What would it ACTUALLY take for you to consider biking or taking the bus, in lieu of motoring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Biking works well for people who don't have to pick up and drop off kids, don't have to carry a lot of stuff, can roll into work looking like they just biked there and have that be professionally acceptable, live relatively close to work, don't have to do grocery shopping for a family after work, have place to safely store their bike at home and at work, have a safe route to work (bike lanes alone don't do it, unless they go door to door), and who know how to ride and bike and feel comfortable and are physically able to do so.

Biking doesn't work for me for the vast majority of these reasons. But I will admit; I am physically fit and could ride a bike, especially if I practiced, but it seems hella dangerous and sweaty and unpleasant to me. I'd rather live a mile from work and walk, which I'd do happily when it's over 30 and under 85 degrees.

There are people who do pickup/dropoff, carry stuff on a bike, look professionally acceptable, and grocery shop on a bike. So it's definitely possible to do all of those things on a bike. Especially on an e-bike! I think the most important things are a safe route and secure bike storage.

Just this week I had to pick up my kid after school at 5:30 PM in NWDC and get them to an appointment at 6:00 PM in Kensington. So no, it’s not possible. Thanks for the advice though.

How late were you?

LOL - "I schedule appointment that are nearly impossible to achieve and then complain that transportation can't get me there in time" 😂😂

DC has a medical appointment in Kensington every Monday. I work full-time and can only leave work at 5, which provides me enough time to pick up DC from after care to get to the appointment.

Since you are such a self-involved person, I am 100% sure that once you grow up, have kids, get a career and a full-time job yourself that you will then again demand that the world reorganize itself around your personal needs. The rest of us just do the best that we can with what we’ve got.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biking works well for people who don't have to pick up and drop off kids, don't have to carry a lot of stuff, can roll into work looking like they just biked there and have that be professionally acceptable, live relatively close to work, don't have to do grocery shopping for a family after work, have place to safely store their bike at home and at work, have a safe route to work (bike lanes alone don't do it, unless they go door to door), and who know how to ride and bike and feel comfortable and are physically able to do so.

Biking doesn't work for me for the vast majority of these reasons. But I will admit; I am physically fit and could ride a bike, especially if I practiced, but it seems hella dangerous and sweaty and unpleasant to me. I'd rather live a mile from work and walk, which I'd do happily when it's over 30 and under 85 degrees.

There are people who do pickup/dropoff, carry stuff on a bike, look professionally acceptable, and grocery shop on a bike. So it's definitely possible to do all of those things on a bike. Especially on an e-bike! I think the most important things are a safe route and secure bike storage.

NP and all of the people I know who drop their kids off at school via bike work from home. They do not look professionally acceptable afterwards unless my job is particularly strict on wearing clothes without holes and not being sweaty and having messy hair.

I don't understand the point about clothes without holes. It's completely possible to bike in clothes without holes, and biking shouldn't ordinarily create holes in your clothes.

For sweaty - yes, when it's hot, you will get sweaty on trips that aren't short trips, but an e-bike can help a lot with that.

For messy hair - it depends on your hairstyle and on your hair. If you have to look like you just had a blow-out, it probably wouldn't work. I don't know how many professional jobs require women to look like they just had a blow-out.

Okay I will modify my response- I am not going to wear my professional clothes on a bike. So regardless of holes I would need to have enough time to bike to work, change clothes at work, fix my hair, if I am sweaty then try to make myself presentable, then change back to my clothes to bike to pick up my kid. So double my commute each way and leave time to clean up at work? I don’t want to leave my house at 645 in the morning to do all of this when I can leave at 730 to drive.

[Anonymous]

PP again, no one I know who bikes to work drops their kids at school. They either don’t have kids or their spouse drives the kids to school.

[Anonymous]

Nothing. Ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Crazy driver: "I would never ride a bike, too many crazy drivers." [delivered without an ounce of self-reflection or personal responsibility] LOL

Ha. "Who in their right mind would bike when there's drivers like ME out there?"

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biking works well for people who don't have to pick up and drop off kids, don't have to carry a lot of stuff, can roll into work looking like they just biked there and have that be professionally acceptable, live relatively close to work, don't have to do grocery shopping for a family after work, have place to safely store their bike at home and at work, have a safe route to work (bike lanes alone don't do it, unless they go door to door), and who know how to ride and bike and feel comfortable and are physically able to do so.

Biking doesn't work for me for the vast majority of these reasons. But I will admit; I am physically fit and could ride a bike, especially if I practiced, but it seems hella dangerous and sweaty and unpleasant to me. I'd rather live a mile from work and walk, which I'd do happily when it's over 30 and under 85 degrees.

There are people who do pickup/dropoff, carry stuff on a bike, look professionally acceptable, and grocery shop on a bike. So it's definitely possible to do all of those things on a bike. Especially on an e-bike! I think the most important things are a safe route and secure bike storage.

Just this week I had to pick up my kid after school at 5:30 PM in NWDC and get them to an appointment at 6:00 PM in Kensington. So no, it’s not possible. Thanks for the advice though.

Growing up and having kids are not the same thing.
How late were you?

LOL - "I schedule appointment that are nearly impossible to achieve and then complain that transportation can't get me there in time" 😂😂

DC has a medical appointment in Kensington every Monday. I work full-time and can only leave work at 5, which provides me enough time to pick up DC from after care to get to the appointment.

