No, You May Not Walk (to the Superbowl)
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No, You May Not Walk (to the Superbowl)
It's not like I will ever attend a football game, much less the Superbowl, but I found this to be ridiculous.
Banning tailgating is bad enough, but not allowing people to enter an event if they choose to arrive by non-motorized means just strikes me as Unamerican. I think the organizers may have taken too many blows to their heads.
The article does not explicitly state that people will also not be allowed to arrive by bike, but:
So, the biggest sporting event in the U.S. is banning human powered transportation from being used to arrive.
At least they are still allowing people to use public transit. (Actually, they are encouraging it.)
https://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/stor...r-bowl-stadium
I guess baseball is more civilized. There is valet bike parking at AT&T park, home of the SF Giants, and it is well-used.
Originally Posted by ESPN
"You cannot walk to the Super Bowl," Kelly said. "You can get your hotel to drop you off at one of the New Jersey Transit locations or get the shuttle to take you to a Fan Express location, but you cannot walk."
The article does not explicitly state that people will also not be allowed to arrive by bike, but:
Originally Posted by ESPN
There will be only three ways for the expected 80,000 ticket holders to get to the game. The committee will charter buses called the Fan Express, which will cost $51 and pick up and drop off passengers at nine locations around the region. Fans can also take N.J. Transit to the MetLife Stadium stop or be dropped off by vehicles that must have parking passes.
At least they are still allowing people to use public transit. (Actually, they are encouraging it.)
https://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/stor...r-bowl-stadium
I guess baseball is more civilized. There is valet bike parking at AT&T park, home of the SF Giants, and it is well-used.
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Well the NFL isn't exactly susceptible to being embarrassed simply because it does the wrong thing. It doesn't pay taxes for example, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...ption/2370945/.
#3
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Unfair, yes. But definitely not unamerican. Vast areas of America are inaccessible by walking, especially in the suburbs.
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The only safe way to enter the stadium might be through Patterson Plank road from East Rutherford. Good luck with that!
My advice is to take the train from Hoboken. Better yet, watch the game at some pub with your friends.
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Anyway, my unamerican remark was not about the relative joy of walking/riding in that locale, but about not being allowed to make such a choice.
#6
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Inaccessible or just unpleasant to walk in? A lack of sidewalks has never been an insurmountable barrier to me, but it is better to have them. I have never encountered a suburb that does not have roads in and out of it that I can ride my bike on. It may not be a very fun ride, but riding on lousy roads is pretty common even in the best of communities. Perhaps I just don't have enough experience with the way the suburbs are put together outside of the west.
Anyway, my unamerican remark was not about the relative joy of walking/riding in that locale, but about not being allowed to make such a choice.
Anyway, my unamerican remark was not about the relative joy of walking/riding in that locale, but about not being allowed to make such a choice.
Not only many, but most of the suburban arterial roads are inaccessible to most pedestrians. They have no sidewalks. Dirt paths might be ok for you if you're a young adult in good condition. But they're not so great for the elderly, the blind, the slow, or anybody who has balance or gait problems. Would you want your child walking to school on these busy roads? How does an elderly person with a little shopping cart manage it? How does anybody do it when the crappy path has snow on it for five months of the year? Why should you even have to ruin your shoes in the mud after every rainfall?
The newer roads are designed with intersections that have merges and diverges instead of signal controlled pedestrian crossings. These are death traps for pedestrians. If there are controlled ped crossings, they might be a mile apart. For an obese or an elderly person, that might require them to walk an hour out of their way just to cross the street. When they do get there, the signal might not allow them enough time to cross the seven lane street, forcing them to stand in the center lane for an entire traffic cycle.
Hundreds of pedestrians have been killed on these roads, so you're right that the relative joy level is low. Most roads in the suburbs were designed exclusively for cars and trucks, and getting the maximum motor vehicle throughput in the minimum space. All other users are assumed not to even exist. Then the planners say, "We don't need pedestrian facilities here because there are no pedestrians here." It's ****ing ridiculous.
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#7
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Definitely not considered UnAmerican...... getting somewhere via motorized transport seems to be the American way to many in the US.
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It's not like I will ever attend a football game, much less the Superbowl, but I found this to be ridiculous.
