Living Car Free - Vehicular environmental impact photos.

I will choose land use. Look at the current freeway carrying motor vehicles.
Then look to your left and see a pedestrian and bicycle highway. Sure it might needed to be expanded to handle the additional traffic but I think we get the point.

Second photo is the onramp to the car free highway. Speaks for itself doesn’t it.


Anyone care to grow the thread?

Dreamy Draw Bikeway. Sounds poetic. I'd love to ride on it, but I think I'd take an extra water bottle.

Here are a few I took locally:
http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_8863-8866wec.jpg

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_8597-01%20copy.jpg

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_8570-01%20copy.jpg

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_8936-01%20copy.jpg

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_8852-01%20copy.jpg

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_8788-01%20copy.jpg

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_1372%20copy.jpg

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_1370-001pt%20copy.jpg

http://www.optionnz.com/users/afs/CRW_8754-01%20copy.jpg

al

Thanks for the phot impact Al nice shot.

Well Roody, Yea it is a major north south route. For 82 blocks This is one of 4 routes for everyone. that gets you over the Mountains on asphalt. Dreamy Draw yep awesome name. You can dream about how life would be with out them in your life!

Dreamy Draw Bikeway. Sounds poetic. I'd love to ride on it, but I think I'd take an extra water bottle.
That MUP looks like it goes nowhere. It's nice when you can use a MUP for transportation as well as recreation.

Dreamy Draw Bikeway. Sounds poetic. I'd love to ride on it, but I think I'd take an extra water bottle.

For sure on both accounts. What I wouldn't give for something like this along our highway system in MI.

That MUP looks like it goes nowhere. It's nice when you can use a MUP for transportation as well as recreation.
What point do you think these pictures make about transportation alternatives? What I see in the OP pictures is a lot of people using the freeway and nobody bicycling for any reason on the Dreamy Draw.

What point do you think these pictures make about transportation alternatives? What I see in the OP pictures is a lot of people using the freeway and nobody bicycling for any reason on the Dreamy Draw.
Well The SR101 and SR 51 in Maricopa county Arizona USA. These are two different designs and two different results. One is ped., and bicycle friendly. The other is not.

Ok how about this impact.
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/5835/shopqs2.jpg

hey, peeps -- i think those highways are here to stay --but think how many of us could ride together on them?!?

there was a B-movie out in the '80's called "The Last Chase" -- about a car-free, supposedly utopian society, and a former race driver who preached the advantages of the new way of life...until he got fed up and unearthed, from under his garage floor, his old race car. using a handpump to siphon the gas from the storage tanks at all the abandoned stations along his route, he intended to drive from NY to the west coast, to a supposedly "Free Cali" rebel state. he was accompanied by a rebellious teen, stalked by the military w/ satellite tracking, and a retired fighter pilot pressed into service for one last mission. i remember three scenes from the movie -- early on, this society was EXTREMELY bike-friendly; about halfway through, the driver was speeding along at 160 mph w/ a bullet in his shoulder, and near the end, the pilot decided to wing his F86 into a mountain rather than blow up the hero and his car, thus enabling them to reach Frisco....

the movie was cheeeeeezzzzzyy, but it illustrates pretty well this nation's auto-centrism (that's all i'll say about it -- no rant).

Al (Noisebeam)--Great pics, especially those desert sunsets. I guess you got your photo merit badge as well as the one for cycling! :)

Do you (or other Phoenix riders) use these bikeways much?

We have a multi-use path (MUP) here in Lansing that cuts across the city, totally separated from car traffic. I use it pretty often, since it does go to some of my destinations, and I have access near my house. Of course Lansing is only a tenth the siz of Phoenix, so the dynamics are a lot different.

hey, peeps -- i think those highways are here to stay --but think how many of us could ride together on them?!?

there was a B-movie out in the '80's called "The Last Chase" -- about a car-free, supposedly utopian society, and a former race driver who preached the advantages of the new way of life...until he got fed up and unearthed, from under his garage floor, his old race car. using a handpump to siphon the gas from the storage tanks at all the abandoned stations along his route, he intended to drive from NY to the west coast, to a supposedly "Free Cali" rebel state. he was accompanied by a rebellious teen, stalked by the military w/ satellite tracking, and a retired fighter pilot pressed into service for one last mission. i remember three scenes from the movie -- early on, this society was EXTREMELY bike-friendly; about halfway through, the driver was speeding along at 160 mph w/ a bullet in his shoulder, and near the end, the pilot decided to wing his F86 into a mountain rather than blow up the hero and his car, thus enabling them to reach Frisco....

the movie was cheeeeeezzzzzyy, but it illustrates pretty well this nation's auto-centrism (that's all i'll say about it -- no rant).
A fantasy of mine--Critical Mass rides on the freeways. It probaly won't happen in my lifetime, but some day....

