I feel the same.I am more of a casual rider, but when I ride my bike in me feel so good. It is a source of health and happiness. I hope to be able to do it for many years. I wish cities in this side of the Atlantic had more biking infrastructure.
Bikes are such wonderful machines: they're immensely practical, scrutable, cheap and easy to maintain, and just a joy to operate. There's something really liberating about having the option to bike for short-distance trips (the majority trips in the US are within 5 miles of home [1]) and avoiding the stress of traffic, parking, and gas prices.
Many people don't know that the bicycle is one of the most efficient means of transporting a humans in terms of energy needed to move a mile. It is more efficient than walking and way more efficient than using a car.
a) Biking as exists in the U.S. / Canada is a leisure-class demographic activity and not a "bread-and-butter" earning activity. If you did a survey of bicyclists you'd find they are of a certain tax bracket nowhere remotely close to low-income. Study after study shows they skew high income earners / well educated.
b) The average non-wealthy American wants thinks his tax money is going to keeping the road infrastructure in good repair.
c) Outside of well-heeled zip codes we are not going to see bike lane infrastructure be given priority over such more pressing concerns.
d) We could all have great things if we were not warring all the time to get small things passed, much less a luxury ( in the scheme of things ) like bike lane infrastructure.
I'm not even talking about the opposition from businesses here.[1]
[1]
S.F.
Several businesses along Valencia Street have posted signs in their windows that read, “This Bike Lane Is Killing Small Businesses and Our Vibrant Community,” with a QR code for the San Francisco Small Business Coalition. |
> If you did a survey of bicyclists you'd find they are of a certain tax bracket nowhere remotely close to low-income. Study after study shows they skew high income earners / well educated.
This line of argument reminds me of the red-dots-airplane meme. In places where bad infrastructure makes cycling impractical as anything but a hobby, of course you mostly get lycra-wearing midlife crisis guys who do it as a hobby. In places where the infrastructure is actually good and safe, you get a whole spectrum of people riding.
Hm okay I looked at some facts [1] for the US and biking is fairly uniformly distributed between income brackets. The highest bracket is > $100,000 at 38% but the second highest is < $20,000 at 35%. So I think we're working with different facts here.
These things are self-reinforcing because as things stand bikes can't be used for commuting by most people because the infrastructure doesn't exist. Make it easier and safer to bike, and you'll see the demographics shift.
Another part of this problem is affordable housing. People can't live close to where they work. Reduce this problem along with improving biking infrastructure and you'll see an uptick in biking.
"Several businesses along Valencia Street have posted signs in their windows that read[...]"
Sure. Several businesses said the same thing about protected bus lanes, but studies have shown it's increased business for those on the path, because it makes it possible for _more_ customers to actually access their businesses.
Cars are fundamentally worse than public transportation or biking for small businesses as a whole, as they reduce density, and further consolidation, which favors larger businesses and hurts small businesses. The problem is that business owners tend to be drivers and their biases don't line up with reality, which is why you tend to see their personal politics interfere with their business interests.
Business opposition is completely irrelevant on account of businesses having been proved wrong time after time on the impacts of adding bike lanes/removing parking/etc on their streets. Consistently incorrect.
the_snooze|1 year ago
[1] https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/fotw-1230-marc...
atoav|1 year ago
https://annex.exploratorium.edu/cycling/humanpower1.html
wozniacki|1 year ago
a) Biking as exists in the U.S. / Canada is a leisure-class demographic activity and not a "bread-and-butter" earning activity. If you did a survey of bicyclists you'd find they are of a certain tax bracket nowhere remotely close to low-income. Study after study shows they skew high income earners / well educated.
b) The average non-wealthy American wants thinks his tax money is going to keeping the road infrastructure in good repair.
c) Outside of well-heeled zip codes we are not going to see bike lane infrastructure be given priority over such more pressing concerns.
d) We could all have great things if we were not warring all the time to get small things passed, much less a luxury ( in the scheme of things ) like bike lane infrastructure.
I'm not even talking about the opposition from businesses here.[1]
[1]
S.F.
Several businesses along Valencia Street have posted signs in their windows that read, “This Bike Lane Is Killing Small Businesses and Our Vibrant Community,” with a QR code for the San Francisco Small Business Coalition. |
https://content.sfstandard.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/in...
San Francisco Valencia Street Bike Lanes Bad for Business?
https://sfstandard.com/2023/12/08/san-francisco-small-busine...
Cambridge, Mass
‘It's a Disaster': Cambridge Store Owners Say Bike Lanes Are Bad for Business
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/its-a-disaster-cambridg...
paulgb|1 year ago
This line of argument reminds me of the red-dots-airplane meme. In places where bad infrastructure makes cycling impractical as anything but a hobby, of course you mostly get lycra-wearing midlife crisis guys who do it as a hobby. In places where the infrastructure is actually good and safe, you get a whole spectrum of people riding.
Karrot_Kream|1 year ago
[1]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1403896/cycling-particip...
ryan_lane|1 year ago
Another part of this problem is affordable housing. People can't live close to where they work. Reduce this problem along with improving biking infrastructure and you'll see an uptick in biking.
"Several businesses along Valencia Street have posted signs in their windows that read[...]"
Sure. Several businesses said the same thing about protected bus lanes, but studies have shown it's increased business for those on the path, because it makes it possible for _more_ customers to actually access their businesses.
Cars are fundamentally worse than public transportation or biking for small businesses as a whole, as they reduce density, and further consolidation, which favors larger businesses and hurts small businesses. The problem is that business owners tend to be drivers and their biases don't line up with reality, which is why you tend to see their personal politics interfere with their business interests.
occz|1 year ago
unknown|1 year ago
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