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Transportation in Cities
Mar. 11th, 2019 04:37 pmThere was a conference of some sort in Crystal City over the weekend. I know about it purely because a young woman who was participating was asked by another participant to record her thoughts on video. They were discussing urban planning, which as you know is catnip to me, and the young woman was very specifically discussing the problems around the American discussions about making cities more bicycle friendly.
I had to leave after listening for a few moments, but one thing that struck me is BIcycles.
I have balance issues. I hate admitting it. I try to convince myself that the cane's not permanent, but a group of friends, including neotoma, pointed out after my last big fall in December that using it prophylactically might prevent more serious injuries. And heaven knows, one concussion -- which I still have some minor issues from -- is enough for one lifetime.
Bicycling is impractical for me. I was ten before I learned how to ride a bike, and I never enjoyed it. Now that I have balance issues? Oh, hell no. But. My grandfather owned an adult tricycle. I loved riding it. During the time I spent with jerminating in Eugene, OR, I noticed that most of the maintenance workers on the University of Oregon campus got around on tricycles, carrying their tools or supplies on the back.
There will always be people with balance issues. The elderly tend that way after awhile, though one man in my building who's probably 70 bikes everywhere with no problems. Tricycles for maintenance workers or food delivery or even the local postman would be a huge help for congestion and city traffic. However, most bike lanes don't accommodate a tricycle.
If we're going to make cities greener with better transportation options, it may be time to start thinking about the people who can't be certain they'll stay balanced for an entire ten mile bike ride and work out ways to accommodate them in parking, by widening the bike lanes, and by treating them as yet another green option.
I had to leave after listening for a few moments, but one thing that struck me is BIcycles.
I have balance issues. I hate admitting it. I try to convince myself that the cane's not permanent, but a group of friends, including neotoma, pointed out after my last big fall in December that using it prophylactically might prevent more serious injuries. And heaven knows, one concussion -- which I still have some minor issues from -- is enough for one lifetime.
Bicycling is impractical for me. I was ten before I learned how to ride a bike, and I never enjoyed it. Now that I have balance issues? Oh, hell no. But. My grandfather owned an adult tricycle. I loved riding it. During the time I spent with jerminating in Eugene, OR, I noticed that most of the maintenance workers on the University of Oregon campus got around on tricycles, carrying their tools or supplies on the back.
There will always be people with balance issues. The elderly tend that way after awhile, though one man in my building who's probably 70 bikes everywhere with no problems. Tricycles for maintenance workers or food delivery or even the local postman would be a huge help for congestion and city traffic. However, most bike lanes don't accommodate a tricycle.
If we're going to make cities greener with better transportation options, it may be time to start thinking about the people who can't be certain they'll stay balanced for an entire ten mile bike ride and work out ways to accommodate them in parking, by widening the bike lanes, and by treating them as yet another green option.
