Though progress is often slow, city planners and politicians are gradually waking up to the fact that when cities offer safe and affordable alternatives to cars, we start to travel differently.
More and more young people are choosing bicycles, buses and trains over owning a car out of the sheer cost. In Berlin, it’s public transport, not cars, which is the coolest way of getting around.
In Copenhagen, a city that has a long held reremovedtion for being bike-friendly, a whopping 62% of people choose to cycle their commute.
In the French city of Lyon, the number of cars entering the city has fallen by 20% compared to just a decade ago. As the city’s network of bike hire stations continues to grow, town planners are hoping for a further 20% decline.
In London, where cycle super-highways are becoming popular, the share of journeys made by car has fallen by a quarter since 1990.
Car free days are rising in popularity in many of the world’s largest cities, giving people a taste of what it’s like to live with less noise, traffic and pollution. Bogota was one of the first cities to introduce a car free day, and it’s now become so popular that it’s been extended to a full week.
Bogotá’s Ciclovía is fantastic! I was there in the mid-nineties and they closed a major artery, the Carretera Séptima, on Sundays. Here some pictures.
These are actually excellent bikes both for the city and older people. Comfortable, can carry a bit cargo, and fast. And zero risk to lose balance and injure your head.
I have a recumbent two-wheeler (a full-suspension highracer), which I use more for the countryside and longer hiking. It is so much fun! But I plan to add a recumbent trike in tadpole configuration, such as a HP Scorpion when I am 75 or so.
My terratrike was a good purchase and no one here knows what good they are, so they’re a total steal on Craigslist. I got mine for 40% the cost of new.
I use my recumbent because my side is fucked, and i kind of need to lean back on something. The tadpole trike, well those are just cool. Only problem is mine was almost a hundred pounds before I added the motor
Yeah, second-hand recumbents are usually really cheap for their quality. Many sellers are enthusiasts which have about five of them and need space for a new one.
And yes, this is an advantage of two-wheelers: You can carry them easily downstairs like a normal bike, they have the same weight and are perhaps 20 centimeters longer. And one can them transport in commuter trains and station elevators.
i totally haven’t been trying to convince my wife she wants mine so i can get a fancier one