Simon Hobeck
Dave WalkerNew drawing: Hire bike
(Notes on this: https://open.substack.com/pub/diagramclub/p/047-a-hire-bike-blocking-the-pavement )
Trantion@davewalker I was once doing some minor work on my bike on the pavement (like adjusting a bag), and had a motorist looking annoyed at me. As soon as I moved off they parked their car on the space I'd been in
Josh
martin@davewalker Perfect. No notes.
Troggie@davewalker I did read the notes and I don’t disagree with this sentiment but those bloody rental bikes and scooters left on pavements are a royal pain in the ass to wheelchair users. They’re not the most significant problem for anyone who can walk around them easily or pick them up out of the way.
daihard (he/him)@Troggie @davewalker Totally valid argument. I believe the bigger, more fundamental issue is that sidewalks (at least in the US) are pathetically narrow to begin with, where one rental bike/scooter can easily block people, especially those in wheelchairs. We need to reclaim more space for pedestrians.
Megan Lynch (she/her)@daihard @Troggie It's not just an issue for wheelchair users, it's an issue for people with vision loss as well.
Two things can be true at the same time: Cars are given far too much public space AND micromobility has been implemented in grotesquely neoliberal and ableist ways because there has not been the kind of outreach in planning there needs to be. Both many city meetings as well as cycle coalition meetings are not advertised accesssibly nor held in accessible venues.
@daihard @Troggie Whose voices get heard? Well, if it's done inaccessibly, you can guess whose voices are heard.
This affects how micromobility is implemented, who benefits from it, and how. It should be something done accessibly with compromises that are agreed upon with the active involvement of disabled people.
ArtemisIf we want our public spaces to truly be *public*, accessibility has to be a primary concern when creating them.
e-scooters/bikes are *not* a good partial solution if they are now taking up the sidewalks. We already give too much space to cars, and now we're going to give up the rest of the space to people who drive into the city, park their cars, and then clog up the sidewalks too?
@artemis @meganL @Troggie I believ adequate parking structure for rental bikes and scooters is necessary to ensure what little space we are given for pedestrians isn't further compromised. Seattle has been building scooter parking in the city centre. That said, users somehow need to be educated about not abandoning those devices wherever they feel okay to.
@daihard @artemis A problem I've seen is the lack of due diligence from gov't officials approving the annexation of public space by private sector corporations. Yes, users bear some responsibility, but it starts with good design. You can't design for what you hope humans are like, but instead for what they're actually like. Officials approve these systems without holding these profit-seeking corporations to a higher standard. Whoever shmoozes them wins.
The process needs disabled
@daihard @artemis The design has to provide actual proof that it's doing its utmost to prevent & create consequences for ableist anti-social behavior, and encourage positive behavior. The cycleshare itself has to have accessible options that are JUST AS CONVENIENT for disabled people to access as abled ones. Currently even the thing in Portland requires disabled people to go to one central location.
There's just a lot of room for improvement and I don't see abled cyclists insisting
There's just a lot of room for improvement and I don't see abled cyclists insisting
@daihard @artemis on these sorts of improvements in standards. Because they don't feel as affected by the bad aspects of neoliberal & ableist micromobility systems. Instead, it's fun to completely ignore the point about the accessibiility and safety dangers of a lot of micromobility implementations and instead say "What about cars?" while nothing gets done to improve the micromobility problem.
I just haven't seen the cycling community I am part of doing enough to work on its ableism.
sidereal@meganL @daihard @artemis Nuclear hot take but cars are far less ableist than micromobility. And in recent years, everyone has accepted that cars aren't a replacement for public transit. But now we have to have the "micromobility vs. public transit" debate even though it's basically the same debate.
The scooters suck and are more about defunding buses than anything else. I've thought about starting to carry a screwdriver around and disabling their batteries whenever I see them.
@meganL @daihard @artemis Yep, I never voted on introducing a bunch of annoying scooters. They're too slow to mix with cars/bikes and too fast to mix with pedestrians. Ultimate "solution" looking for a problem. These are more about tech bros getting kickbacks than anything else, but they have been used as justification to defund bus systems that actually work for everyone. Also, none of the scooters are repaired, they just get tossed when done. I hate "micromobility" e-waste so damn much.
@meganL @daihard @artemis Against the oil industry/microplastics? These things are mostly plastic.
Against e-waste? These things are just e-waste.
These things are fundamentally not nearly as environmentally friendly as a regular-ass bus.
Frankly, environmentalists should want to resist their adoption.
Major Denis Bloodnok@sidereal @meganL @daihard @artemis I'm a little confused by this because the e-scooter schemes here are limited to 20kph, which would not be an unusual speed for a bicycle [1] - so how can they be too slow to mix with bikes?
[1] Yes, some people can ride considerably faster, but you wouldn't be surprised to see someone riding a bike at 20kph.
@denisbloodnok @sidereal @meganL @artemis And some cycles are much faster/slower than others, especially in cycle lanes and on mixed-use paths. IMO, the main issue with rental bikes and scooters is that they can be parked (or abandoned) to block accessibility, as has been discussed here.
Cavyherd
BlechTerror STOPP🚗🚙🚘terror@daihard @artemis @meganL @Troggie Most streets have way enough space for parking. That should be used for (hire) bikes + (hire) scooters, not only for the too many cars.
The people using hire bikes/scooters/cars have a very aloof mindset about the hire vehicle and just drop it off the second they don't need it anymore – right in the middle of the walkway.
But instead of wasting public money and efforts to cure this problem, it should be completely given back to the companies providing the hire vehicles. Either THEY find a way their commercially parked vehicles are no threat or hassle for pedestrians – or their permit to do this business is revoked.
