always buy happiness. As far as taxing cars more - totally disagree. In the 1960s my country proposed symbolic taxation for bikes - if they want dedicated infrastructure for them, license plates on every bike you use, and 1$ yearly tax for each you wanna ride. And the reason this plan fell through, was because my country solved the "car vs bike" problem in way more civillized ways - 1-st we made public transport the cheapest and most convenient transport possible, 2-nd our economy made sure the majority of workers don't need to travel the whole town, or even outside to go to work or find employment. This made both cycling, and car driving ultra safe when most people just took the busses or had work so close to them they walked there.
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It’s Miles Not Kilometers
@@byronchavarria4954 what are you talking about?
@@cityforall The Units Of Distance
What timecode?
3:04
The thing that people don't get is that the people who need to use a car are the ones that will most benefit from cycling/walking infrastructure. The less need to drive short distances the more road space for the people who actually need to drive. It sounds wrong but it is what has happened all over the world.
Exactly!
The hatefulness of much of the rhetoric is part of the problem. It’s stupid. Americans always want MORE. If you want cycle infrastructure, make arguments FOR cycle infrastructure. All the videos and articles about how bad cars are, and how stupid suburbs are do not help. Don’t argue for LESS in America.
Trust me, I’ve been arguing for less government forever, and it doesn’t work.
@@nunyabidness3075 Because Libertarian arguments are pretty empty. There's very good arguments for why cars and suburbs are flawed, some people just refuse to listen to them(emissions, habitat destruction, forcing all people to be reliant on the auto industry, energy dependence on hostile nations, etc etc)
@@Joesolo13 Thanks for the excellent example of modern rudeness, bias, ignorance, and foolishness. Would you like to withdraw the comment, or do I need to explain to you why that sort of thing is destroying the advances of western civilization?
@Nunya Bidness so you didnt watch the video. They talked about the benefits of cycling and bike lanes.
A way to say it as an visitor of the USA is: "it's weird that in the land of free, you're not free to move in a city unless you have a car and in the land of the brave, the brave ones are those who cycle despite all those disadvantages"
We have anti cycling attitude in the American South. I just moved here from California. They don't even _have_ bike lanes here in suburban New Orleans....It's incredibly irritating.
I think it could be changed (but of course it's very difficult)
I think the (sometimes life threatening) heat in the South is a very convenient excuse for not having bike lanes. Plus the political donors have made this urban design discussion into an identity politic.
@@mattk6910 well, maybe. I wasn't there so It's difficult to oppose this. But for example - at the south of Spain there is also quite hot but there are cycle lanes and lot of cyclists too. Not so much as in the Netherlands but quite a lot. And I guess there are also winters when weather is much more pleasant.
We are pretty much behind as well in Australia. Hopefully it will get better.
You don't like the culture but you moved there anyway?
That Cyclepath is moving far more people per hour then the cars on the road beside it. And the people it is moving are relaxed and enjoying the day. I hear no shouting, no Angry Words, no horns being honked, and no loud exhaust. Possibility of tell me again why we shouldn't continue to dedicate so much public space to empty metal boxes?
Train trams and bus can move even more people , that overcrowded bus can carry 80 people overcrowded train can carry 800... how about overcrowded bike ?
Yes! No angry words! When I'm cruising in a bike lane, I'm saying hi to neighbours I see, waving to other bikes. It's a pleasant, social experience!
@@knarf_on_a_bike When I used to commute on a bicycle in Vancouver, there was a lot of hostility expressed, and I always felt myself at signifiant risk of severe and imminent injury. If you're a cyclist, too many car drivers don't care whether you live or die.
@@peterwilson8039 they will just pay the fine and get away with it, happens here to in Portland oregon.
@@anubizz3 he said the cycle path, not the bicycle.
And he said it was better and more effective than a car, not a bus or train.
So what point are you trying to make?
I always appreciate the excuses. It implies that before 1950 there was no snow, rain, or hills.
Or people were stronger :)
Seems in the video there is only wide open spaces, no rain, no wind, no hills, and no business that require vehicles to pickup/drop off anything heavier than a book or lunch.
We have no space, all hills, strong wind (local record of 233 days one year that had 38mph or higher wind, and on a hill above the city, a gust recorded at 155mph)
Rain we get about 160 days a year.
Floods, slips, cold, black ice, (not much snow, it actually hits the top of a lot of buildings but is slushy rain by the time it makes it to the ground...
But apparently in all that, us cyclists deserve more attention than general traffic issues (like the fact that general utilities get less attention than new cycle lanes as ... well cycle lanes do get votes... mainly as nobody can be bothered voting unless you have a soap box to air...
I know! So many lame excuses. My lack of functional body parts is just a weak excuse for my laziness.
There is a difference between HAVING to do something and doing something by choice. In the 1950's people had to use bicycles to go distances that were took too long to walk, now people have the choice of using a vehicle which doesn't expose them to weather and doesn't involve physical effort to the point they arrive at their destination sweating. I used to cycle a 20 mile round trip to work with hills so I am well qualified to compare the advantages and disadvantages of driving and cycling and understand why the vast majority choose to drive.
There was no sun either. Many people can not forgive Roosevelt for introducing weather :)
I live in the UK. Cycling infrastructure has improved in city centres but outside of there it’s sporadic and rarely joined up means part of a journey might be safe but part is alongside HGVs rendering it all pointless. I cycle 2km to drop my kids at school. We have to cycle 90% on the pavement because the roads are not safe for a 5 and 7 years old.
I’d love to see rat run side roads blocked off for through traffic so vehicular traffic is directed to use the main arterial routes. School drop off traffic accounts for a huge amount of peak congestion. Make it safe to do as active travel instead and congestion could actually drop.
Edinburgh council are in the process of blocking off rat-runs where i live (Leith) and the results are fantastic. The back streets are much more pleasant for both cyclists and pedestrians without a near constant stream of cars and vans thundering across the cobbles. When i drive, i still find a choice of different routes that allow me to avoid bottle necks and busy junctions.
@@raithrover1976 that’s really good to hear. Where I am in Croydon they’ve install a cycle lane that the mayor is opposed to so wants to have it removed. Car is king still down here depressingly.
