And now, a Deus Ex moment... - by Jashin
sergeantgiggles on 26/5/2008 at 19:30
Quote Posted by Nameless Voice
cycling lobby campaign
against cycle lanes
Why?
D'Juhn Keep on 26/5/2008 at 21:54
Quote Posted by Jashin
This is gonna take a lot of effort to get you to understand.
It really doesn't! I do understand perfectly what your point is about, I really do!! And it really has not much to do with my
tangent of exchange rates and whatnot!
As for shopping with bikes, I use my bicycle loads but I really wouldn't want to use it for a weekly shop. Even for just 1 person it would get absurd to carry. In the US, with distances so much greater, I imagine it would be completely impractical.
I find some of the pictures on (
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/January2008.htm) this site pretty hilarious (but not a little depressing)
Nameless Voice on 27/5/2008 at 12:19
Quote Posted by sergeantgiggles
Why?
Something about thinking that cyclists should have equal or greater rights than motorists and be allowed to use the roads instead of having to use alternate bicycle paths.
And carrying furniture may not be fun, but there's no excuse to have a car if you live within walking distance of everywhere you need to go. For the price of insuring and taxing the car, you could even easily afford to take a taxi for the odd trip.
Of course, that's all taking into consideration that if you have a car, you're strongly encouraged to use it a lot because of the motor tax / insurance being charged regardless of if you use it or not.
ilweran on 27/5/2008 at 19:23
Quote Posted by Nameless Voice
Something about thinking that cyclists should have equal or greater rights than motorists and be allowed to use the roads instead of having to use alternate bicycle paths.
hmm, I kind of see their point, especially as a lot of cycle ways seem to be red tarmac on the edge of the most unsafe roads. On the other hand there are some great cycle paths in South Wales using the routes of old railway lines. Safer, shorter, and some of the hills avoided. Can't see a problem with that.
Quote:
And carrying furniture may not be fun
Surely most places deliver these days, so shouldn't be too much of a problem.
Nameless Voice on 27/5/2008 at 23:46
It's not as though they're not allowed to use the roads now, though - they don't have much choice in the matter, since there are only few cycle lanes.
I heard that in other countries they have entirely separate bicycle paths, separate from the roads. But Ireland has an overwhelming interest in cars and roads.
ilweran on 28/5/2008 at 10:19
Quote Posted by Nameless Voice
It's not as though they're not allowed to use the roads now, though - they don't have much choice in the matter, since there are only few cycle lanes.
More emphasis on drivers responsibility for other road users is needed badly. I work near a busy road (lorries, idiots racing each other etc) that's had one of those useless cycle ways stuck on the edge of the road - it doesn't make it miraculously safe for cyclists, and it's one of the places where I don't mind cyclists using the pavements, if they're very careful because I would NEVER cycle on that road.
And just 'cos this is TTLG and we like to gripe about stuff here and to add balance, I'm going to complain about cyclists - why do they feel like they're entitled to do things like cycle the wrong way down a busy road, through a pelican crossing which was in use at the time and then swerve up onto a busy pavement :mad:
Pyrian on 29/5/2008 at 00:02
Quote Posted by Pidesco
American gas prices are really stupidly low.
Quote Posted by catbarf
Yes, but we lack the population density to rely on mass transportation.
...
Because the gas prices are so low. :p
ZymeAddict on 1/6/2008 at 01:07
Quote Posted by Nameless Voice
What's wrong with walking?
Just to give you an example of some of the distances were talking about here, in square miles, my state alone (Idaho) is about the size of your entire country (Ireland). I know at least one person who commutes from one end the state to the other every week. I doubt they would be interested in making a 800 mile hike every week, rucksack or not.
Now, granted this entire situation has been exacerbated by the fact that the western states grew substantially back in the 30s-60s, when gasoline was dirt cheap. Hence why the city planners stupidly thought it was perfectly fine to build everything so spread out. Cheap gas + cheap land = what we've got now.
Nameless Voice on 1/6/2008 at 03:06
Maybe in an ideal world.
catbarf on 3/6/2008 at 10:54
Quote Posted by Pyrian
...
Because the gas prices are so low. :p
As ZymeAddict points out,
Quote Posted by ZymeAddict
Just to give you an example of some of the distances were talking about here, in square miles, my state alone (Idaho) is about the size of your entire country (Ireland). I know at least one person who commutes from one end the state to the other every week. I doubt they would be interested in making a 800 mile hike every week, rucksack or not.
It's because we have a lot of land and not a China-esque level of population.
In many countries, gas is expensive- but it's not a necessary item. Bottled water costs more than gas, but do people complain? Of course not! But if you had to buy large quantities of it (and absolutely HAD to), then people would complain.
My uncle lives in Boise, and even in the capital of the state it's in the absolute middle of nowhere.
