Re previous.

The image in @jef's post, repeated here, is the kind of outlandish protest needed in one of the most progressive cities in the country, #berkeley California, to get climate friendly change.

What's the climate friendly change? A bike lane.

Why the resistance? It would remove about 200 parking spots in a 1.5-mile stretch.

@kingkaufman @jef as a recent incomer to the area, it boggles my mind that so many people in a place like Berkeley can't join the dots between car dependency and climate change.
@kingkaufman @jef is that on Shattuck along the gourmet gulch? I can imagine the hand-wringing over businesses losing parking new them. At least I hope that's the argument and not the City bitching about lost parking meter revenue.

@enmodo @jef

It's the same general part of town, North Berkeley, but not the same neighborhood.

Chez Panisse, right circle, is the center of Gourmet Gulch. Those people are lying down on the block where GIOIA Pizza is, left circle. That's about 3/4 of a mile as the crow flies, almost a mile by walking, so it's not the same area for parking purposes.

I don't know that there's an inch of Hopkins Street where there isn't free parking available around the corner. Some of those blocks are crowded. None are, not sure if this is the right term, impacted. It's not like Southside, the blocks immediately adjacent to the UC campus where the residence halls and a ton of retail etc. are.

@kingkaufman @enmodo @jef I thought the City Manager said the issue was with evacuation zones, and there needing to be enough width on that street for emergency vehicles. But also I havent been following it as closely as I followed stuff when I lived in Berkeley proper. Just when it pops up on NextDoor.

@pamelafox @kingkaufman @jef

If it was simply a marked lane down where cars used to park then that would increase the width for emergency vehicles because no more parked cars taking up the side...

So I assume if they are talking about a fully protected lane with a curb between it and traffic - or maybe one by the sidewalk with cars parking outside of it (that usually requires a lot of extra room).

@kingkaufman @jef gotcha. I don't have any skin in the game but one of the biggest things I miss about the Bay Area is all the bike paths. I felt bad that I discovered the Ohlone Greenway so late, but I did cycle around the entire Bay on my folding commuter bike (took two days). Relative to the Peninsula the East Bay is fantastic.

I know hard core cycling advocates will bemoan that the paths aren't more protected but in my new home city they are almost non-existent very dangerous.

@enmodo

What city?

@kingkaufman Las Vegas. It's dangerous enough to drive here but biking is next level - drivers just don't expect to see a cyclist.

You just don't see people on bikes here unless it is the homeless population. Sad really because almost all streets are at least two lane if not three each way. Tons of room for proper protected bike lanes.
Most of the cycling meetups take place well out of town.

Of course in the summer its a million degrees and you'd probably want an e-bike for commuting.