chomish

There actually a commuter race here in NYC.

For the eighth streight year, biking has proven to be the fastest way to get to work in NYC.

https://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...d=575596&rfi=6

Biking is always beating out the train, and automobile.

Timber_8

Things are changing, the children of the 60s & 70s have entered into controlling the local & federal governments. Subjects like Global Warming and the reality of big oil & the Automotive industry (1 & the same IMO) fleecing the the public & suppressing eco friendly technology has pissed a lot of people off. There has been a huge surge in support of a bicycle friendly environment all over the country. Attitudes are clearly changing, The federal government is being transferred to the next generation with our current President. The world will see permanent changes in attitude about the current state our planet is in and bicycles have a big role to play

I-Like-To-Bike

Far Out!

Like, Groovy, Man!

BTW, Where were all the bicycles at Woodstock?

Fremdchen

People have heralded the imminent hegemony of the bicycle for over 100 years. As much as I'd like to believe it....

bluegoatwoods

Oh, how I wish I could share your optimism, Timber8.

But the ideals of the hippie generation started coming under attack about 1980 or so and have really been beaten to death in the last ten years. The effects are not hard to see; consider the hysterical backlash the current President is experiencing right now. Those people have hijacked our nation's soul and they won't go away quietly. We've come full-circle to the smug and vicious social outlook of the McCarthy era.

This society won't embrace the bicycle (in any large way) until forced to do so.

Timber_8

I had mine but then I was 6 years old

deraltekluge

That's probably one of the most important reasons.

Rex G

I have noted parts of Houston becoming MUCH denser lately. I have also noted an increasing number of cyclists who look like they are using bicycles as transportation rather than as a workout machine. Still, there is ingrained hostility and indifference, exemplified by motor vehicles being allowed to park in designated bicycle lanes, and the following quote from Tex Arcana's post regarding a group ride today:

"The rest was pretty uneventful for me. I was told by an HPD officer to get off S. Post Oak and ride on the sidewalk. Unfortunately the sidewalk was covered in a thick patch of mud. I didn't fall but I did left my bike slide out from underneath me and it fell in the mud while I was left standing." (end of quotation)

Too bad I missed that ride, as I have been waiting for an opportunity to ask such an "ignernt" officer to quote the relevant portion of the Traffic Code, requiring bicycles to be ridden on sidewalks. (Yes, I have a badge to back-up my mouth!) In fact, there is no such law in the Traffic Code, and in the Downtown Business District of Houston, a bicyclist can be ticketed for being ON the sidewalk. But, outside the Downtown patrol station's area, many HPD officers DO think bikes belong on the sidewalk.

Mitchxout

Cheap gas trumps all other reasons.

Timber_8

Change is never a strait line & always takes time, I have faith in my generation to pick up the torch & continue the change in the right direction. In my lifetime I have seen great changes in the United States. Racialism, woman's right, Gay rights, You can pick any area & see great steps forward. Not everything is roses but you have to look for the good in things, the bad in the world is what makes the news. The good is always taken for granted. Our parent's planted the seeds of change in us as children as we do with our own. Cars look like they do because the people designing them grew up watching Speed Racer. We create the world the generation before us wanted to see and the generation to come will create the world we see. I have a lot of faith in the future, I could not live in a world I thought was doomed

meanwhile

The OP specified NYC for the comparison.

I think the problems are

- People are more prestige and comfort oriented than in the Netherlands or even the UK.

- Americans feel more threatened and vulnerable cycling. Which is quite rational given the behaviour of drivers in many parts of the US.

geo8rge

Reasons not to bicycle:
Fear of Assault: Probably true in Detroit, and parts of most American big cities. I also read of assaults in London, UK. I also suspect that police in the Netherlands have common procedures for dealing with bicycles. In NYC you can be given a ticket and forced to appear in court for riding on the sidewalk in one area, but never have any trouble in another. Outside of NYC you might be ordered onto the sidewalk by the police.

Comfort: Some parts of the US are very hot in the summer. While I am sure there are ways of dealing with this there are probably places in the US were bicycling is not done due to the hot weather. Other parts have other weather conditions like large amounts of snow, fog, rain.

Prestige: That's not clear. It is common in the US for someone who drives to work in the north east to have an extra old beat up car that they would not mind driving through the salted snow causing it to corrode. It also depends where you will park. If you park at a commuter rail station it does not matter what you drive, if you park where you work appearances are more important. I would say there is tremendous pressure for conformism, so you do not want to be the guy that bikes to work unless you are indispensible.

