Based on what?

How many bicycles kill people per year vs motor vehicles Zizak? I read about traffic fatalities every week if not day most people drive reasonably fact is the streets carry a certain level of danger because of irresponsible humans piloting huge blocks of metal at high speeds. I'm not trying to force my preference for transportation on anyone but if someone ****s with me on the road it could get really real because it's life and death out there.

Seems like an argument to get off the bike.

The reason so few commute by bike is due to lack of cycling infrastructure and the relative inexpensiveness of car ownership in the U.S.

I think many car owners take an extremely myopic stance on this issue. Sure, it may be annoying to have your commute delayed 8.7 seconds due to a cyclist in your path. However, more cyclists leads to less congestion on streets and highways. In aggregate an increase of bike commuters probably lessens the length of your commute.

Not to mention the additional benefits.: improved societal health; less pollution; reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, etc

how would more cyclists reduce congestion? where are they cycling if not on streets?

Think of the space required for 100 vehicles as opposed to 100 cyclists. Factor in parking as well. You can figure this out.

so you think if there are 100 cars and 100 cyclists on a road that the average car driver is moving faster than if there were 200 cars (i'll assume each cyclist would be driving individually).

With proper infrastructure, yes.

Furthermore, fewer motorists means fewer parked cars occupying road space, less congested highways (where bikes aren't permitted), etc. It's undeniable that more cyclists equates to less congestion.

So, no.

Even without proper infrastructure, still yes. Vehicles take up a massive amount of space

If only that was the only variable you might be right. Unfortunately there are far more obvious and significant variables that you are conveniently ignoring.

Toronto recently installed 1.5 miles of separated bike lanes on one of the main east-west residential and commercial streets. This led to an increase in cyclists, decrease in cars, and the time it took to travel those 1.5 miles by car during rush hour went from 10 minutes to 18 minutes. People who live in the area love it. People who have to drive through it hate it. That road runs about 15 miles. Imagine what happens to the commuters if they run the bike lanes the whole length. If there were a way to magically create bike lanes without reducing car lanes, by all means, spend the money to do it.

Bah, who cares if your commute increases eighty percent. There are a couple dozen people that now get to do their morning cardio!

Just like the old lady driving 35 in a 60, cyclists vastly underestimate how much they are holding up traffic. How bad can it be? Cars aren't passing them that often. Meanwhile, traffic is backed up for 8.7 miles behind them.

where is this infrastructure for bike lanes going to go? construction to expand all the roads (if its even possible)? take out a driving lane? i live right by a major intersection near the braves new stadium, they added one lane each way on one road for a few miles and it took like two years.

This thread has been derailed and should probably be retitled or extracted, but whatever.

Yes, it is worth it to develop long-term bicycling infrastructure to help with congestion and public transportation issues, how is that even a debate? Two years of inconvenience sucks, and bicyclists suck too, but making decisions with only 2 year outlooks is what got us in this congested mess in the first place. We would be better off in most major cities (DC here) if more people commuted via bike, might as well get started on the infrastructure now. Didn't realize this was so controversial. We should also build up and/or repair public transportation infrastructure, OMG.

Re: where will it go? shave lanes down, shave the sidewalk a bit, and boom. Bike lanes aren't that big. Put them between the parallel parking lane and the sidewalk and the drivers won't even notice they're there.

Develop long term bicycling infrastructure? What is this, 1894?

We should really get on that hoop-and-stick infrastructure too. I hear that's a real hoot.

How far do you think is a reasonable distance for people to commute by bike? How close should people live to where they work? If I live close to my job, should I not look for a better job further away? Should I be forced to move?

If more people rode bikes to work in DC it would be a total ****-show.

This is a great idea! I wish the city planners here had read your post before getting rid of a couple of lanes of traffic and all on-street parking in order to install bike lanes.

20 miles round trip max for healthy adult under 50

Not sure why so many people are being deliberately obtuse about this. We have a congestion problem and limited options to deal with it. Good luck finding enough space for an entirely new ****ing road just to handle the commuters. Yea, that will be easier than adding some bike lanes and expanding public transportation.


Obviously I'm not saying people will be replacing their one-hour+ drive with a ****ing bike ride, but there are people driving for 15 or 20 minute commutes, and getting them on bikes reduces the traffic for the one-hour+ drivers, not to mention that it improves the ****ty, packed, expensive parking situation in the city. Or we can sit here with our thumbs up our asses and saying "what could we have done" 20 years from now when traffic is even more of a ****show. Cmon.

30 mins - 1 hour is my max for commuting by bicycle it gives you a nice sweat wakes you up isn't IMO a huge daily burden. My current commute to JJ's is about 12 minutes if I'm hustling.

Hank, if you had a job that requires you to wear a suit to work, how much of a nice sweat would be acceptable to you? 30 minutes worth? More? Less?

You leave a change of clothes at work or commute with it. Not rocket science, folks

How far a cyclist can travel in an hour is determined by multiple variables. Fitness level, bike handling ability, congestion, terrain, etc.

My 10 mile commute would take rougly 35 minutes. It may have taken an unskilled cyclist an hour.