Cassandrich@blechterror @daihard @artemis @meganL @Troggie Or let them keep their permits, but any of their vehicles left improperly for more than 4 hours are legally deemed abandoned property free for the taking and repurposing. 😈
priryo@priryo @meganL @daihard @Troggie
The e-scooters that were in my neighborhood did not have docking stations where people had to leave them...they would just abandon them wherever. The company sends someone around to collect them and return them, but everyone just leaves them in the middle of the sidewalk.
The e-scooters that were in my neighborhood did not have docking stations where people had to leave them...they would just abandon them wherever. The company sends someone around to collect them and return them, but everyone just leaves them in the middle of the sidewalk.
Jesse@artemis @priryo @meganL @daihard @Troggie The company can implement geo-fenced drop off areas that aren't physical docks but are in fixed locations.
My local government is planning an e-bike hire program where most of the parking will be on-road marked parking areas (they're taking a lot of car parks to do it) where the system will require you to park the hire e-bikes.
My local government is planning an e-bike hire program where most of the parking will be on-road marked parking areas (they're taking a lot of car parks to do it) where the system will require you to park the hire e-bikes.
@artemis @meganL @daihard @Troggie Also there's an element of fatphobia to a lot of those scooters. I weigh about 260 and those things canNOT move me uphill. I never hear anyone talk about this, but I assume the at best the micromobility companies don't think about this, and at worst consider it good advertising to not have visibly fat people seen riding them.
LovesTha🥧@daihard @davewalker @Troggie a maliciously badly placed bike can block a reasonably wide path, particularly with the assistance of a bench or tree.
@LovesTha @davewalker @Troggie I don't disagree, though my instinct is that most people who block sidewalks with rental bikes and scooters do so out of ignorance or nonchalance. Re-designing rental bike/scooter programs to use fixed docks is one solution. Short of that, educating users is in high order.
Just FWIW, i think of a sidewalk like this as reasonably wide.
Just FWIW, i think of a sidewalk like this as reasonably wide.
@daihard @davewalker @Troggie yeah, although I think there are a minority of non ride share users who move bikes to try and be jerks. Which is what I think happened here. This footpath is only a little narrower than your pic.
Ikeruga@daihard @davewalker @Troggie You're right, but I have read stories from disabled people in the Netherlands (considered the best worldwide in terms of urbanism) complain about scooters and bikes blocking their path in sidewalks. There's only so much that can be done on the sidewalk design part to prevent the problem. There's just a general need for people to consider disabled people and not block the way at all.
@Troggie @davewalker
Yep. E-scooters frequently are left blocking *the only space which pedestrians have left*. This is a major accessibility issue! In addition to that, when I lived in an area that was dense with scooters their presence and their users made it more difficult for everyone to walk.
In theory, they are better than cars, but when they are crowding up the only walking space we have left, they are a pain and a half.
@Troggie @davewalker
eBikes don't seem to lead to fewer cars because people drive into the city to use them. So streets are filled with cars, both parked and driving, and now sidewalks are filled with ebikes too. How is that an improvement?
eBikes don't seem to lead to fewer cars because people drive into the city to use them. So streets are filled with cars, both parked and driving, and now sidewalks are filled with ebikes too. How is that an improvement?
Zoidberg For President@Troggie @davewalker This.
But hey, implying that bike users have the same shortcomings as car drivers will get you yelled at, or even threatened...
Simon 🌞
Andi Ecke
mariechen@davewalker This reminds me of my dad (a passionated bike driver) who was constantly complaining about e-scooters blocking the pavement. Sure they are annoying but all the cars parking there blocking pavements and bike lanes are so much worst. I mentioned the cars every time he started about the e-scooter until he stopped complaining cause he now sees all the cars.
Jonathan Hartley@davewalker can I ask what your stance is on me coloring this drawing as an amusement for me and my kiddo? Sharing the result with friends? Posting the result (with attribution & link) publicly? I entirely understand if you are forced to say you cannot endorse that. Thanks for any thoughts.
Wokebloke for DemocracyIn Hannover Germany it would as always look like in the sketch but the reaction is call the cops an push for a scooter ban.
Fscking monster SUV blocking roads or two parking spaces are not a problem, especially those from VW.
VW because partially state owned.
Tor Lillqvist@davewalker Thanks for the well written notes for the drawing.
@davewalker THX for the ALT tag. I really have been that blind not to see the couple down there 😅
Dr Susi Arnott
Océane@ davewalker@mastodon.social 
@pierstoval
@pierstoval
abovearth@davewalker
Time to stack the cars in a big pile! https://indebuurt.nl/delft/nieuws/opmerkelijk/mikado-met-fietsen-megahoop-mobikes-gespot-op-de-wijnhaven~88327/
Time to stack the cars in a big pile! https://indebuurt.nl/delft/nieuws/opmerkelijk/mikado-met-fietsen-megahoop-mobikes-gespot-op-de-wijnhaven~88327/
Mikado met fietsen: megahoop Mobikes gespot op de Wijnhaven - indebuurt Delft
We weten ondertussen wel dat Mobike fietsen soms op behoorlijk gekke plekken liggen, hangen en staan. Soms alleen, soms met een paar tegelijk. Maar wat Delftenaar Arjan Steendam deze donderdagochtend aantrof op de Wijnhaven, is wel een toppunt. Advertentie wordt geladen… “Is het een kunstwerk van studenten, of zijn het de bewoners van de binnenstad […]
Synapsenkitzler 🌻 🌈