"Cedar Blocks and Devil Strips: Cycling the Streets of 1898" (from RebelMetropolis)
08-06-15, 12:27 PM
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"Cedar Blocks and Devil Strips: Cycling the Streets of 1898" (from RebelMetropolis)
For the LCF history buffs: The first paved streets were for cycling, in Detroit, San Francisco, and Toronto.
Rebel Metropolis | Cedar Blocks and Devil Strips: Cycling the Streets of 1898
Originally Posted by rebelmetropolis.org
It’s widely known Detroit was the birth place of paved streets, and that cyclists of the 1890s fought for this smooth, durable surface for its obvious benefits to biking. Looking at the map below, we see some of the very first Asphalt streets in America running North and South marked in blue: Woodward, Cass, and Second Ave.
Also marked in descending rank of quality are brick, granite, and a form of packed gravel called macadam. But looking at the overall map the vast majority is yellow, which on this map is keyed as: ‘Wood’.
Also marked in descending rank of quality are brick, granite, and a form of packed gravel called macadam. But looking at the overall map the vast majority is yellow, which on this map is keyed as: ‘Wood’.
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08-06-15, 02:32 PM
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That's fascinating. I'm always citing an old 1950s documentary someone posted here that said Model T's gained popularity to some extent because people could drive them on the unpaved country roads outside the city where cycling was difficult to impossible. I just assumed that city streets were cobblestone or other less-than-smooth surface and that smooth asphalt and cement weren't used until after motor cars had gained popularity.
08-07-15, 08:13 AM
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That's fascinating. I'm always citing an old 1950s documentary someone posted here that said Model T's gained popularity to some extent because people could drive them on the unpaved country roads outside the city where cycling was difficult to impossible. I just assumed that city streets were cobblestone or other less-than-smooth surface and that smooth asphalt and cement weren't used until after motor cars had gained popularity.
BTW, Detroit also provided the first mile of concrete pavement in the world, on Woodward Ave. between Eight Mile and Nine Mile Roads. That's about eight miles north of the map in the OP--giving us some idea of how rapidly Detroit grew around the time it was first becoming the Motor City. (For example, population more than doubled between 1920 and 1930.) By this time, I think pavement was provided pretty much for the benefit of cars, not bikes.
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