How Paris Kicked Out the Cars

Agreed. Bicycle regulations are lacking around here, or unenforced, leading to way too many accidents

 

In Japan there were bike traffic jams and an unbelievable amount of bikes parked at the subway stations. Bikes are the primary means of transportation in the larger cites there - especially to and from the subway stations.

Look at this method to store bikes underground in a novel organized way - very clever.
If you notice in Japan you don't have to lock you bike up when you leave it. Also individuals who hit a cyclist or visa versa are dealt with very effectively, this is not a problem there.

Human decency and politeness or lack thereof are more of a cultural/social problem endemic to some areas of the world..

When Japanese trainers came to America they could not believe that you had to lock your bike up in public and that there were actually people who would take something that didn't belong to them.

 

Bicycle registration, licensing and insurance are going to be much bigger topics in the future.

I already know two people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries from being knocked over while on foot by cyclists- and they weren't even e-bikes.

 

Bikes used to have to be registered in China, but they abandoned that in 2004.

I do think it would be a good idea. There are a lot of times that cyclists cause accidents - damaging cars or injuring pedestrians - and then ride off. A registration plate would be useful.

 

I view is as an excellent opportunity for V2V applications.

 

when i was a kid (around 60 years ago) the cops used to come to the elementary schools and teach bicycle safety.
then they'd give us a little license plate and bracket. i guess the practice never took off

 

OH....it took off alright.
Many if not most cyclists consider themselves to be no more encumbered by traffic regulations than we did when we insisted that our parents remove the training wheels from our Schwinns.
I (bi)cycle less than 1,000 miles a year, principly around the lake that my humble neighborhood is built around but I do so with the full understanding that my presence on the road is barely tolerated by those whose taxes built the roads on which I ride, and I strive not to be an impediment to local traffic.
My cycle is an equally humble Raleigh, one of the oldest, and formerly THE largest bicycle manufacturing firm on the planet.
Mine is an Al framed, 18 cog machine with disc brakes which would have been waaaaaaay out on the sharp end of the cycling world a few decades ago but is now considered to be a quaint throw-back by the lycra and nylon clad set who spend more money on their clothing than I spent on my bike. Today's cycles are made from gossamer thin carbon-fiber (or maybe titanium) and have more engineering tech than some formula-1 cars boasted of a few decades ago along with a shockingly large percentage of their operating cost.
Some cities are starting to include separate traffic lanes for cycles which is well enough I guess....
HOWEVER (comma!!!)
THE problem with most cyclists in these parts is that they're neither fish nor fowl.
They seem equally comfortable on sidewalks, lawns, and highways and woe betide ANYONE who would DARE to question their presence in any of these environments no matter how many people they injure or how much traffic they impede.

Golf carts are the newest intruders on the road.
They're generally faster MUCH less self-entitled than most cyclists (a low bar.)
I have one myself that is currently laid up for battery maintenance which I am considering deferring until LiPo cells cone down a little more.

My beloved adopted city squelched any further debate in this matter by ALLOWING golf carts on some designated streets.
A brilliant solution, since it placed them at parity with their larger enclosed cabin brethren.
There was only ONE little catch.......
In order to enjoy FULL privileges????
They have to pay their fair share!!

Inspections.
Licensing.
Insurance.
AND an understanding that traffic laws now apply FULLY and EQUALLY to THEM.

The celebratory high-fives and fist bumps were somewhat attenuated after THAT.....

 

if they restrict cars in boston, and i hope they do, they will have to increase public transportation.

no that's no easy thing, since we've spent a fortune trying since

watch

and what do we have to show for it?

how-bostons-public-transportation-became-a-nightmare