@@tristanhawkins8699 I've visited your area on business so didn't have an opportunity to cycle - but I was trying to imagine cycling around where I was. Bloody terrifying! I'm a very confident cyclist, but would be reluctant to use the roads. Driver-ists seem not to understand that enabling cycling would free up space. I bet the majority of drivers wished they had a 'safe' alternative.
so how much cycle traffic actually has those Rat Runs as a destination, or id the plan to remove all the parking on rat runs and chase all the small businesses that rely on products heavier than can be slipped in a backpack of an average bike.
At least in UK there's so many roads they could convert some parallels to cycle in the centre, foot on the outsides and no cars... but all the businesses would have to be converted to business that require no daytime deliveries either out OR in. basically a mall with delivery from other warehouses etc...
As long as all the businesses are happy to move if they have to, and don't have to pay for relocation.
We've had some country cycle lanes moved away from intersections (great) through what used to be the car park for the 2-3 shops that had roadside parking.... not so great... to the point where they have to close because people go where they can drive up, get a quick something, drive away... (and that's a quick pop over to the shop in a car, a 30+ min ride on a bikeif the weather is fine... Ever whipped over the hill to get fish n chips for the kids... on a bike.
Totally agree with closing off residential streets to through traffic to main roads.
Only have 186 miles on my Toyota Tacoma since the first of January. Ride over 100+ miles a month on my bike. Did 12 miles today. Tomorrow I will ride to the store and take the "long way home" for 6 miles.
Wow! That's solid! What bike do you use to go to the store?
@@cityforall A 30+ year old Costco (Giant) MTB that I have "dutched". Just put on a new front and rear rack. Installed a N380 CVT rear hub a few months ago and am loving it.
@@bigwheelsturning Great!
Thankfully here in my county in Central Florida, cycling infrastructure is steadily coming to fruition but we still have a long way to go, at least our city officials and county council members are acknowledging the need for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure…
good news!
Cycling, is not only quicker then walking. You can often do it for longer durations. Today nobody walk an hour to work but i know plenty of people that take a bike for an hour to work or other places.
if my job was not a very phisical one i would have walked a hour to work
I live in the Midwest US and it is so-so for commuting on a bike. It can be a bit risky. What really gets me is the size of vehicles people drive. Seems like so many people drive these huge full size trucks, but don’t actually use them for anything other than driving like a normal car. Talk about a waste of space.
There is a Notjustbikes video about this
drivers need a bigger vehicle to feel safe kn the roads haha the irony....i'll need a HGV license to outsize the SUVs all the eco conscious drivers are buying! oxymoron.
The effective way to increase cycling infrastructure is to do at a large and aggressive scale, like it was done in only a handful of years in Paris and Valencia, Spain. Courageous, not demagogue, mayors and politics can do it. Sprinkling disjointed bike lanes only frustrates drivers who don't see traffic on them.
Exactly!
I live in Houston, one of the most car dependent cities in the world. I cycle every day of my life. If I can do it here, anyone can cycle anywhere.
I live in Chicago, home of some of the worst drivers and I can ride a bicycle too
Cities need to be walkable with a good public transit and cycling infrastructure. Everyone will benefit from less traffic and drivers probably most. I am a public transit user but for me public transit and cycling go hand in hand as alternative to driving. It is better for overall well being for everyone if they walk or cycle whatever they can do or preferer to do.
I keep thinking if I could use my bike for most of my needs, I could, but only with a resonable good infrastructure. I drive my daughter to dance lessons 4 times a week, I can easly bike the way, she is phisically capable of doing it, but the traffic is simple prohibitive.
Cycling infrastructure must be safe, of course. And cycling with children is the best indicator of safety. If you are not afraid to let your children cycle - then it's ok.
when cycling infrastructure is deisgned its always along side traffic. why are there no schemes for dedicated cycle routes...i only cycle because i have found off road and canal tow paths so im no where near vehicles ..if i crash thats my own fault. Rush hour is awesome, riding the foot bridges over the gridlocked traffic is a good feeling whatever the weather.
I used to hate cyclists a ton when I first started driving I would get mad at them idk why they were just on the road I was tryna drive on so that alone made me mad but when I started cycling in the city I saw how dangerous it was and I saw how vulnerable cyclist are as road users so I think more people are gonna come around once good infra gets built
In regards to the weather, Not Just Bikes also had a video about the Bahamas, perfect weather yet barely any cyclists because the infrastructure is missing.
In my opinion, the lack of a well-established, heavily frequented bicycle highway to the city center is to blame. Instead of scattered, small paths with car noise, what's important is for people to experience (and feel) what it's like to ride a bicycle in a tight-knit group, like a wave of fast-paced individuals who understand each other well and trust one another.
Yep, sure. Lots cities has similar situation
@@cityforall Some people don't need any encouragement to ride a bicycle, while those who do need it should experience how great it is to ride in a cycling peloton. In my opinion, the significance of this cycling peloton and the joy and energy it brings to participants are often overlooked.
Riding in a cycling peloton can be an exhilarating experience. The feeling of being surrounded by fellow cyclists, moving together as a cohesive group, creates a sense of unity and camaraderie. This is a unique energy, which can be seen in cities where 60% of residents commute to work by bike.
@@muzycznarozmowa falando aqui do Brasil, São Paulo - recentemente comecei a participar de um pelotão, concordo com tudo o que você diz! também pedalo sozinho pela cidade, ando mais lentamente mas vejo a cidade com mais detalhes e demoro quase o mesmo tempo que o transporte público.
I have allways use bike. When i was child i use bike to go to school, yes even in winter. I use car but i only drive like 5 years and then turn back to bike and public transit. Now i have not use single time car after that.
That quote from Musk about induced demand is interesting. I think he's right in a very narrow and technical sense. There is a limit to how much demand can be induced. Look are rural highways that are generally empty. They have not induced the demand to fill them.
The problem with his quote is that in urban and suburban areas, we are usually no where near the limit of how much demand can be induced. In fact, it may be impossible to achieve that limit because it could take more space than the city has.
