Bicycle Planning
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Oh that's a GREAT question. I don't think there's something even close to a single solution, but why not, I'll take a crack.
Underlying theory: You've got to work with what you already have. Sydney has dedicated two-lane bike routes downtown, complete with bike traffic lights and a divider to separate them from the road. It's excellent, but that can't exist everywhere. DC has a mix: everything from dedicated routes (Penn Ave), to modest bike lanes on the right (Q Street), to sharrows, to nothing. They worked with the existing infrastructure to do as much as possible in a way that made sense, road by road.
Idea 0: Flexibility is the word, but WATCH for a year or two before you let anyone pick up a shovel. A lot of sidewalks at Virginia Tech were constructed after they waited to see how students were walking around campus. They worked with the demand that existed. This needs to be done with bike infrastructure: look at what current traffic flows are, and work with the routes people are already using.
Idea 1: Pedestrians hate cyclists. Drivers hate cyclists. If you want to take their complaints seriously, and a lot of people do (looking at YOU, Charleston. Looking at YOU, Miami), you've got to build dedicated bike paths. There's no way around it, you've got to lay down some new pavement, and the bike paths have to be more convenient to use than the road or the crosswalk. Otherwise you're talking multi-use roads, and people are going to bitch for a little while until they get used to it.
Idea 2: If you're talking residential, don't do what Ashburn VA did.
This is not an infrastructure that allows for utilitarian bike use. This is a random assemblage of housing development builds to adhere to code, and populate their marketing photos with happy people walking around their retention basins. It's a system designed for children on trainers. You can't buy your groceries with such a system. Oh and you can't commute, either: the one way in and out is the W&OD, and it has traffic as bad as 495 in the mornings, especially right around Reston. There are dead stops all along the trail during rush hour.
You can use the roads in that area of course, but because they aren't very bike friendly, that leads to fewer bikes on the road. The speed limits are 35-45 in the residential areas and the overall reaction to a bike on the road is "how fucking dare you." On a bike, they're the most dangerous roads I've ever been on and I'm surprised more people haven't died. DC roads, with their congestion, pedestrians and other random shit, are far safer.
There absolutely needs to be collaboration among new and existing development projects, or else you get this shit.
Idea 3: Studies have proven time and time again that bike lock-up stations are good for business. Convince shop owners of the obvious and get them to sign off on increased foot traffic by building lock-up areas outside their businesses.
Idea 4: Build something like CitiBike or Capital Bike Share. But have docking stations, DO NOT bring in free-roaming bikeshares. They crap up a city like nothing else and do nothing to convince shop owners that bikes are good for business.
Idea 5: It doesn't stop with a bike infrastructure. If you really want to cut down on car or pedestrian traffic, multi-modal transport needs to be in your plans. Trains and train stations need to allow for bike commuters. Buses need bike racks. Every major public transportation hub needs bike lockers.
Please love yourself.
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The city that impressed me most with their bike infrastructure is Delft.
They have decent parking for bikes everywhere.
And they do not only have dedicated streets only for bikes, they also make an effort to combine different modes of transportation efficiently.
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Ban Lycra.
@lufins-dad said in Bicycle Planning:
Ban Lycra.
If you want to remove ghastly sights from America's pavements and downtown areas, I would humbly suggest that restricting the clothing choices of people whose idea of strenuous exercise is walking to a Dunkin' Donuts might be a higher priority.
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@lufins-dad said in Bicycle Planning:
Ban Lycra.
If you want to remove ghastly sights from America's pavements and downtown areas, I would humbly suggest that restricting the clothing choices of people whose idea of strenuous exercise is walking to a Dunkin' Donuts might be a higher priority.
@doctor-phibes said in Bicycle Planning:
@lufins-dad said in Bicycle Planning:
Ban Lycra.
If you want to remove ghastly sights from America's pavements and downtown areas, I would humbly suggest that restricting the clothing choices of people whose idea of strenuous exercise is walking to a Dunkin' Donuts might be a higher priority.
