Old 07-02-19, 06:19 AM
  #32  
jmeb
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Bikes: 1966 Carlton, 197X MKM, 1983 Trek 620, 1988 Schwinn High Sierra, 1995 DBR Axis Ti, 1999 Waterford, 2016 DBR Release, 2017 Surly Travelers Check

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Originally Posted by MikeyMK
We can ride on the pavement. Almost everywhere.

I seem to be a bit of an oddball on this site, but you guys have no idea. Everything from your lights, clothes, equipment, bikes, attitude... the topics here reflect how the entire cycling experience, and your approach/execution, is based around the flaws and dangers of having to use roads. And it's horrific.

So much of the world has so far to go. Ironically, it seems the western world is the worst.

All you'll hear about Milton Keynes is that we have too many roundabouts and our cows are made of concrete (ironically it means few traffic lights, and we have real livestock animals in parkland everywhere). It seems our world-leading, quite halcyonical, cycleway system is our best-kept secret. Despite reaching every nook and cranny of the City. And that's great for us..
For others who aren't aware -- in the UK, "pavement" == "sidewalk" in the US.

However, in the case of Milton Keyes, their cycle networks are more like a densely built multi-use path.

I don't think you'll find many people in the US cycling culture which dominates this site that wouldn't love such a system. But our desire to be on roads stems from the fact it the lesser of two evils, and there is no political will to build cycle infrastructure like Milton Keyes which is quite a distinctive building project built as a greenfield development. It isn't feasible to retrofit such infrastructure into most cities without a massive reduction in space dedicated to automobiles -- and then again -- a political will problem.

So short of that, you'll find most US advocates at least working towards ensure safety on the street which requires changes to norms, social attitudes, laws while we work on getting dedicated lanes built. Until then, we need to ensure safety on roads because they are the only viable option. Sidewalks aka pavement here doesn't exist in many areas, where it does it is often just 2-3ft wide, or extremely busy, and therefore more dangerous to ride on than the road.
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