“Big Clearance! 12 in place of 1!”

“Grande offerta! 12 per 1!”

ENFB cyclists’ union, Woerden, 1993; poster by Theo van den Boogaard

@fuck_cars

  • systemglitch@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    6
    ·
    10 months ago

    Let alone 2 to 4 feet of snow, ice on the roads and people struggling to walk, let alone riding a bike, as cars have shovels out trying to get unstuck, and snow piled up where people used to bike in the summer

    People thinking bikes are the solution live in climates with mild weather. There is no possible way for that to work where I live. When I do see people biking it is very specialized gear, and no chance they could pull a trailer on top of things.

    • Pipoca@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      10 months ago

      Plenty of people in Oulu, Finland bike literally all year round. Fully 12% of all trips in winter are made by bike.

      Their secret? Just as the roads are plowed, so are the bike paths. If we didn’t plow and salt the roads up north, cars would also seem ridiculously impractical compared to a snowmobile or cross country skis.

      Oulu invests in making winter biking safe and practical, while American cities of comparable size and climate like Syracuse, NY don’t. The results are predictable.

      • fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        10 months ago

        Yeah, bike paths are seen as a luxury or pleasure activity in most US cities. The idea that, despite that fact that people do, are actually trying to get places or get shit done by biking isn’t really considered…

        • Pipoca@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          I mean, you also see that in the US with bike path design in general.

          Bike paths around me in the US mostly go along creeks and railroads. There’s one in the suburbs that’s an abandoned rail line out into farmland. They’re mostly designed as places for suburbanites to drive to for exercise. They’re more of a park than a piece of transportation infrastructure.

          Oulu, on the other hand, has bike paths that go through the center of town, out to the suburbs. There’s over 300 bike underpasses on the main bike paths. It’s designed for commuters, for people running errands, and for kindergarteners to bike to school. They’re a practical bit of transportation infrastructure.

          • fruitycoder@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            10 months ago

            I want that so bad tbh, I’ve been trying to float the idea of at least getting bike lanes built for kids in the surrounding area of schools here. A kind of starting somewhere plan.

    • wieson@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      10 months ago

      Just look at street cam footage of any Dutch town. Heavy rain, hail, wind etc. doesn’t stop those madmen on their grandma bikes.

      • kattenluik@feddit.nl
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        13
        ·
        10 months ago

        There’s so many solutions to the problem that could easily be funded if there were less cars on the road.