While that may very well be the case, the potency of your point is diminished by the fact that you're speaking as a representative of a community who defines coolness by wearing ass foam smeared in literal butt butter, along with hats that were the style for grade schoolers in the 1930s.
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@doctor-phibes said in Bicycle Planning:
@lufins-dad said in Bicycle Planning:
Ban Lycra.
If you want to remove ghastly sights from America's pavements and downtown areas, I would humbly suggest that restricting the clothing choices of people whose idea of strenuous exercise is walking to a Dunkin' Donuts might be a higher priority.
While that may very well be the case, the potency of your point is diminished by the fact that you're speaking as a representative of a community who defines coolness by wearing ass foam smeared in literal butt butter, along with hats that were the style for grade schoolers in the 1930s.
@aqua-letifer said in Bicycle Planning:
@doctor-phibes said in Bicycle Planning:
@lufins-dad said in Bicycle Planning:
Ban Lycra.
If you want to remove ghastly sights from America's pavements and downtown areas, I would humbly suggest that restricting the clothing choices of people whose idea of strenuous exercise is walking to a Dunkin' Donuts might be a higher priority.
While that may very well be the case, the potency of your point is diminished by the fact that you're speaking as a representative of a community who defines coolness by wearing ass foam smeared in literal butt butter, along with hats that were the style for grade schoolers in the 1930s.
I'm not speaking for anybody, Captain Man-bun.
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@aqua-letifer said in Bicycle Planning:
@doctor-phibes said in Bicycle Planning:
@lufins-dad said in Bicycle Planning:
Ban Lycra.
If you want to remove ghastly sights from America's pavements and downtown areas, I would humbly suggest that restricting the clothing choices of people whose idea of strenuous exercise is walking to a Dunkin' Donuts might be a higher priority.
While that may very well be the case, the potency of your point is diminished by the fact that you're speaking as a representative of a community who defines coolness by wearing ass foam smeared in literal butt butter, along with hats that were the style for grade schoolers in the 1930s.
I'm not speaking for anybody, Captain Man-bun.
@doctor-phibes said in Bicycle Planning:
@aqua-letifer said in Bicycle Planning:
@doctor-phibes said in Bicycle Planning:
@lufins-dad said in Bicycle Planning:
Ban Lycra.
If you want to remove ghastly sights from America's pavements and downtown areas, I would humbly suggest that restricting the clothing choices of people whose idea of strenuous exercise is walking to a Dunkin' Donuts might be a higher priority.
While that may very well be the case, the potency of your point is diminished by the fact that you're speaking as a representative of a community who defines coolness by wearing ass foam smeared in literal butt butter, along with hats that were the style for grade schoolers in the 1930s.
I'm not speaking for anybody, Captain Man-bun.
I also wear sandals! Foam sandals! And I'm almost 40! Wanna know how I can get away with that? Because on the road, you lot make me look like a Calvin Klein model by comparison, so, thanks!
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Anyway, I agree with Aqua on one point, and one point only.
No, not the claim that he looks like Justin Bieber.
Dedicated bike paths are really the answer. Sharing with cars and pedestrians doesn't work.
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My hometown has added a lot of bike lanes and people are really pissed about it. I don't get it. This town is set up to become the ultimate walkable/bikeable boutique downtown in the area. I suppose folks there are just very resistant to change.
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My hometown has added a lot of bike lanes and people are really pissed about it. I don't get it. This town is set up to become the ultimate walkable/bikeable boutique downtown in the area. I suppose folks there are just very resistant to change.
@mik said in Bicycle Planning:
My hometown has added a lot of bike lanes and people are really pissed about it. I don't get it.
People hate bikes. And skateboards. And motorcycles. And scooters. And anything else they don't personally do.
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@mik said in Bicycle Planning:
My hometown has added a lot of bike lanes and people are really pissed about it. I don't get it.