SO induced demand is real and rational. He is right that there is a limit and that if everyone were able to easily get where they most want to go, no more demand would be induced. But in cities, that will just never happen.
The lack of any secure bike parking puts people off in the UK (amongst a plethora of other reasons).
Also, our trains no longer allow bikes to board - well, maybe 2 per train. It's absolutely rubbish. Each train used to have a guards carriage into which 20+ bikes could be stashed.
British politicians just don't want to solve this. Boris tried in London and to be fair rental bikes in London, Birmingham and Manchester do seem to be popular judging by the empty racks I have seen in those cities recently but if I wanted to get from my rural, central England location to London or Edinburgh, I've no choice than to drive. It wouldn't be a massive change to equip buses with carriers, trains with bike space, and bike parking in the cities which takes up FAR less space than a car park (but it really must be SECURE bike parking).
So because I can't reasonably ride to work, I ride AFTER work which is pleasant enough but it's such a waste of time when I could get my exercise done in my commute with relatively small changes to our infrastrcture.
I think getting a Brompton is the current way to resolve those issues :(
I understand that getting a Brompton is the current solution to those issues.
Sweet to see pictures of Stockholm as a good example.
Stockholm is a fun example of excellent individual projects yet with a missing bigger picture plan for biking.
I liked Stockholm very much, but my friend who lives there for years tells that it's not so good as it seems :)
that's because on the "world stage" people only know about the capital and maybe a few other cities of other countries.
that's why you always hear about Amsterdam being the cycling utopia of the world, but ask any Dutchie and they will tell you Amsterdam is (one of) the worst cities in The Netherlands to cycle.
like to much cars/moped and lots of tourist who don't know how cyclepaths work (walking all over them).
if you want to really get a good look at how cycling works in The Netherlands you should go to some of the medium sized cities. and the more rural provinces and see how the connection between different places (town to town) works.
@@ChristiaanHW Yes in Amsterdam the people on bicycles think that if they ride on a bicycle path they do not have to stop for a zebra crossing. Or if someone is walking on the bike path that you can run them over. In fact, (most) Amsterdam cyclists behave like motorists as in other countries. I was almost hit by a bicycle because I had the courage to cross it on a zebra crossing with my 2-year-old grandson. The cyclist yelled at me BIKE PATH!
@@betsytb694 cyclist should stop/slow down at zebra crossings. (however i think that if the pedestrian doesn't cross when the cyclist slows down for them the pedestrian gives the cyclist the right to go on. otherwise everyone has to stop completely before anyone moves and that's inefficient)
the thing about Dutch cycling is that you have to (non verbally) communicate with the people around you.
and if you have the right of way (sometimes) you should just take it. (be confident)
99% of the times the others will respect it you have the right of way, and take it.
there are however zebra crossings with stop lights for the pedestrian and at those the lights should be followed.
so a red pedestrian light at your zebra crossing means you have to wait until it turns green.
@@ChristiaanHW Yep, when I've visited The Netherlands a few years ago I've enjoyed Delft, Utrecht and Eindhoven much more than Amsterdam. They are more convenient and cyclists there much more pollite.
I ride EVERYDAY. Drivers are distracted playing with their phones. It's everywhere no matter where you live. Burn fat, not oil! Aloha.😎🤙
I've also heard the argument that cycling infrastructure is only for 'fit people...' which is absolutely not true, as making roads, sidewalks/paths, and cities overall more accessible for non-car forms of mobility (as cyclists will have to walk, people using wheelchairs or mobility scooters will need similar road design to cyclists for safety, etc) benefits a wide range of users
No its true. Its only for fit people who actually are able to walk unlike most Americans. 🤣
Plus a decent ebike isstarting at $700 now.
And those who are not fit, can get fit.
when cycling is brought up why do the able bodied driver suddenly seem soo concerned about ppl that might not be able to cycle? I was unfit to cycle and then started to cycle and now fit enough not to drive! haha
@@NT-hr3eu what’s an able bodied driver, 50 pounds overweight, can’t walk down to the chip shop alone ?
Where I live I bike to work simply because it's faster and cheaper than driving, also get more fresh air and exercise, and I feel better about not burning as much petrol. It's the prevailing opinion here that the fastest cheapest healthiest and most sustainable mode of commuting to work should be unsafe, in order to prop up car travel.
i cycled to work for a while and when i had to go to the office by car it made me miserable sat in rush hour traffic...
There is a phrase that I just made up and it sums it up perfectly
Train alternative is a bus, metro and tram, one is excellent for long distance travel while the others are better for city travel and Car alternative is cycling, walking, etc then that means Car is better for long distance travelling and others are better for city travelling
I live in Berkeley, Ca in the USA. I ride a recumbent trike and I have some ideas on how bicycle infrastructure can be done. First, like the Netherlands, we need protected bicycle infrastructure combined with protected intersections that have separate lights for bicycle and have priority over cars. Second, roads need to be closed to cars but not for bicycles, thus increasing car travel distance. Next, there needs to be better bicycle parking. Last, we need a combination of long distance rail, metro, and local busses. If only these things could be combined, cities in the USA could be better.
I saw a bike lane during my commute yesterday that actually had a separate light for cyclists. I was glad to see it. There needs to be more.
A bike-path a day keeps the doctor a way, i'd love my daily 2 km bike ride to the closest coffeeshop 😉
-love from The Netherlands ;)
There is certainly a HUGE anti-bike culture in the city where I live (even though it is probably the most bicycle-friendly in Australia). Much of this is driven by our troglodyte mass-media operators (Murdoch's News-corp) but also an entrenched car-centric culture in society and roads authority engineers who reflect and magnify this.
"There are people who are used to it for whom it's difficult to imagine it could be anything different and this has to be changed."
Here you've identified the root cause of the barrier to better biking 🚲 infrastructure for most cities.
It's like an abusive/violent relationship. Citizens will complain incessantly about traffic congestion, then fight tooth & nail to stop any changes to infrastructure & policies that would help mitigate the problem. This is the insidious hegemony of the automobile 🚘.
