Electric scooters can be a fun way to get around the city for the younger crowd.
But the main reason I posted is due to this line at the end.
“Studies have also shown that people are more likely to adopt environmentally friendly technology when it offers convenience and excitement, rather than as a result of environmental moralizing”
No shit Sherlock!! Make products people want instead of pushing the “sky is falling” eco-fascist narrative.
True…but try telling a city that you’d like a safe protected bicycle lane…not to stop global warming, but to keep us from getting killed. We can be really nice about it, but good old car centric America won’t open their eyes that it could actually be fun to ride a bike to work. I will say this, those scooters pose more of a threat to pedestrians and themselves than a bike ever will.
I agree with you in principle, but the infrastructure cost to do it right is very high, and the incremental fixes don’t really do a lot of good.
The infrastructure cost consists of white paint and fiberglass bollards. There are so many 4 lane streets here that could easily be converted to 3 lanes…2 travel lanes, a center turn lane, and two bike lanes. My beef is that KCMO (and cities on the Kansas side as well) don’t seem to want any input from cyclists. We haven’t made any friends because things like the “two way cycle track” along Gillham from Downtown to 45th street because almost everyone in the cycle community avoids it (and businesses along it) because there have been too many near misses, and drivers get pissed off if we stay in the traffic lanes. ONe guy yelled at us but had to stop at the light at Linwood. I rolled up beside him and he pointed to the bike lane and said we should use that. I asked him that if he was turning left, would he think to look behind him to his left to make sure no cyclists were coming. He said No. I told him that neither would I, and that['s why we are in the street - it’s actually safer for us.
Whoever thought it would be a great idea to put a bike line that goes against traffic must have been on crack. Drivers making a left turn don’t think about looking behind them and to their left before making a turn, and drivers coming out of a parking lot who want to make a right turn will pull in front of us since nobody thinks to look right for oncoming traffic. Every time we have used it, there has been a near miss, and some falls due to cars. Gillham would have been a great spot for protected bike lanes each direction, although it would reduce the street from 4 lanes to 3.
In my area, they are actually going to take Nall from 4 lanes to 3 with bike lanes. And already people are bitching about how the loss of a lane is going to create huge backups. What they over look is that while it is currently 4 lanes - if you want to go straight at either end, only one lane gets thru, so the delays caused by this would be minimal to none. If anything, it will keep speeds down, since the only real purpose of the second lane each direction is for drivers to race to the next stop light, or pass someone going the speed limit. And KC could be so close to alternative transportation - the busses are free and they all have bike racks on front. I know a couple of people who will take their bike but ride the bus to work and ride their bike home.
This is my opinion too.
It seems like the city planners are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole
The idea is so both parties can see each other. I find it more nerve racking to against the flow of traffic
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