People hate bikes. And skateboards. And motorcycles. And scooters. And anything else they don't personally do.
@aqua-letifer said in Bicycle Planning:
@mik said in Bicycle Planning:
My hometown has added a lot of bike lanes and people are really pissed about it. I don't get it.
People hate bikes. And skateboards. And motorcycles. And scooters. And anything else they don't personally do.
There's a lot of animosity between cyclists and motorists in the UK, but it's definitely a lot more ingrained in the culture there.
Bo-Jo's a complete knobhead, but at least he actually goes out on his bike.
Of course, when Obama was spotted on one, Fox News treated it as though the world was coming to an end. Far more macho to sit in the car exercising your middle finger every few minutes.
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@aqua-letifer said in Bicycle Planning:
@mik said in Bicycle Planning:
My hometown has added a lot of bike lanes and people are really pissed about it. I don't get it.
People hate bikes. And skateboards. And motorcycles. And scooters. And anything else they don't personally do.
There's a lot of animosity between cyclists and motorists in the UK, but it's definitely a lot more ingrained in the culture there.
Bo-Jo's a complete knobhead, but at least he actually goes out on his bike.
Of course, when Obama was spotted on one, Fox News treated it as though the world was coming to an end. Far more macho to sit in the car exercising your middle finger every few minutes.
@doctor-phibes said in Bicycle Planning:
Of course, when Obama was spotted on one, Fox News treated it as though the world was coming to an end. Far more macho to sit in the car exercising your middle finger every few minutes.
W had a sweet MTB.
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OK, I admit that's pretty bad.
Trump said he'd never ride a bicycle because he was scared of getting hurt.
Presumably, his bone spurs would get caught in the chain.
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@doctor-phibes said in Bicycle Planning:
Trump said he'd never ride a bicycle because he was scared of getting hurt.
He shares a lot in common with the folks who didn't vote for him.
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Oh that's a GREAT question. I don't think there's something even close to a single solution, but why not, I'll take a crack.
Underlying theory: You've got to work with what you already have. Sydney has dedicated two-lane bike routes downtown, complete with bike traffic lights and a divider to separate them from the road. It's excellent, but that can't exist everywhere. DC has a mix: everything from dedicated routes (Penn Ave), to modest bike lanes on the right (Q Street), to sharrows, to nothing. They worked with the existing infrastructure to do as much as possible in a way that made sense, road by road.
Idea 0: Flexibility is the word, but WATCH for a year or two before you let anyone pick up a shovel. A lot of sidewalks at Virginia Tech were constructed after they waited to see how students were walking around campus. They worked with the demand that existed. This needs to be done with bike infrastructure: look at what current traffic flows are, and work with the routes people are already using.
Idea 1: Pedestrians hate cyclists. Drivers hate cyclists. If you want to take their complaints seriously, and a lot of people do (looking at YOU, Charleston. Looking at YOU, Miami), you've got to build dedicated bike paths. There's no way around it, you've got to lay down some new pavement, and the bike paths have to be more convenient to use than the road or the crosswalk. Otherwise you're talking multi-use roads, and people are going to bitch for a little while until they get used to it.
Idea 2: If you're talking residential, don't do what Ashburn VA did.
This is not an infrastructure that allows for utilitarian bike use. This is a random assemblage of housing development builds to adhere to code, and populate their marketing photos with happy people walking around their retention basins. It's a system designed for children on trainers. You can't buy your groceries with such a system. Oh and you can't commute, either: the one way in and out is the W&OD, and it has traffic as bad as 495 in the mornings, especially right around Reston. There are dead stops all along the trail during rush hour.
You can use the roads in that area of course, but because they aren't very bike friendly, that leads to fewer bikes on the road. The speed limits are 35-45 in the residential areas and the overall reaction to a bike on the road is "how fucking dare you." On a bike, they're the most dangerous roads I've ever been on and I'm surprised more people haven't died. DC roads, with their congestion, pedestrians and other random shit, are far safer.