It's a very relevant parallel. I've also noticed that people often justify any inconvenience of urban life, even if they feel worse for it. Maybe they are afraid that it will get even worse
depending on whats being planned most drivers are too lazy to cycle and oppose anything that reduces their access by car so no one is allowed to cycle. Just look how ppl go to the gym...they have to park closet to the entrance to get exercise! haha mounting the kerb when there are spaces further away. That mentality sums it up - refusing to walk a few extra steps to go get some exercise! 😂
Great, BUT if you've not noticed? Italy has proposed bicycled to have licencing, number plates and insurance.
So bicycles are going to be made as expensive as cars.
Proposed or approved?
Another thing hindering bike infrastructure in the US is the review process. We've made it so everyone gets every chance to review the design, and people abuse it as a result. This holds up American projects A LOT, and comparable European projects typically take 1/2 to 1/3 the time as American ones.
But this gives a chance that different interests will be taken into accounts. That's better than city is doing something and ignoring community.
@@cityforall one would think so, and perhaps without a hyper-capitalist feedback loop that would be the case. What I see happening far more often is those with more capital and political power using them to hold up the process, e.g. developers, property owners.
A good current example in the SF Bay Area where I live is wealthy homeowners in the Berkeley Hills using their wealth and power to pick apart the EIR (Environmental Impact Report) which is part of a study to build more transit-oriented UC Berkeley student housing. There is a housing shortage in the Bay, and this project would be objectively good. It's literally just a handful of wealthy homeowners slowing the process. I have personally had projects I'm working on held up by corporate developers and other special interest groups.
I also fully agree that the community should have a say in ALL projects. However, what often happens in the US is the process gets held hostage by a minority with the money and power to do so.
Anyway, great video, and keep up the good work!
@@karl_margs Reminds me of the capital crescent trail in DC, it was a railroad spur line that hadn’t been used for about 50 years, and the wealthy homeowners in that area got used to thinking it was a free extension of their backyards. There was an initiative to use it for what would have been a very useful light rail line, and they blocked and defeated it after a couple of years. Thankfully though the compromise in the end was to use the right of way as a bike path.
I would argue that an e-scooter is a much better way of traveling, cause it doesnt pollute, it is faster than a bicycle, and you dont get tired getting anywhere, unlike bicycles which arent the best to use to get home when your already exhausted by working all day.
What planners or average bike enthusiast doesnt understand is, that traffic is not made within the city, but mostly by people who come to the city to work and leave the city when they are done, now good luck getting people to cover 15 or 20 miles on a bike, thats just stupid to expect from the average worker, you need efficient public transport but it wouldnt be enough, you either move the jobs outside of the city or think of a better solution
Thanks for this content theres not mich content like this on RUclips
Hope it will get loooots of views :)
I swear when I typed this it had like 21 likes I just watched one of your latest video about grassy tram tracks and saw it got a lot of views so I checked this video where I commented and jeez it Didi get a lot of likes
I live in the Toronto area and the thing about those European countries that we don’t do in Ontario is that there’s literally signs in trails that say no winter maintenance so they don’t clean when there’s snow. Also it snows more here and is much colder. Unless it’s downtown streets aswell bike lanes are usually covered up by snow plows pushing the snow from storms to the side
Watch NJB , hè is a canadian living in Amsterdam.
The solution is simple: start doing winter maintenance. It's cheaper than the same for cars!
There is an example of cities in Sweden and Finland where lots of people cycle in winter, so it's possible.
@@cityforall There's also Montréal, which arguably gets more snow than Toronto, which seems to have figured out the whole winter cycling thing. Watch Oh the Urbanity! for more information on that.
People who say that cycling isn't viable because of snow don't appreciate how much effort the city puts into making driving viable in the snow. If the city put 0 effort to maintain roads, driving would be _less_ viable than biking in the snow. Cars cannot drive in thick snow. And they are not flexible devices. If they get stuck, you're screwed. Bicycles _are_ flexible devices. If you get stuck in the snow, you can dismount and walk it to a place where you can cycle again. And, also, the city maintenance effort to allow bikes to operate is less than what's required for cars, because bicycles require less space. Both cars and bicycles require city maintenance to operate in the snow, but bicycles less so than cars.
I agree, but car drivers don't. If they can't move because of the weather it because city officials are bad. But if cyclists can't - it's because bicycles are bad :)
Very true. Here they are pretty good about keeping sidewalks and paths clear of snow. They have little mini tractors that drive around and plow them and spread salt. I ride year round, using Nokian studded tires in the winter.
and for places where it rarely snows how is that a concern? haha i cycled to work for 5 years and never encountered snow...ice though thats nasty, hurts alot slipping on that stuff. cant say cars cope well with that either.
The most important are bicycle paths in representative and atmospheric places where cycling is fashionable. A good example are the boulevards of Warsaw, where even the enemies of bicycles ride bikes because it is appropriate. The more places where cycling is popular, the more drivers there will be on bikes.
The main point of advocating for improved infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation is to provide alternatives for moving around a city and reduce unnecessary car trips, among many benefits too long to list here. The car-brained individual gets angry about any such infrastructure as they don't fundamentally understand that it benefits them too. Adding bicycle lanes and transit lines reduces the amount of cars on the street, so less traffic.
ah but you forget...misery loves company...if they're the only drivers there they will feel left out of cycling conversations with nothing to complain about when the congestion is gone too!
The local council are removing all the parks in front of my building to put in a replacement Cycle lane for the existing one... which is between the parks and centre line at the mo, and we're in a cul-de-sac that could just be turned into a shared 15kph zone...
So what is the impact...
Our shop (The only one in the capital) that repairs machinery up to 200kg will now have customers pushing their often non mobile machinery round a corner and down the road to deliver them.
But that's fine, the increase in cycle customers may raise by 100% at least... (In 14 years I've fixed a couple of bikes (for free as I'm a mechanic and bikes are quick fixes usually)..
and the only ACTUAL customer that arrived on a bike in those 14 years was a friend who arranged to drop by in his car to pick up a new piece of kit (approx 40kg but at least on wheels).
It seems that councils care 0 about any business on a proposed cycleway even tho 99.99% of our custom comes from people in trucks, vans and cars.
