Can the Bicycle Save Civilization?

2006-09-21 19:00 - Links

What if someone invented a vehicle that had a long range and an average speed that matched cars in today's city streets, took up very little space for use and storage, operated in a variety of conditions both on-road and off, and provided phenomenal fuel efficiency?

What if that vehicle already exists? I'm talking about the humble bicycle, long considered a child's plaything in North America, but a possible key to our long-term survival.

As you might know, I've been biking to work (from the subway, just over a mile) for a few months now. It's pretty great. I can say from experience that driving is no faster, I've had occasion to stop at each light beside the same car for multiple blocks in a row. It's cheap. It's good exersize. It doesn't pollute.

But as the article says, America in general has been so perverted by the automobile that biking isn't so great an alternative for a lot of people. Here's hoping something changes that.

Comments:

Bleh.
2006-09-22 16:34 - RavenMind

It's a nice dream, but if it means packing everybody & everything close in like NYC, then no thanks! I like my space, I like being able to look up & see the sunset, not a bunch of tall buildings, and I like not being close enough to my neighbors to hear them every time they fight or fart. Unfortunately that means being far enough away from my workplace, that I have to drive. But if that's the price I have to pay for enjoying my environment, then so be it.

Works great in many places around the world
2006-11-13 18:27 - ecmanaut

In Sweden, lots of cities are built more with bikes and pedestrians in mind than cars, and it works really well. http://carfree.com/ has a lot of great thoughts and intriguing ideas and city planning discussion on how to make cars not only unneccessary but completely out of the loop. Great reading for some boring weekend.

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