grueSitting in traffic
novemberMy instance tells me this post has 25 replies, but I don’t see any. Did something happen?
I think maybe whatever UI you’re using didn’t make it clear that this was a cross post? There’s comments on the original post, not the one you and I are commenting in.
Is 16 minutes a long time for a walkable city? I always thought that the bar was something like 30 minutes, and 20 minutes was normal-ish.
I am a fan of city design that tries to keep total commute time, including walking and transit, under 30 minutes.
It’s specifically targeted at the concept of the 15 minute city/neighbourhood
20min is a lot.
If it takes me 20min to walk somewhere, I bike instead.
If it took me 20min to bike somewhere, I consider how to plan it into my day.
I am absolutely willing to bike up to 1h, an did so to school for years, it’s not something spontaneous anymore. All of that is of course more complicated, daily commutes feel longer, greenery makes it feel shorter.
If it takes me 20min to walk somewhere, I bike instead.
If it took me 20min to bike somewhere, I consider how to plan it into my day.
I am absolutely willing to bike up to 1h, an did so to school for years, it’s not something spontaneous anymore. All of that is of course more complicated, daily commutes feel longer, greenery makes it feel shorter.
I don’t bike unless I have to carry cargo or it’s going to take more than an hour to walk, because of how hostile and aggressive drivers have become. I miss just getting on my bike without a care.
SwedneckA big part of it is that you have to walk back home, so a 15 minute walk is actually a 30 minute commitment at the minimum just to buy some snacks.
I think we need to make a distinction between “possible to walk” and “walking is the default”. A 30 minute walk to work with a grocery store on the way is doable but you’re not gonna find many people doing it, plus factors like how enjoyable the environment is affects whether you’ll actually want to walk.
I used to have a grocery store that was about a 5 minute walk from my house, and even with a 5 minute walk, there were many things that I couldn’t buy from the grocery store and walk back. Heavy things or bulky things. So I brought my own cart for those things. I also once lived a 15 minute walk from a grocery store, and I simply biked there.
What I’m saying is that people figure these things out. A 15 minute walk isn’t bad for most people, even for groceries, but if it’s only 15 minutes, they can probably figure it out.
Even when I lived very close to the grocery, I still frequently took a bus to go to a different grocery store that I liked. So, that’s another option, living close to transit.
mercOne of the few good pieces of news I’ve heard recently is this:
cbc.ca/…/ontario-appeal-court-ruling-bike-lanes-r…
In Ontario, Canada, the court of appeals ruled that it was unconstitutional to remove bike lanes from three major streets in Toronto. The court determined that removing the lanes would put bicyclists at increased risks of harm and death. In addition, it showed that adding extra lanes for cars wouldn’t meaningfully reduce congestion. Expert evidence showed that “bicycle lanes, and in particular separated or protected bicycle lanes, reduce motor vehicle traffic congestion by providing an alternative method of transportation that is safer for all users of the roads”.
This is all stuff that people in favour of cycling and mass transit have believed for decades. But, it’s now part of a decision in a court. IMO that’s a pretty huge win.
