Happy #BlackHistoryMonth !
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
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️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
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"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"@mekkaokereke
Riiight? Operating at street level is a powerful way to run up against the shitstem. -
I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"Also using a bike to commute gives you a clear understanding that the people who use their bikes all day are not the people that most local governments are proactively asking about bike improvements.
The places where commuting/day to day riding is improved are the places where those groups have organized.
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"@mekkaokereke it does seem like NotJustBikes could spend more time on this. (er... on second thought... has NotJustBikes spent time on this...?)
either that or we need an american version of NotJustBikes with a focus on racism.
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Also using a bike to commute gives you a clear understanding that the people who use their bikes all day are not the people that most local governments are proactively asking about bike improvements.
The places where commuting/day to day riding is improved are the places where those groups have organized.
@gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof As a non-cyclist for a long time, I hate the cycle lanes in my area. Not because they are cycle lanes, but because of the half arsed way they are done. "Lets put some paint down to mark out a cycle lane, but still allow cars to park on it" etc. If you're going to do it, at least do it right!
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@gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof As a non-cyclist for a long time, I hate the cycle lanes in my area. Not because they are cycle lanes, but because of the half arsed way they are done. "Lets put some paint down to mark out a cycle lane, but still allow cars to park on it" etc. If you're going to do it, at least do it right!
@mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon
There was a recent study here that had some interesting results about behavior at intersections, at congested crossings the "yielded to pedestrians" rates were about the same for "no bike lane" and "protected bike lane" but were lower for "painted bike lane", same when comparing "went through red light at speed" vs "paused to look and then continued through the red".
Unprotected lanes seem like they may be worse than nothing.
Delivery Workers Are the Safest Cyclists On the Road, Study Finds - Streetsblog New York City
A new study from sociology researchers at Hunter College embraces e-bikes.
(nyc.streetsblog.org)
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@mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon
There was a recent study here that had some interesting results about behavior at intersections, at congested crossings the "yielded to pedestrians" rates were about the same for "no bike lane" and "protected bike lane" but were lower for "painted bike lane", same when comparing "went through red light at speed" vs "paused to look and then continued through the red".
Unprotected lanes seem like they may be worse than nothing.
Delivery Workers Are the Safest Cyclists On the Road, Study Finds - Streetsblog New York City
A new study from sociology researchers at Hunter College embraces e-bikes.
(nyc.streetsblog.org)
@gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof Doesn't surprise me. The cycle lane nearest my house has no real excuse, the road is wide enough to segregate the traffic, cars would then park between the cycle lane and the moving traffic adding more protection, etc. But it would cost money. It really comes off as "we need to look like we're doing something with the minimum effort/cost possible"
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"@mekkaokereke Choosing a bicycle (when one has other options) takes the strength (love, hope, courage) to relinquish a form of power, and the cult of the individual, as embodied by the automobile. People are not good at giving things up!
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@mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon
There was a recent study here that had some interesting results about behavior at intersections, at congested crossings the "yielded to pedestrians" rates were about the same for "no bike lane" and "protected bike lane" but were lower for "painted bike lane", same when comparing "went through red light at speed" vs "paused to look and then continued through the red".
Unprotected lanes seem like they may be worse than nothing.
Delivery Workers Are the Safest Cyclists On the Road, Study Finds - Streetsblog New York City
A new study from sociology researchers at Hunter College embraces e-bikes.
(nyc.streetsblog.org)
@gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon
Yes, Recent and old research:
In an urban context, almost all accidents occur at intersections and almost all of those happen because car drivers don't look for/see bicycles. Protected lanes make bicycles less visible by forcing bikes to enter intersections where car drivers don't look. There are well designed intersections, but they aren't common.
See John Forester's (old) Bicycle Transportation.
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@gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon
Yes, Recent and old research:
In an urban context, almost all accidents occur at intersections and almost all of those happen because car drivers don't look for/see bicycles. Protected lanes make bicycles less visible by forcing bikes to enter intersections where car drivers don't look. There are well designed intersections, but they aren't common.
See John Forester's (old) Bicycle Transportation.
@mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon @eric
Oh no let's not bring John Forrester into this. Many people have written much more eloquently than I can about why his ideas about cycling infrastructure were dangerous.
I have no complaints about protected bike lanes, they're great.