BTW, The business has been in the Cul-De-Sac for at least 50 years, my boss has had it since 2006..
I'm also a bike rider, motor cyclist, van/car driver and pedestrian... but of all the vehicles using the road (And next door is a paint/panel business that needs parking to rotate their work, the cycles are getting 100% of the side use of the road...
(We also have 2 work vehicles and 2 residential people with cars in the unit, so we don't even get close parking for ourselves...
Sometimes councils put minorities over the major majority because they want to get voted back in.
(Yet paid no attention to one of the 1st lanes in the city from a 2 lane (nearly 4 lanes wide) valley into a narrow dangerous (for both cycle and drivers now faced with parked cars appearing to be in the middle of the road at night or in the rain.. which we have a LOT of) road that a large majority of the valley opposed, it got built anyway, was a disaster, was quoted as millions to restore, spent millions on "modifications" instead which equated to removing near 1/4 of roadside parks... and it's still dangerous..
eg.. You have grass strip from the houses... about 20ft wide, then foot path, then cycle lane, then 2m safety clearance filled with speed bump islands, then car parks, then a narrow lane, repeated from there in reverse to the other side...
Now take a bike on that lane, coming up to an intersection, divert the bike onto the footpath, through pedestrians loading onto a bus, and back onto the cycle lane immediately in front of the bus, within 2 meters of the intersection... where cars passing the bus and turning across in front of it, has a bike come off the footpath from besied the bus, directly in front of the bus, beside the turning car... and has right of way ahead as the car turns either into them or they pile into the side of the car.
As I said, I'm a cyclist... Non electric, but I can hit 50k... And they want me to hit the curb then exit beside turning cars...
oooo did I forget to mention the pedestrian crossing that is right on the corner so the cars have to be watching for that too...
We're NOT the NETHERLANDS.. We Don't have their budget, we don't have the space, we have a LOT of hills... we have a LOT of barely 2 way lanes even when there are no cars parked in them...
Yet our council still has yet to side on the car/business side of a proposed lane.. (bar one that they are still trying to push that will see ALL parking removed from a road lined with shops that cycle traffic accounts for barely 10% of the custom.
I'm not Anti cyclist... But it's getting harder and harder to keep that up (And I've been cycling on the roads, hills and tracks for 50+ years.
Is it just me or does it seem in this "Modern" world, if your not a minority, no one cares. I am SO average I don't exist anymore.
I’m a lazy slob, and have a 20 km+ commute to work, the public transport to my work takes between 1 hour, 15 minutes and 2 hours, each way.
So I’m car dependent, but I live in The Netherlands, the cycle infrastructure is not just good cycle infrastructure, it’s also good infrastructure in general. The better they take care of the most vulnerable participants in traffic, the safer traffic is for everyone involved.
Use at least sometimes e-bike or e-scooter which can travel more than 25 kmph. Some e-scooters can travel up to 80 kmph but that is extreme and dangerous. Or use normal motorbike but it is more expensive and less practical because you can't go anywhere with it.
> public transport to my work takes between 1 hour, 15 minutes and 2 hours, each way
What does it mean? It's so inconsistent?
@@frantiseknovotny2674 nope, not an option. The things you suggest are either really expensive here in The Netherlands or just plain and simple illegal. For long distances like trips to Amsterdam that are better connected with public transport, I use the train.
@@cityforall It can depend on connections. As a university student I had to make a connection on my commute. At busy times the buses ran every 15 minutes, so if I missed a connection I would be fifteen minutes late. After peak hours the buses ran every half hour, so then missing a connection could cost me thirty minutes.
@@cityforall In most cities in North America, buses don't have dedicated lanes and thus are as subject to traffic as the cars. This can cause tremendous slowdowns.
It's baffling to think there's even an Anti Bicycle mentality, to begin with. Just as everyone loves cars, why not bikes? They're more fun to be on than always driving. As someone who lives in Southeast Florida (Miami), there isn't a huge stigma for bicyclists, but it is still less safe than driving and public transport; despite most commuters, driving. There should be more standards for bicyclists just as there are standards for drivers and pedestrians such as having a sidewalk.
While there are plenty of bike lanes in my area, I think Public Transportation should have more room for bicyclists that commute; whether they park at a station or in the bus.
There's a lot of car folks who hate the "wrong" kind of cars. Truck guys LOATHE Priuses, they basically froth at the mouth at the idea of cyclists....unless you put a motor on your bicycle. Then they think you're cool. It's like they're all struggling with a identity crisis and have to attack anything they don't personally like.
Here in Phoenix, Az it's hard to ride a bicycle in 100+ degrees heat, but it can be done.
Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out at mid day, in such environments people ride in the morning or evening.
I understand that biking is good for the city when compared to cars. But man I hate the bike jams that happen every morning. If just more people could take the tram so I could commute to work with my bike without getting stuck behind cargo bikes and 10 year olds that take up two bike lanes... that would be great.
One more lane will fix the problem :)
There are basically two sources of anti-cycling mentality:
1. The belief that cycling is merely a recreational activity. People may respond that the public doesn't need to subsidize peoples' hobby (or not any more than it already does.)
2. The idea that cyclists ride dangerously. (Usually meaning in a way that a driver might accidently hit them.)
I think there's also a sociale component, for a lot of ppl their car is a status symbol. Riding a bike is beneath them same as public transport.
@@Ajaxtothehead lol riding a bicycle is socially higher than public transport, just see how expensive brompton and bike friday bikes are
there is also the safety aspect of public transport. forgot how bad some areas sre and safety can be an issue unfortunately. The verbal abuse you can get when the wrong group of people get on its unfortunate, even the bus driver gives up.
responding to 1. drivers dont want cycling to be viable because they feel they will be forced to stop driving when it becomes the norm. 2. They're jealous that cyclists can do questionable manoeuvres to get ahead in traffic. I can dismount and use the pedestrian crossing and continue my journey jumping back on to get around red lights, most crossings are mixed use so include bikes anyway nowadays. Drivers dont like it when motor/bikes filter to the front in stationary traffic...they expect you to drive by car rules anything else is unfair.