There absolutely needs to be collaboration among new and existing development projects, or else you get this shit.
Idea 3: Studies have proven time and time again that bike lock-up stations are good for business. Convince shop owners of the obvious and get them to sign off on increased foot traffic by building lock-up areas outside their businesses.
Idea 4: Build something like CitiBike or Capital Bike Share. But have docking stations, DO NOT bring in free-roaming bikeshares. They crap up a city like nothing else and do nothing to convince shop owners that bikes are good for business.
Idea 5: It doesn't stop with a bike infrastructure. If you really want to cut down on car or pedestrian traffic, multi-modal transport needs to be in your plans. Trains and train stations need to allow for bike commuters. Buses need bike racks. Every major public transportation hub needs bike lockers.
@aqua-letifer said in Bicycle Planning:
Oh that's a GREAT question. I don't think there's something even close to a single solution, but why not, I'll take a crack.
Underlying theory: You've got to work with what you already have. Sydney has dedicated two-lane bike routes downtown, complete with bike traffic lights and a divider to separate them from the road. It's excellent, but that can't exist everywhere. DC has a mix: everything from dedicated routes (Penn Ave), to modest bike lanes on the right (Q Street), to sharrows, to nothing. They worked with the existing infrastructure to do as much as possible in a way that made sense, road by road.
Idea 0: Flexibility is the word, but WATCH for a year or two before you let anyone pick up a shovel. A lot of sidewalks at Virginia Tech were constructed after they waited to see how students were walking around campus. They worked with the demand that existed. This needs to be done with bike infrastructure: look at what current traffic flows are, and work with the routes people are already using.
Idea 1: Pedestrians hate cyclists. Drivers hate cyclists. If you want to take their complaints seriously, and a lot of people do (looking at YOU, Charleston. Looking at YOU, Miami), you've got to build dedicated bike paths. There's no way around it, you've got to lay down some new pavement, and the bike paths have to be more convenient to use than the road or the crosswalk. Otherwise you're talking multi-use roads, and people are going to bitch for a little while until they get used to it.
Idea 2: If you're talking residential, don't do what Ashburn VA did.
This is not an infrastructure that allows for utilitarian bike use. This is a random assemblage of housing development builds to adhere to code, and populate their marketing photos with happy people walking around their retention basins. It's a system designed for children on trainers. You can't buy your groceries with such a system. Oh and you can't commute, either: the one way in and out is the W&OD, and it has traffic as bad as 495 in the mornings, especially right around Reston. There are dead stops all along the trail during rush hour.
You can use the roads in that area of course, but because they aren't very bike friendly, that leads to fewer bikes on the road. The speed limits are 35-45 in the residential areas and the overall reaction to a bike on the road is "how fucking dare you." On a bike, they're the most dangerous roads I've ever been on and I'm surprised more people haven't died. DC roads, with their congestion, pedestrians and other random shit, are far safer.
There absolutely needs to be collaboration among new and existing development projects, or else you get this shit.
Idea 3: Studies have proven time and time again that bike lock-up stations are good for business. Convince shop owners of the obvious and get them to sign off on increased foot traffic by building lock-up areas outside their businesses.
Idea 4: Build something like CitiBike or Capital Bike Share. But have docking stations, DO NOT bring in free-roaming bikeshares. They crap up a city like nothing else and do nothing to convince shop owners that bikes are good for business.
Idea 5: It doesn't stop with a bike infrastructure. If you really want to cut down on car or pedestrian traffic, multi-modal transport needs to be in your plans. Trains and train stations need to allow for bike commuters. Buses need bike racks. Every major public transportation hub needs bike lockers.
You can't completely redo city centers, but the goals are these...
- Commute to work in most urban areas.
- Be able to use you bike and do the common things in life...Go out for coffee or lunch, buy groceries or drop by a friend's house within the same suburban community.
- Give stores and businesses tax credits for being bike friendly.