Painted ones on the other hand are often just a false sense of security (except in cases where there are enough cyclists around that get funneled to that street instead of others to get safety in numbers)
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"@mekkaokereke amazing how being on the receiving end of some kind of injustice makes you realize how important justice is.
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"I actually heard CelloDad (tall white dude) say, as we're encountering this and that on our bikes, "This is like racism, only on the street." I could almost hear the switch flip in his head.
Vehicular discrimination is discrimination.
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@mekkaokereke Choosing a bicycle (when one has other options) takes the strength (love, hope, courage) to relinquish a form of power, and the cult of the individual, as embodied by the automobile. People are not good at giving things up!
@8r3n7 The way we talk about it helps a ton. Reframe it as getting exercise and saving money, as opposed to giving up power. As you said, people, even with good values, will live against them if they have power that is difficult to release.
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@gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof Doesn't surprise me. The cycle lane nearest my house has no real excuse, the road is wide enough to segregate the traffic, cars would then park between the cycle lane and the moving traffic adding more protection, etc. But it would cost money. It really comes off as "we need to look like we're doing something with the minimum effort/cost possible"
@chloeraccoon @gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof upban planner: “I’m a cyclist, I ride every day”
me: where do you like to ride?
UP: “I mostly ride indoors”
me: can you please meet with those of us who ride through town?
UP: “I’ve studied traffic planning…..”
me: but that’s a very dangerous intersection!
UP: “we can take a look at it”
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I actually heard CelloDad (tall white dude) say, as we're encountering this and that on our bikes, "This is like racism, only on the street." I could almost hear the switch flip in his head.
Vehicular discrimination is discrimination.
@mekkaokereke @CelloMomOnCars I completely agree, except that you can step down your bike and end bearing discrimination, whereas you cannot change your skin color or gender.
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@mekkaokereke Choosing a bicycle (when one has other options) takes the strength (love, hope, courage) to relinquish a form of power, and the cult of the individual, as embodied by the automobile. People are not good at giving things up!
@8r3n7 @mekkaokereke I guess but also there is no faster path to feeling good than to bike a few miles, seeing people and trees and feeling the wind on your cheek, unencumbered by laws or licenses, free to pedal faster or slower as your body and mind choose. Perhaps white privilege is training wheels for people that have given into fear, but also keeping them from life as it is meant to be lived.
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"@mekkaokereke few things radicalize a white American faster than the real-time realization that cops don't give a federal fuck about their stolen bike, and, in fact, the cop who showed up is visible annoyed about the proceeding paperwork.
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"@mekkaokereke Cycling is a great opportunity for people like me to ever experience lack of privilege.
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"About the only good thing Robert Moses ever did was drive Jane Jacobs out of New York: she came to Toronto, helped save us from some of our own car-centric follies
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I've said on here before, that I love the transformative power bikes have on how people think about interacting with each other
️️Having a bike stolen resets a white US person's understanding of what cops do and do not do.
Commuting on a bike resets a white US person's understanding of racist infrastructure.
I love bikes, especially cargo bikes and attachments for kids, because it's only about a 5 year learning journey for white folk from
"I'm not political."To
️"Hey Mekka! I bought a cargo bike! It's so much fun!"To
️"🤬Man, Robert Moses was a %!#!#&@)+ for real! $#&* him and his momma!"@mekkaokereke
So true, friend. And as a white dude, biking around town is one of the only times random people suddenly have opinions about what I'm wearing, which was a big eye-opener at first.When I was hit by a hit-and-run driver, almost everyone (cops, coworkers, etc.) asked what I was wearing in the first or second question. (I had worn florescent yellow with lights front and back, but the implicit message was that I would have "deserved it" if I was wearing dark colors.)
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@gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon
Yes, Recent and old research:
In an urban context, almost all accidents occur at intersections and almost all of those happen because car drivers don't look for/see bicycles. Protected lanes make bicycles less visible by forcing bikes to enter intersections where car drivers don't look. There are well designed intersections, but they aren't common.
See John Forester's (old) Bicycle Transportation.
@eric @gbargoud @mekkaokereke @patterfloof @chloeraccoon
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPduRHBhHI
Here‘s a 90min deepdive why John Forester‘s ideas are dangerous to cyclists and ruined cycling in the US for a lot of people.