"if the transport system exceeds public travel needs, there will be very little traffic." not untrue. Problem is it is literally impossible to do that if the main form of transportation is cars
We have too many cars: 41m registered vehicles in the UK and 280m in USA.
I am an avid cyclist. I cycle for fitness and I ride about 10 km every day. I'm however opposed though to cycling in the downtown core. It's just not safe enough. What I believe cities need is mass transit systems. They should be subsidized with public money. First of all mass transit brings people downtown, and that helps downtown retailers. More than that mass transit reduces downtown traffic. That reduces congestion, it reduces the demand for parking, it reduces the emission of sulphurous and nitrous oxides, and it reduces the noise and the heat that the traffic generates. Mass transit makes cities more livable, and It makes it easier for those who prefer to drive their vehicle downtown to get around, and to find parking. A well run public transit system can be clean, safe, convenient, and inexpensive, and it makes the city more accessible and more livable for everybody.
Completely agree!
Driver will never ride a bike? Of all the excuses this is the funniest. I've been a car nut since long before I could drive and yet I started riding last year. I love my cars, and plan on starting work on my second hobby car this year, and yet I absolutely enjoy riding my two bicycles, and would use it more if I weren't afraid to ride on most streets. Love of motion cannot be confined to one ride.
I've heard that about 100500 times in different versions :)
I live in a very car dominated town in the UK. Some cycle infrastructure but mostly badly managed and not of any practical use.
The local authorities are schizophrenic, they put the infrastructure in, then allow it to become car parks whilst congratulating themselves on a job well done.... some departments are very keen on promoting active travel ( our organisation works with them) but there are other departments that actually promote car use by deliberately ignoring parking violations saying that "people need to park somewhere " . ... yes this was in reply to an email I sent them... neighbouring towns are doing better and maybe ours will follow... maybe.
boomers looking for reasons to stay in power, nothing new
I love your content, but I þink today ðe mix between sound and voice was subpar. You may try lower music or making your voice louder
for a family of 4 even if all of them rode the heaviest e-bikes you still only need to mine about 100kg of materials from the earth, on average now cars are what 1200kg (1,2 tonne) where most of the time they spend parked or carrying 1-2 people. A moving bicycle will always carry it's maximum capacity of people (excluding cargo bikes) and if you are daring enough it can even carry more than 100% of it's capacity... now that is fucking efficient.
What would you do to redesign cycling infra for places like Kuala Lumpur where it’s hot, humid, rain, thunderstorm and a very car centric city where government revenue are from collecting lots of money from car taxes and petroleum production.
First of all I'll do a research :)
I'm starting to wonder if drivers don't want bike lanes because then more people will cycle. If more people cycle, then they might outnumber the cars on certain roads, and they might lose more space as the demand for cycle lanes increases. I wonder if that's what they are worried about.
They're worried they'll look out of place when cycling becomes the norm. Because cars no longer rule the roads they will be "forced" to cycle. Sounds stupid but its about as much logic as driver's make in their excuses.
Another key issue here is the sense of inequality and entitlement. Why should I be the one to ride a bike when someone else can enjoy the benefits of sitting in a car? No one wants to be “worse off” when they can afford a better option. However, if the government increases the cost of owning a car, these people go back to the old argument of “why only the rich can drive?”. By the way I am from Singapore, where the cost of car ownership is highest in the world by a mile and I own a car but ride my bike on a daily basis.
I think some cities use cycling infrastructure as a way to spend less on public transit while still investing in transportation. Why build a new light rail or metro line when we can build a new cycle path for a fraction of the cost? Problem is a 10km long cycle path deep into the suburbs is not going to attract that many commuters. Most commuters who don't live in the inner city aren't going to cycle all the way to work, it's too far and takes too long. I think cycling infrastructure should consider first and last mile use in combination with some form of mass transit as a significant proportion or even a majority of trips, and that needs to be convenient for people to use. So you still need to build the new mass transit infrastructure, you can't cheap out by thinking most people will be willing to cycle 20km a day.
I think there's also sometimes an all or nothing approach when it comes to car traffic. There's a lot of talk about car dependency, but for people in low density suburbs, you're not going to make them less dependant, not unless you force them to move. But you can provide alternatives to driving all the way to the city center, such as park and ride at railway stations and cheap cycle hire within the city if their workplace isn't close to a station (though in the long run it's probably better if it is). That gets rid of a lot of the congestion problems even if they still use their car every day.
Of course, good mass transit should be a core of city mobility. Then cycling. And as for me in most cases cities that develop cycling infrastructure also develop a public transport at the same time.
great video. Thank you. #utilitycycling #modeshift4climate #whatwillyouride
Love your channel! Subbed :)
That's great! Thank you!
The anti-cycle is real*. Beware, be careful - keep the faith, keep pedalling!
* - Trust me I have been spat at, sworn at, had cars driven at me intentionally and outright attacked and thrown off my bike - it won't stop me cycling however!
impressive determination. not for me. i still cycle but prefer safer more peaceful routes. there is no need to put up with that if there is an alternative...which is what proper infrastructure is supposed to provide.
Cycling provides marvelous opportunities. It provides the underclass the opportunity to mug the cyclist and / or steal their conveyance. I know I'd love to cycle through parts of NYC I don't want to drive through most especially at hours I wouldn't consider taking public transit. While bucolic cycling images are painted here cycling in inclement weather is far from pleasant. If you consider it a solution, that's great I'm happy if it works for you. Conversely, I can understand why becoming a driver is considered an American rite of passage. Don't get me started on public transit. Public transit is something to be endured not enjoyed or simply experienced. You may post your self-righteous replies as you wish, the problem isn't too many cars, there are too damn many people.
You definitely don't understand much if your entire thought process is just standard fear-mongering. Crime rates are far lower than last decade, which was lower than the decade before, which were lower than the decade before. But you're still terrified of that miniscule chance...while tons of people are killed in crashes daily.
I liked your video very much. However, you ended it saying “views against cycling have to be changed”. Please make us a video on how to shift attitudes. As a cyclist, I don’t know what to say to the many people who oppose cycling infrastructure. Thank you.
