bloviating on detroit bike lanes
Originally Posted by
Foldy313
Prepare to be amazed. And do read the comments.
Keith Crain: Say goodbye to the Motor City Crain's Detroit Business
Originally Posted by Keith Crain
I am not sure whose idea it was, but all of a sudden, we are spending a heck of a lot of money to convert Detroit into a bicycle paradise.Where there once were three lanes for motorized travel, now they have cut back to two by adding some poles and turned the third lane into a bicycle lane…
I must admit, I am mystified as to why our city is spending all this money to make these changes. My guess is that we are talking about a 20,000-to-1 ratio of cars to bicycles, and that is only when the weather is perfect in the summer. I have no idea what the plans are when it is raining or worse, snowing; maybe they will turn into snowmobile lanes to promote tourism….
Certainly there must be better uses for our tax dollars than setting up something that costs plenty and serves few people. They must have a powerful lobby.We were the Motor City for a long time. Now it looks like we will have to change our name.
As a Detroit native, I regularly read the Great Lakes Regional Discussion Forum. I recently posted to an A&S Forum, “Getting Serious about Eco-Cycling”:
Originally Posted by
salcedo
Those proposals sound great,
but you need to find the political will to implement them.The global political situation is highly polarized between the right and the left, and this manifests in most aspects of life, including cycling. Cycling is mostly associated with the left. Getting massive city transformations without at least some support from the right is an uphill battle….
God luck convincing the typical conservative that he should spend tax payer money to remove car lanes in order to avoid climate change. Luckily, cycling has much more benefits other than fighting climate change…
What is not to like? Cycling infrastructure should not be a cyclists vs drivers battle, nor a left vs right competition. Most liberals I know already like the idea of building cycling infrastructure. The question is how to get conservatives to support the idea. And it should be possible, because the idea can benefit all. .
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
From a daily reading of the Politics and Religion Forum, it certainly does seem that the large majority of self-selected subscribers that I recognize from the cycling forums have leftward political views.
Just yesterday, I was listening to a right-leaning popular Boston Talk Show,
The Howie Carr Show, who is also a columnist for the right-leaning
Boston Herald newspaper. The topic was an article in the Sunday Herald, "
Boston has the ‘worst traffic in the country’ ... How would you fix it?." (link)
I could not open the comments section, but according to Howie, many suggestions were to eliminate the bicycle lanes.
https://howiecarrshow.com/2018/06/13...-13-18-hour-4/
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Boston…Jim from Boston. D’uh.
Actually, besides the simplicity and utility of that screen name, it has a deeper meaning.
I’m an avid radio talk show fan, and when I (rarely) call in, I’m introduced as Jim from Boston (…
”and now here’s Jim from Boston. What’s up Jim"?)
Originally Posted by
welshTerrier2
Of course, the right answer is that the most effective way to "fix" the traffic problem would be to eliminate the car lanes. Just sayin' ...
And (from my personal memories, and several threads on BF) in response to this recent thread,“Novi MI Routes”:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
...If you are willing to travel, Detroit Proper has been touted as having a good cycling infrastructure, wide roads with diminished traffic, See this thread, “Riding through Detroit,” ..
.
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 06-19-18 at 04:51 AM.