Banning tailgating is bad enough, but not allowing people to enter an event if they choose to arrive by non-motorized means just strikes me as Unamerican. I think the organizers may have taken too many blows to their heads.
Banning tailgating is bad enough, but not allowing people to enter an event if they choose to arrive by non-motorized means just strikes me as Unamerican. I think the organizers may have taken too many blows to their heads.
NFL HQ officials may be jerks and robber barons, but you are stretching pretty hard to feel the bicyclist abuse here. $51 for the shuttle bus is something worthwhile to gripe about.
Last edited by I-Like-To-Bike; 12-10-13 at 10:57 AM.
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All this seasonal commercialism is preventing us from sharing the true meaning of Superbowl
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No it fits right in:
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Just another example of the bull***** game called....football.
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Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred, which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?
My preferred bicycle brand is.......WORKSMAN CYCLES
I dislike clipless pedals on any city bike since I feel they are unsafe.
Originally Posted by krazygluon
Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred, which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?
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It sounds like you haven't done much walking in America.
Not only many, but most of the suburban arterial roads are inaccessible to most pedestrians. They have no sidewalks. Dirt paths might be ok for you if you're a young adult in good condition. But they're not so great for the elderly, the blind, the slow, or anybody who has balance or gait problems. Would you want your child walking to school on these busy roads? How does an elderly person with a little shopping cart manage it? How does anybody do it when the crappy path has snow on it for five months of the year? Why should you even have to ruin your shoes in the mud after every rainfall?
The newer roads are designed with intersections that have merges and diverges instead of signal controlled pedestrian crossings. These are death traps for pedestrians. If there are controlled ped crossings, they might be a mile apart. For an obese or an elderly person, that might require them to walk an hour out of their way just to cross the street. When they do get there, the signal might not allow them enough time to cross the seven lane street, forcing them to stand in the center lane for an entire traffic cycle.
Hundreds of pedestrians have been killed on these roads, so you're right that the relative joy level is low. Most roads in the suburbs were designed exclusively for cars and trucks, and getting the maximum motor vehicle throughput in the minimum space. All other users are assumed not to even exist. Then the planners say, "We don't need pedestrian facilities here because there are no pedestrians here." It's ****ing ridiculous.
Not only many, but most of the suburban arterial roads are inaccessible to most pedestrians. They have no sidewalks. Dirt paths might be ok for you if you're a young adult in good condition. But they're not so great for the elderly, the blind, the slow, or anybody who has balance or gait problems. Would you want your child walking to school on these busy roads? How does an elderly person with a little shopping cart manage it? How does anybody do it when the crappy path has snow on it for five months of the year? Why should you even have to ruin your shoes in the mud after every rainfall?
The newer roads are designed with intersections that have merges and diverges instead of signal controlled pedestrian crossings. These are death traps for pedestrians. If there are controlled ped crossings, they might be a mile apart. For an obese or an elderly person, that might require them to walk an hour out of their way just to cross the street. When they do get there, the signal might not allow them enough time to cross the seven lane street, forcing them to stand in the center lane for an entire traffic cycle.
Hundreds of pedestrians have been killed on these roads, so you're right that the relative joy level is low. Most roads in the suburbs were designed exclusively for cars and trucks, and getting the maximum motor vehicle throughput in the minimum space. All other users are assumed not to even exist. Then the planners say, "We don't need pedestrian facilities here because there are no pedestrians here." It's ****ing ridiculous.
There are 8 foot wide sidewalks in all directions, including my condo. I can walk, or ride my bike or my golf cart to the stadium and:
The grocery, doctor, dentist, barber, vet, sports bar, mall, etc.
It's awesome, if rare. It was a major reason I wanted to live here.
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Gosh, I do wish that this part of New Jersey was more like Eugene, Oregon.
FAHGETTABOUTIT !
I guess we could let people walk across Route 3... but NJ drivers don't stop much for pedestrians where they don't belong... and no one is really walking on the New Jersey Turnpike much, either.