That's a good question. And a difficult one :)) I'll try to make a video on this topic. By the way, some of the answers may be in this video -
ruclips.net/video/OJT9dx2Dty4/видео.htmlsi=t4p7Zwetcyt2XDZ8
@@cityforall about five years ago, Seattle traffic dept proposed a nice separated bike lane on 35th Ave NE through our Wedgwood Seattle community . Unfortunately a handful of shrill, passionate, terrified locals stopped it. I and other bike people tried to dissuade them but failed. Frankly we did not know what to say to their concerns that “reduced parking will kill local businesses”, “careless children cyclists will be struck by cars and killed” or “by slowing down traffic on 35th, frustrated drivers will take a short cut onto the parallel streets and speed by in front of our homes” or “how will I get out of my driveway when I have to cross both a bike lane and a traffic lane?” Or finally “it’s just too much change”. We need to sell bike lanes to non-cyclists, people who see bikes as toys only for children. People who haven’t ridden a bike since childhood and can’t imagine why anyone would NOT want to use an e-bike for errands instead of a car. They only know cars, own at least one car and drive it everywhere. I remember watching a young couple drive literally 200ft to the local tennis court …. to play tennis. For 40 years, Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel has spent untold thousands of dollars to lawyers to delay and stop the Burke Gilman trail for passing in front of his business. The city even proposed building an elevated trail past his property so his cement trucks would not be hindered but he his lawyers killed the idea. This is what we ask your help with: how do we persuade such entrenched people? Thank you.
nevermind cycling infrastructure. if you look at the retail parks in the UK there is hardly any footpaths to get from.one side to another and you can see people jumping back in to their cars to drive to the store a few hundred yards away in the same retail park. i like the way they put cycle racks in the car parks which involve cycling thru the dangerous car park to get there. cant even walk the bike there without getting run over. cycle provisions are currently a token gesture....bike racks are typically put in an unused bit of space outside a store - an after thought or inconvenience if its required by the company's green policy.
Which kind of demand do you want to induce?
Efficient and safe, or inefficient and dangerous?
The answer is clear.
Induce cycling, walking, public transit demand, not car demand.
Not an expert, but just to clarify for anyone that's not aware of the facts:
1. Cyclists don't wanna force you to park your car and never use it again, we want to have the option to SAFELY get around the city without risking one of the more moronic drivers killing us (Something I fear even when in my car).
2. Weather conditions don't affect cycling as much if you're prepared well enough, knobby (mountain bike) tires and fenders for rain so you're safe and dry, studded for snow and ice, slick for dry days, much cheaper than car tires and just needs a quick release (standard on low-mid range bikes)
3. It's perfectly acceptable to ride for sport/recreation and drive to work, the store and similar, nobody wants to take your car, we all drive but we wanna be able to choose NOT to get stuck in a 2 hour traffic jam every day.
Exactly! I wonder how difficult is to bring those simple facts to some people.
@@cityforall When it's a matter of you being on "Their" road, nothing else matters!
Also, I love how they say cyclists should pay a road tax if they want to use it...yet at least 70% of adult cyclists most likely also own a car, meaning we DO pay, but even then a bicycle doesn't damage the road as much, meaning I'd pay 5$ a year.
JFC, I got blasted with a State Farm insurance ad right before the video 😠😡🤬
Unfortunately (or fortunately), RUclips does not agree with video creators on what ads to show viewers.
4:52 in ger many we say: es gibt kein schlechtes wetter, es gibt nur schlechte kleidung
Thanks!
Thank you!
Unfortunately, drivers are indeed different from cyclists
That film of Vienna in 1906. A few years later Jung, Hitler, Stalin and Lenin would all be living within a few blocks of each other.
I support the ebike revolution cycling makes us not fat
Great video 👍
Thank you!
We have anti cycling here in Ireland with people destroying bike infrastructure at night.
Call the police!
@@cityforall Irish police are a disgrace to all police. Literally. They are useless.
I'm up for more cycling, but here in the uk they seem to have used idiots with the thinking capacity of a 5 year old to deseighn them. So hat we have are confusing entrances to junctions ,endless volume of signs, so the drive is overwhelmed by a storm of information and road centre lines taken from pacman. Engineering pushed hard by beaurocriacy (spelt wrong) and activist politician only makes the plce worse. Do about 100 miles a week on pedals, some of these schemses are poor, and more dangerous for the cyclist at certain junctions and entrances to properties.
Wish the makers of Cities Skylines II would have watched this. :(
I agree
👍👍👍
We have even better solution that European love, its called motorcycle, no need to have special exclusive lane, can be ridden more than 5km , use just a little bit more space than bike to park, often have passenger, scooter type even have build in storage......
It's still noisy and just unpleasant to be around. Not exactly what you want in a city. Also lanes are designed for cars, so when you are driving you take up just as much space. But I see your points.
Also 20x higher fatal accident rate compared to bikes.
@@smileychess if you ride with bike speed it will be lower since motorists tends to use riding gear...
Motorcycle requires license and boring classes unless if you are super interested in motorcycle.
Having bicycle infustrure would get rid of road rage and lessen motorist in a road.
@@anubizz3 Americans cant see or care about motorcycle on road, that is why barely Americans use it for only cheaper transportation...i can think of European the same way
I always hated the idea of having to own a car... I hate all aspects of, and all industries related to the car... replace all owned cars with Google autonomous cars... If a Google car hits a Google car who pays for it??? The rider???
Anti cycling is energie and car sector.
It makes them sell less
What about Vietnam, can scooters be a compromise instead of bicycles. It won't be as space efficient as cycling but close enough. What do you think?
If you mean those buzzing things with small petrol engines - I don't like them, they are to noisy and smelly. But if they are electric and traffic is well organized and safe - the I think that's ok.
100%
Excellent video just a small typo at 2:44 bicycle is spelt wrong.
Oh, really( Sorry about that...
@@cityforalldon't gotta be sorry, thanks for the content ❤
As a Torontoian who drives a stupid LSUV to protect my family in daily traffic jam, I don't like ignorant car-centric residents and insane cyclists who never stop at red. Wish more bike infrastructure to come in Toronto.
