this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
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Fuck Cars

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Your title is a big lie. "One simple step"?

  1. Install left gate
  2. Install right gate
  3. Add traffic signs
  4. Add pedestrian icon to street

See, this is at least 4 steps! I call bullshit!

/jk

In all seriousness, this is indeed great. Next step is to remove some of the now unneeded asphalt and replace it with greenery

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Excuse me? there are actually five steps. you forgot "Add Bikes"

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

nah, those come all by themselves as soon as the street is liberated

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (4 children)

It needs a barrier to separate bikes from pedestrians

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Naw, people on foot and on bike mix pretty well, it's the 2+-tonne metal cages that ruin cities.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (3 children)

No. Lots of people think pedestrians have to get out of the way of bicyclists.

Additionally, the crashes hurt and people can be killed regardless of the participants, so separation is good.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago

Yeah if I'm biking on a sidewalk I'm making sure to not bother pedestrians. Bike is a guest there.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

the crashes hurt and people can be killed regardless of the participants

Not what I recall from accident stats, assuming Belgium is somehow representative. Bike and pedestrian hardly lead to death, same for bike and bike, only bike and cars did.

I'm obviously not advocating for bikes to go anywhere without respecting others (my own rule of thumb is to be always be more mind of the small or slower people share the space) but I don't think considering risk regardless of participants is realistic either.

TL;DR: yes I prefer separation whenever possible but there is a big difference between separating car with others.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

From what I recall there are some documented deaths due to bicycle/pedestrian collisions. Mostly old people who can't really afford to eat a faceful of pavement.

The reality is that it's situational. A 10 m wide street with a peak of maybe 100 people/hour of traffic (like the OP) is not a 2 m wide path with 1000 people/hour of traffic. Segregating traffic in the former is way overkill, in the latter it's absolutely necessary for public safety. Cyclist/pedestrian conflicts are a real problem that not only causes injuries but also simply makes pedestrians feel unsafe, which is unfair.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I expect most bike and pedestrian accidents are not reported. None that I know of had been reported. No deaths, but a lot of pain caused by irresponsible people.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

@MNByChoice @fpslem Yes, but the need for separation depends on the amount of traffic. The separation that low traffic areas get (paint) is ignored by pedestrians anyway and that probably leads to more collisions from cyclists expecting pedestrians in the cycle area to disappear. Without markings they are more likely to cycle around the pedestrians.

High traffic needs clear separation (usually just give the road to the bikes, the existing footpath to pedestrians)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

Motorcycle using pedestrian path is very common where i from.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Pedestrians are forming a United Front with the cyclists until cars are abolished. Their time will come after the car drivers are stamped out.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

That's just collateral damage. Nobody cares if a child or two get killed by a biker.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago

They shouldn't be walking on the street where cars are allowed anyway, they walk on the sidewalk so they don't go through the same gate.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago

This sort of treatment costs so little to install, just a few thousand euros and political will. And the tragedy is that most towns could easily come up with the former but can't muster the latter.

[–] Omgboom 5 points 6 months ago

I'm picturing an SUV trying to squeeze between those gates obliviously

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

I definitely prefer bollards since drunk people can barrel their truck through this style of gate but bollards... bollards are going to stop that shit.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Paris. OP wrote as comment :

This is on my walk to work. The best thing about pedestrian streets in Paris is they help you avoid the dog shit covered sidewalks.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

France has stray dogs on the streets?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Just people not picking up after their pets.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago

I'm concerned that that entrance is uncomfortably narrow for a bike. Or even for two pedestrians walking side-by-side.

My city has recently been removing its banana bars at the entrance to pedestrian and shared paths, and honestly it's so much better. You don't need to be as narrow as this to keep cars out.