<story><title>Bikes, not self driving cars, are the technological gateway to urban progress</title><url>https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/bikes-not-self-driving-cars-are-the-technological-gateway-to-progress</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Eji1700</author><text>I do think this is a more complex problem than people give credit.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve seen bike lanes added to roads, and almost no one is happy.  There&amp;#x27;s always idiot drivers and bikers and every now and then someone gets hurt or killed.&lt;p&gt;Bike paths make infinitely more sense (especially since they dont have to follow roads and can take more direct paths), but cities seem loathe to adopt them vs just painting some lines on a current street.&lt;p&gt;Finally climate plays a huge part as well.  I live where it gets over 100f in the suummer routinely.  Even a 3 mile bike ride at that point means you&amp;#x27;re drenched in sweat, which is just not acceptable in a majority of environments.  Showers can be added but water is already a resource we&amp;#x27;re flippant with when we really shouldn&amp;#x27;t be.&lt;p&gt;Finally its not a great solution for the elderly and has some risks.  Yes they can ride an e bike, but when you screw up at 20 mph in a sedan you wind up with a very expensive bill and an insurance premium hikes.  When you crash on a bike, even with saftey gear, you can wind up pretty seriously injured.&lt;p&gt;None of this isnt to say we should not build more bike paths&amp;#x2F;trains&amp;#x2F;subways&amp;#x2F;busses, but I dont think its a one solution fits all sort of thing.</text></item><item><author>LucasBrandt</author><text>Riding a bike doesn&amp;#x27;t need to be the only or primary way that people get around in every city, all the time, for it to drastically improve quality of life for people living in cities the world over. Most people are capable of riding a bike - especially an e-bike - to get to where they&amp;#x27;re going. It&amp;#x27;s cheaper than a car, it can be faster than driving a car, and it is obviously better for both the global climate and the local environment.&lt;p&gt;More than half of all daily trips in the US are less than 3 miles[1]. If cities give people the option to ride a bike for those shorter trips without feeling unsafe, a lot of people will ride bikes to complete those trips. That&amp;#x27;s shown over and over again. Change is hard, but a future with less cars and more trips by bike and public transportation is better, and possible.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.energy.gov&amp;#x2F;eere&amp;#x2F;vehicles&amp;#x2F;articles&amp;#x2F;fotw-1230-march-21-2022-more-half-all-daily-trips-were-less-three-miles-2021&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.energy.gov&amp;#x2F;eere&amp;#x2F;vehicles&amp;#x2F;articles&amp;#x2F;fotw-1230-marc...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>atchoo</author><text>&amp;gt; Even a 3 mile bike ride at that point means you&amp;#x27;re drenched in sweat&lt;p&gt;I can&amp;#x27;t say that is my experience. Cycling at a relaxed speed is less effort than walking and you get a nice a breeze. I&amp;#x27;ve cycled in 40C heat and it&amp;#x27;s lovely - more comfortable than being stationary.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s hills (no matter the temperature) that make me break a sweat because of the exertion and a hardwired instinct to sprint up them.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; Finally its not a great solution for the elderly&lt;p&gt;Trikes are a nice solution for those feeling a bit wobbly on two wheels.</text></comment>
<story><title>Bikes, not self driving cars, are the technological gateway to urban progress</title><url>https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/bikes-not-self-driving-cars-are-the-technological-gateway-to-progress</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Eji1700</author><text>I do think this is a more complex problem than people give credit.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve seen bike lanes added to roads, and almost no one is happy.  There&amp;#x27;s always idiot drivers and bikers and every now and then someone gets hurt or killed.&lt;p&gt;Bike paths make infinitely more sense (especially since they dont have to follow roads and can take more direct paths), but cities seem loathe to adopt them vs just painting some lines on a current street.&lt;p&gt;Finally climate plays a huge part as well.  I live where it gets over 100f in the suummer routinely.  Even a 3 mile bike ride at that point means you&amp;#x27;re drenched in sweat, which is just not acceptable in a majority of environments.  Showers can be added but water is already a resource we&amp;#x27;re flippant with when we really shouldn&amp;#x27;t be.&lt;p&gt;Finally its not a great solution for the elderly and has some risks.  Yes they can ride an e bike, but when you screw up at 20 mph in a sedan you wind up with a very expensive bill and an insurance premium hikes.  When you crash on a bike, even with saftey gear, you can wind up pretty seriously injured.&lt;p&gt;None of this isnt to say we should not build more bike paths&amp;#x2F;trains&amp;#x2F;subways&amp;#x2F;busses, but I dont think its a one solution fits all sort of thing.</text></item><item><author>LucasBrandt</author><text>Riding a bike doesn&amp;#x27;t need to be the only or primary way that people get around in every city, all the time, for it to drastically improve quality of life for people living in cities the world over. Most people are capable of riding a bike - especially an e-bike - to get to where they&amp;#x27;re going. It&amp;#x27;s cheaper than a car, it can be faster than driving a car, and it is obviously better for both the global climate and the local environment.&lt;p&gt;More than half of all daily trips in the US are less than 3 miles[1]. If cities give people the option to ride a bike for those shorter trips without feeling unsafe, a lot of people will ride bikes to complete those trips. That&amp;#x27;s shown over and over again. Change is hard, but a future with less cars and more trips by bike and public transportation is better, and possible.&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.energy.gov&amp;#x2F;eere&amp;#x2F;vehicles&amp;#x2F;articles&amp;#x2F;fotw-1230-march-21-2022-more-half-all-daily-trips-were-less-three-miles-2021&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.energy.gov&amp;#x2F;eere&amp;#x2F;vehicles&amp;#x2F;articles&amp;#x2F;fotw-1230-marc...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>jonas21</author><text>I think that&amp;#x27;s their point. Even if bicycles aren&amp;#x27;t a solution for all, everyone can still benefit from more trips happening by bicycle. The elderly or those with a commute that would leave them unacceptably sweaty can still drive, and they will enjoy less traffic, cleaner air, and an easier time finding parking thanks to the cyclists.</text></comment>