And more respect between people everywhere including Toronto :)
Awesome video
Thanks!
If you think congestion is the big problem that needs to be solved your brain is already hijacked by the car industry. Cars cause a ton of problems in cities, but congestion doesn't bother me one bit. My train goes right past all the idling cars, no problem at all
But where is my flying Bike?
👍
Alex Shutyuk, how do you think, bike lane should be shared with walkers?
I always go around by bike here in Strasbourg France. Most of the city center is walkable and we have a good network of bike lanes around the city. Walkers have the priority over bikes. When someone is on your way, you slow down and signal yourself with a gentle ring and they'll move out.
Well, if bike lane is shared with pedestrians then it's not a bike lane, but a shared space.
And also - bike lane is part of traffic lanes so I think pedestrians shouldn't walk there.
No.
@@cityforall I agree but it happens sometimes when the bike lane is next to a sidewalk or along a canal.
you should have both a bike lane and a pedestrian path to prevent conflicts.
and in places where you only have one people should walk at the sides of the path to keep the middle clear for bikes. and cyclist should slow down when passing the pedestrians.
but those shared spaces should only occur in like (old town) city centers where there's no space to place dedicated paths/lanes, and where people don't cycle fast.
"Cycling without bike lanes is dangerous". No it isn't, and in some cases (e.g. much of the UK) cycling can be more dangerous on bike lanes than on the adjacent road thanks to gormless pedestrians (especially those with dogs) and the discontinuity of bike lanes at junctions which puts the cyclist in a hazardous situation. Many cyclist deaths in the UK are as a result of cycle lanes encouraging cyclists to go up the inside of left turning large vehicles at traffic light controlled junctions.
Of course it's much more complex and we can dive deeper but my point here is that riding the bike without ANY infrastructure on a road with cars and trucks is dangerous
How do I transport anything around on a bike, I can hardly fit all the things I need for my family and I in my Van...I use my bicycle to commute to work and back but this whole bicycle utopia is a dream.
Hardly, really shouldn't blindly support the status quo like you are. They want us controlled in giant, easily tracked boxes. A few cheap bike paths represent a threat to that and the profits of oil companies and auto makers.
Good content!
Thank you!
@@cityforall Pleasure!
Cities need cycling infrastructure, but what they don't need is anti-car bigots who pretend that everyone lives in a 5 minute radius of the center, while in reality most of those cars are from the suburbs where there's no markets, no sidewalks and no bus lines to get people towards the center. If you want to improve your traffic, just do what even we in east Europe have done 100 years ago and have sidewalks in every street, transport in or near every neighborhood and various shops, markets, pharmacies,etc. I can equally be a driver, pedestrian or bus rider and not be forced to choose like I would in America, moreover I hardly need to go anywhere far, since I have everything in reach, unlike American suburbs where you have to go on a trip across the city for milk.
I guess you mean somebody else cause this video's idea is quite different :)
@@cityforall I think zeliko means that the design of cities and towns can resolve many of the issues discussed here, instead of traveling across town to a gigantic supermarket as they do in the us, having lots of small ones within walking distance (as is usually the case in EEU), the problem doesn’t arise
Too many bikers drive cars to ride bikes. Even critical mass. Too many bikers love cars as much or more than the next guy.
One big point was the oil crisis, that had accelerated the while bicycle plans
Spell it this way: bicycle
That's a typo, thanks for pointing that!
"Bycicle" hahaha 😂 😂
Typo error on your video: Bicycle and not Bycicle……
Yep, thanks for attention! :)
Yes but People suck so Good luck with this!
Yes people suck
Its okay to hate motorist and people.
just write four words
I understand the need to make a living but in my city a lot of Door Dash and Uber Eats cyclists have decided that even though we have bike lanes all over the place the sidewalk is where they need to chaotically ride their bikes and flagrantly park them blocking foot traffic.
I’ve been hit by cyclists having the right of way and sorry I just step over them as they lie on the ground in pain. As Dave Foley once said…”side-WALK!”
"Changed people's habits" my arse - they cycle because of the opposite extreme - anti-car policies. The Netherlands is the most expensive country to own (not just buy) - own a car! A small family car on LPG, is extorted with the same 260$ 3 month tax as a 6 liter Camaro! Sounds to me like these countries simply made it too expensive for the majority of people to legally own a car. Same for Finland - it has the highest road taxes around, and it says a brand new midrange car yearly upkeep can cost around 3000 euro, and up to 7000 euro when the car starts aging. Seems very similar to how Norway is practically forcing people to buy EV's to "save the planet." - this very much reminds me of how bicycles became "popular" for a while in my country. During the 90s fuel prices were high, buying or even maintaining a car was impossible for average people, so my dad and many people were forced to go everywhere in a bike. Those countries are basically the opposite extreme of anti-cycling - no wonder people ride bikes in horrible weather. I don't think countries that punish car ownership are a "good example" to promote better cycle infrastructure. Especially since they tax the crap out of motorists, to make and maintain it.
But at the same time those countries are pretty high at the happiness index ranking so maybe that works?
Norway isn’t forcing people to get an ev to save the planet. It’s to save themselves. The still happily make gazillions from oil drilling.
Car owners deserve to be punished via heavy taxation, just like cigarettes and booze.
Gallup conducted a survey of positive and negative emotions - experiencing respect, pain, worry, feeling well rested, or sad, in which Nordic countries did not score anywhere near the top. Instead the Top 3 happiest countries were Paraguay, Panama and Guatemala - turns out GDP and money doesn't always buy happiness. As far as taxing cars more - totally disagree. In the 1960s my country proposed symbolic taxation for bikes - if they want dedicated infrastructure for them, license plates on every bike you use, and 1$ yearly tax for each you wanna ride. And the reason this plan fell through, was because my country solved the "car vs bike" problem in way more civillized ways - 1-st we made public transport the cheapest and most convenient transport possible, 2-nd our economy made sure the majority of workers don't need to travel the whole town, or even outside to go to work or find employment. This made both cycling, and car driving ultra safe when most people just took the busses or had work so close to them they walked there.
Based
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