Since you are such a self-involved person, I am 100% sure that once you grow up, have kids, get a career and a full-time job yourself that you will then again demand that the world reorganize itself around your personal needs. The rest of us just do the best that we can with what we’ve got.

[Anonymous]

I live less than 2 miles from my job. I would bike to work, but the reckless Maryland drivers in the city make biking terrifying and there are no protected bike lanes. A white line on the road isn’t going to protect me from their idiocy, and my kids don’t need a dead mom. So I drive.

[Anonymous]

I don’t take public transit because of street harassment and crime.

[Anonymous]

I have a network of trails and protected bike lanes that go from my home directly to my office. It is less than 5 miles. I used to bike to work but have become too afraid of my safety due to the dangerous behavior of other cyclists. My partner and I now take turns driving. We have one car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a network of trails and protected bike lanes that go from my home directly to my office. It is less than 5 miles. I used to bike to work but have become too afraid of my safety due to the dangerous behavior of other cyclists. My partner and I now take turns driving. We have one car.

Yes, and it continues to get worse on those trails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would bike more if there wasn't an expectation in my office of not being a sweaty mess.

Workplace access to showers would solve this challenge.

I don’t want to take a shower at work. I want to arrive fresh and clean after having showered at home.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Everyone has summed up the very reasonable objections. No way any of these can be fixed

Yes, boomers and gen X'ers must keep polluting the planet relentlessly with their personal automobile addiction until they push daisies, because their hubris won't let them admit that the way they architected things led to the current toxic built environment and relentless global warming. Got it.

Don’t blame Gen X for setting things up this way. Honestly, some of the build architecture choices around our cities and suburbs aren’t even Boomers’ fault — the interstate highway system and the development of car-friendly suburbs was the result of choices their parents’ generation made.

+1. I'm Gen-X. For most of my time in the DC area, I've taken public transport to work (bus or metro, depending on where I was living). But things change when you have kids or marry someone that (gasp) works on the opposite side of the city as you. Seems like some Gen-Zers haven't had to grapple with those realities yet.

The oldest Gen Zers are 24, so there are many realities that they have yet to confront.

That said, why on Earth are we planning cities around them? What if they get over their anxiety and learn to drive and talk on the phone? Why should we have to plan around their inability to function in society?

Why can’t Gen Xers function in society? Why are they too scared of public transit?

They do function in society, by driving their cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There is a new trend in public discourse to artfully couch an opinion as fact.
I don't agree with your premise in the bolded--see how easy that is?

OP here. The difference between you and me is that I have data to back up my assertions that autos present (increasing) safety issues to other users of public space, namely pedestrians and bicyclists:
https://www.mwcog.org/newsroom/2022/04/26/increase-in-pedestrian-bicyclist-deaths-prompts-action-across-dc-region/#:~:text=Mirroring%20national%20trends%2C%20the%20region's,in%20the%20region%20in%202021.

See how easy that is?

NP. I couldn’t help but notice that the PPP disputed your environmental claims and you posted a link about traffic fatalities. Doesn’t look like you’re backing anything up with data. Instead you are obscuring and obfuscating. I feel sad for you that you feel the need to go through so much effort to lie anonymously online like this. You’re here posting 24-7 about bicycles and lying about it to boot. So weird.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As we all know, the use of personal vehicles has a significant impact on the environment and presents safety issues to others in the public space, such as pedestrians and bicyclists. For everyone's benefit, it's going to become increasingly important to explore alternative modes of transportation as we get deeper into the 21st century.

To that end, DC and many other big cities are beginning to implement more pedestrian-friendly street and intersection designs, in addition to dedicated spaces for other modes of transportation such bikes and buses over the exclusive use of personal vehicles. I'm familiar with the pushback that a small but vocal minority has made in framing this as a 'war on cars', as they feel their entitlement to exclusive use of the right-of-way is being threatened.

What I find interesting in all of this is that many of these skeptics look at the installation of bus-only lanes or protected bike lanes and NEVER seriously consider personally switching to those other modes now that they are faster, safer, or more convenient. Instead, many seem to express antagonism or cynicism reflexively, possibly because they 'identify' as motorists and would never stoop so low as to take the bus or bike?

Ok, perhaps I'm projecting a bit. But for many of these skeptical folks evidently these measures are not far enough to overcome the legacy car culture this country has, or the perceived convenience or benefits of driving. So I am curious to know what it would realistically take for DC motorists to consider walking, riding a bike or taking the bus to get to work, run errands, etc.

For instance:
What if work or shops were closer to homes?
What if bus stops were located on your residential corner and came every 5-7 minutes dependably?
What if the roads were redesigned so that the bike lanes were universal and protected, or adjacent to sidewalks (not in the roadway)?
What if stores provided free and secured bike parking/valeting?
What if buses were free, and the purchase of e-bikes/cargo bikes was heavily subsidized?

I'm interested in hearing the DCUM community's thoughts and ideas on the matter.

There is a new trend in public discourse to artfully couch an opinion as fact.
I don't agree with your premise in the bolded--see how easy that is?

DP. You can have whatever opinions you want to have about facts, but the facts remain facts.

What you posted isn’t a fact. You can have whatever opinions you want to have, but they won’t make your repetitive, opinion laden screeds into facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would bike more if there wasn't an expectation in my office of not being a sweaty mess.

And super smelly. Thank you.

I bike 8 miles each way to work. I manage this without being a sweaty or smelly mess

Bravo for you. You can have a sticker.

(also: are you sure?)

Yeah, I really doubt this in the summer. Bet their coworkers would sing a different song.