One Solutions to Car Problems (part 2: Bikes)
So, yesterday we looked at location based solutions to emissions, traffic, and the other eco-problems that cars present. Today another solution.
Bikes:
Bikes are an obvious solution to many of the problems that cars create. On the pro-side, bikes are a healthy, low-cost, and quick way to move through traffic. The downside; if you live in the U.S. you also live in a fairly un-bike-friendly area. The U.S. has only a handful of cities with extensive bike paths.
If you live in some U.S. areas, people don’t “get” bikes and would sooner run you down than allow you on the road. This is two-sided. I’ve seen bikers who don’t follow the rules of the road - like they cut cars off or cross on red lights, and that just makes all bikers look bad. Another downside is suburban sprawl. It can be tough to bike miles and miles to work.
In How to Make the World A Better Place by Jeffery Hollender, it’s noted that places like the Netherlands, West Germany, and Japan are great places to be a biker. The Netherlands offers more than 9,000 miles worth of bike paths, and according to Hollender, “In some Dutch cities, half of all trips are made by bikes…. [and] the city of Kasukabe now has a twelve-story structure that uses cranes to park more than 1,500 bicycles.” That’s very different from the U.S.
The best way to start biking is to consider safety first, and push for change at a city and national level - i.e. encourage the government to add more bike paths, biking laws, and programs that support bikes as a viable transportation method.
Some great resources:
How to Not Get Hit by Cars - sounds scary, but really, it’s a great article for bikers. Has pictures too.
National Center for Bicycling & Walking
Bicycle Clubs in the U.S.: Actually not just clubs, but just about every bike link you’ll ever need is included here.
Later today the answer to this tree question.
Do you bike?
Tags: based_solutions, bikers, bikes, bike_paths, Cars, downside, emissions, handful, rules_of_the_road, suburban_sprawl, traffic, tree hugging familyRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Transportation, Travel
2 opinions for One Solutions to Car Problems (part 2: Bikes)
Hil
Jan 25, 2008 at 10:25 am
With all the health benefits of regular exercise, the government *should* be supporting biking initiatives everywhere possible. It’s one of those things that makes you wonder why it hasn’t happened yet.
Z.
Jan 25, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I bike *everywhere* and we take the kids around in one of these: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/01/the_moederfiets.php
and my husband and I use this http://www.xtracycle.com for grocery runs as well as playdate/school hauls with the older kids.
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