Ethnic neighborhoods. In major US cities people live in ethnic neighborhoods. In other words people chose to live further ways from where they work in order to live near people like them.

Ranger63

The automobile (or some variation of that) rules.
America developed a love affair with the car right after WWII and a man named Robert Moses converted the American landscape with ribbons of concrete and asphalt that confronted and defied individuals attempting to use non motorized forms of transportation.

Unless gasline were to go to $6,$7,$8 a gal. the average American is going to walk out to his or her drive and get in his or her vehicle and drive.

Plain and Simple as that.

Magmol

Don't forget our government comps our gas as well as many other things. If they we not doing that we'd be in a different situation for sure.

mr,grumpy 

Where I live the trains only go into and out of the Big City. There is no circumfrential train service. Some of the larger secondary cities have rudimentary bus service but none of this is practicle. The T just doesn't work if you live very far away from town. From where I live, it takes almost two hours to take the comuter train to the closest terminal, then you ave to get the subway to wherever you are going in town. And it's expensive. It costs less to fuel the SUV for the trip which will, at it's very worst, take 3/4 of the time BUT you leave from your doorstep and arrive at your doorstep. To make matters worse, the whole system starts too late and ends too early for many people who would LOVE to use it. We NEED more trains and better train service. We NEED inter-city bus service and it would be nice if the policy of the few busses that did run didn't put cyclists out the door if a wheelchair come aboard (they have to be securred in the same spot). We got highways thoug, LOTS of them!

Trouble

My travels abroad tell me that it's a necessity more than a recreational activity.
We have sprawl here like no where else. A lot of folks live 30+ miles from work.
Those that live close to their work, might not have safe bike lanes.

Most of the folks you see riding bicycles in this country are somewhat physically fit or at least trying to get fit. With 68% of people in this country overweight, that only leaves 32%... What do you think the rest are doing?

In a lot of US cities, there is little accommodation (bike lanes, parking, etc.) for cyclist, so bikers don't bother.

Car and truck drivers where I live are dangerous. A lot of them are not at all considerate or courteous of cyclist... it's usually the 68% or the middle aged males driving really big pick-up trucks and have attitudes.
I'm surprised more cyclist aren't hit here.

Once a year, 10,000 cyclist converge on this "city" for a charity ride and the idiot drivers demonstrate to those cyclist why most people aren't willing to risk their lives for a recreational activity that is healthy and a lot of fun.
I'm not sure why they come so close... they wouldn't do it to a woman pushing a baby in a stroller... is my life any less important?

On the other end, there are a ton of mountain bikers here and some awesome trails.
When I have a close call from a motorist, I usually resort back to mountain biking for a couple of weeks. It's a lot more fun anyway.

bkrownd

This doesn't require much deep thought. Given the choice, most people will drive. Convenience and comfort and the ability to go anywhere on a whim are important to people, and in some areas the rushed busy lifestyle is also a big factor. It's cheap to drive here, the infrastructure is built for it, and there are many places to go. Also, most people don't have a bicycle fetish.

pointatopointb

here in Ontario, the government stopped charging sales tax on bikes to promote use. in my city, they're adding lanes all the time. I love the MUP's and can get clear across the city without ever riding on a road or sidewalk. I can get to within about 3 miles of anywhere on paths. Here's the problem: In 10 years, I had 4 bikes stolen, all off-the-shelf dept. store models. We also get 6 months of snow and rain, with temps to the -30's. The 3 months of spring and fall are nice, but the 3 months of summer usually result in temps in the plus 30's with 90% humidity: smog alerts, heat alerts and just generally nasty weather for physical activity. I don't mind pushing through most of that, but I can't very well show up to an office coated head to toe in sweat, sit down and start working. Most buildings don't have showers, and fewer have bike racks. There are exceptions to this.

to comment on the urban sprawl: I live about 2hr drive from Canada's biggest city, Toronto. getting around by bike there seems to be great, but people literally live 200km's away and have to get to work every morning. even around here, a lot of people live in 'bedroom communities' that have no infrastructure of their own and simply exist to allow people to live outside the city without being too far. keeps land cheap, utilities cheap and all you have to do is hop in your car and drive 15mins and you'll be in the big city. we have such a HUGE country that we feel the need to fill it with as many buildings over the largest area that we can.