Photo: Rhett RedelingsYes, it’s because of climbing gas prices. And yes, it’s because of environmental concerns. And yes, maybe I’m just noticing these things because gas prices and environmental concerns have primed us to notice such things. (This is called confirmation bias, and it probably afflicts us all.)
But doesn’t it seem as if some U.S. cities are starting to get downright European when it comes to transportation?
To cite just two examples: public bike rentals have come to Washington, D.C.; and two lanes on a stretch of Broadway in New York City are being shut down for pedestrian and bike traffic.
I was in Berlin last year and couldn’t believe how many people get around on bikes, and that is a large, spread-out city. It is a lot easier, of course, with dedicated bike lanes — and if you have somewhere to park your bike.
(Hat tip: Anna Koeppel.)
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Finally.
In Boulder, Co – there seems to be more bike lanes than roads!
Of course, the weather here is conducive to pedestrian/bike traffic. Between that and public transportation – car usage here is only used when necessary!
For better or for worse. This thought has crossed my mind a few times. Does this mean that the up-and-coming superpowers can act unilaterally while we sit by and tell them we’re very unhappy with them?
Nah, it doesn’t count as European until you all start eating real cheese, too!
Still, a step in the right direction: keep up the good work, y’all!
Small cities just don’t have the infrastructure to use bicycles as a primary method of transportation – I don’t even know if it’s possible to get to a large portion of my hometown without taking a highway. I’m glad I moved to Chicago.
Just to confirm this “confirmational bias” – a friend who works at a bike store in the San Francisco Bay Area tells me that bike sales have been through the roof the past few months. It would be interesting to get national statistics on bike sales.
Another interesting data point – when I reserved an economy car recently for a vacation in Hawaii – the company gave me a full size Jeep Cherokee instead (which should have cost about 3 times the price per day I was paying). I’ve heard that the car rental companies can’t give away the larger vehicles now.
I think this is confirmation bias at work. From when I last checked the numbers I think DC has the highest percentage of bike commuters of any city. As a sometimes bike commuter I think this is a great idea, but I suspect it will increase ridership among tourists rather than commuters. The price of this program seems to be competitively priced with a daily bike rental, so I’m guessing that tourists are the target market. If you’re a daily commuter why wouldn’t you just buy your own cheap bike? The bus and Metro system is generally tolerant of bikes, so it seems like a better deal to just buy your own cheap bike. Then again, I don’t have a fairly large apartment so maybe this program will appeal to light use, recreational cyclists with tiny apartments.
Omg!! Mitt Romney was right. We are turning into the France of this century.