Well in Arizona when they open a new Freeway they let everything else on it for a day first.

Yea lots of people use MUPs.

I think some can be slower than the street.

A fantasy of mine--Critical Mass rides on the freeways. It probaly won't happen in my lifetime, but some day....
Live it. Not Critical Mass and no cars; so you'll have to do without the pleasure of annoying motorists, but it'll do.
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/4435/chicagomd9.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chicagomd9.jpg)
Lake Shore Drive Chicago. Once a year.

Live it. Not Critical Mass and no cars; so you'll have to do without the pleasure of annoying motorists, but it'll do.
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/4435/chicagomd9.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=chicagomd9.jpg)
Lake Shore Drive Chicago. Once a year.

that is the coolest looking thing ever.

Al (Noisebeam)--Great pics, especially those desert sunsets. I guess you got your photo merit badge as well as the one for cycling! :)

Do you (or other Phoenix riders) use these bikeways much?

Thanks about the photos - they are all taken during evening bike rides from my house - all the same freeway, I just like to capture different 'seasons' from dust storms to monsoon sunsets. That freeway at that location carries 208,000 cars per 24hr day (in 2005). I wonder how wide a bicycle freeway would need to be to support that many bikes per day? - safely carrying those wanting to go as fast as they can to those wanting to go as slow as they want.

I don't use any bikeways for my transport or recreation. I would if they went to where I wanted to go AND they were not interrrupted every mile or so by a major road crossing.

The first two photos are of the pedestrian/bicycle freeway crossing. That I do use for the evening leisure rides I do, but avoid it for commuting prefering more direct and less stop and go routes.

Al

Live it. Not Critical Mass and no cars; so you'll have to do without the pleasure of annoying motorists, but it'll do.

Lake Shore Drive Chicago. Once a year.
I don't know, but I imagine some motorists are pretty annoyed when "their" road closes to them--even if it's only for one day.

I don't know, but I imagine some motorists are pretty annoyed when "their" road closes to them--even if it's only for one day.
Maybe so, but the rabid CM types can't see the effects of visceral revulsion to their antics so necessary for a fight-the-Man "protester."

Where are these photos? I'm not fan of unabated expansion and development, but when done right I think roads, bridges, walkways (like the one pictured), and flyovers can dramatically add to a cityscape, especially when designed with ALL forms of transit in mind.

Here's some photos I've taken over the past few years of our freeway expansion in Denver, which included widening the interstate AND adding light rail. The entire process was completed ahead of schedule, and many people know are using rail to commute between downtown and the southeast office parks. (And it's great to zip along past 5pm traffic). Plus the busses were retooled and act more as "circulators".

http://www.futuregringo.com/index.php/urban/belleview-station
http://www.futuregringo.com/index.php/urban/pearl-station/
http://www.futuregringo.com/index.php/urban/denver-rail/ (more stations/photos)

Now the bland area of the "tech center" is becoming more pedestrian friendly, and restaurants and condos are popping up around stations. Whereas before the entire area was void of pedestrians. It's not perfect, but a good example of how highway design to include transit will change the area in the future.

Oh and to balance the overwhelming freeways here's some local Denver MUP infrastructure

http://www.futuregringo.com/index.php/urban/platte-trail/
http://www.futuregringo.com/index.php/urban/cherry-creek-trail/

that is the coolest looking thing ever.

yeah, this is a hot photo...love to ride that thing someday

yeah, this is a hot photo...love to ride that thing someday
Even better, the annual Happy Moselle Ride in May from just north of Trier to beyond Cochem on Auto Frei Tag; a 144km car free ride on the scenic road parallel to the constantly winding Moselle River with thousands and thousands of other non motorized friends. Note: I used the good train connections at both ends and to my home near Heidelberg to make a car free day of it 3 times.