One has to realize that the Meadowlands Stadium was built in a swamp where our industrial forefathers dumped lots of toxic stuff and no one walked there for years, except maybe Euell Gibbons and Jimmy Hoffa's killers. Now, I guess you could walk across one of the highway off ramp / entry ramps that have no sidewalks. And those ramps don't have sidewalks because they're not connected to any place that people walk. We're talking swampland, a bit of heavy industrial (think big press machines crushing old car bodies) and highways.
The question is not really "why can't you?" ... but "why would you?" Anyone from around this part of NY / NJ thinks it's kinda funny that walking to the game would occur to anyone. And you do NOT want to be the last guy at the tailgate...
FAHGETTABOUTIT !
I guess we could let people walk across Route 3... but NJ drivers don't stop much for pedestrians where they don't belong... and no one is really walking on the New Jersey Turnpike much, either.
One has to realize that the Meadowlands Stadium was built in a swamp where our industrial forefathers dumped lots of toxic stuff and no one walked there for years, except maybe Euell Gibbons and Jimmy Hoffa's killers. Now, I guess you could walk across one of the highway off ramp / entry ramps that have no sidewalks. And those ramps don't have sidewalks because they're not connected to any place that people walk. We're talking swampland, a bit of heavy industrial (think big press machines crushing old car bodies) and highways.
The question is not really "why can't you?" ... but "why would you?" Anyone from around this part of NY / NJ thinks it's kinda funny that walking to the game would occur to anyone. And you do NOT want to be the last guy at the tailgate...
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Last edited by Artkansas; 12-10-13 at 03:24 PM.
#17
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Gosh, I do wish that this part of New Jersey was more like Eugene, Oregon.
FAHGETTABOUTIT !
I guess we could let people walk across Route 3... but NJ drivers don't stop much for pedestrians where they don't belong... and no one is really walking on the New Jersey Turnpike much, either.
One has to realize that the Meadowlands Stadium was built in a swamp where our industrial forefathers dumped lots of toxic stuff and no one walked there for years, except maybe Euell Gibbons and Jimmy Hoffa's killers. Now, I guess you could walk across one of the highway off ramp / entry ramps that have no sidewalks. And those ramps don't have sidewalks because they're not connected to any place that people walk. We're talking swampland, a bit of heavy industrial (think big press machines crushing old car bodies) and highways.
The question is not really "why can't you?" ... but "why would you?" Anyone from around this part of NY / NJ thinks it's kinda funny that walking to the game would occur to anyone. And you do NOT want to be the last guy at the tailgate...
FAHGETTABOUTIT !
I guess we could let people walk across Route 3... but NJ drivers don't stop much for pedestrians where they don't belong... and no one is really walking on the New Jersey Turnpike much, either.
One has to realize that the Meadowlands Stadium was built in a swamp where our industrial forefathers dumped lots of toxic stuff and no one walked there for years, except maybe Euell Gibbons and Jimmy Hoffa's killers. Now, I guess you could walk across one of the highway off ramp / entry ramps that have no sidewalks. And those ramps don't have sidewalks because they're not connected to any place that people walk. We're talking swampland, a bit of heavy industrial (think big press machines crushing old car bodies) and highways.
The question is not really "why can't you?" ... but "why would you?" Anyone from around this part of NY / NJ thinks it's kinda funny that walking to the game would occur to anyone. And you do NOT want to be the last guy at the tailgate...
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#18
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I love the game of football, but the game is only about ten percent of the total package. Probably only one percent at the level of the playoffs and the Super Bowl, and 99 percent commercials for pickup trucks.
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#20
Banned
If you can afford Superbowl tickets you will be staying in a 4 star Hotel .
It's a Class Privilege thing.
the Tail Gate parties will be catered in the Hotels
It's a Class Privilege thing.
the Tail Gate parties will be catered in the Hotels
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#22
Sophomoric Member
I hope they also get champagne on the $51 shuttle bus, in case they're too snooty for beer.
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#23
Banned
Maybe Nike and U of O owner Phil Knight will; get the Game in Eugene at Autzen
for B Carfree's convenience
for B Carfree's convenience
#24
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I do wish I was going to the Rose Bowl this year. Maybe I'll just burn my couch instead.
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#25
In the right lane
Well the NFL isn't exactly susceptible to being embarrassed simply because it does the wrong thing. It doesn't pay taxes for example, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...ption/2370945/.