Build it and ... why aren't they coming?

On Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 5:19:15 AM UTC-8, duane wrote:
On 03/01/2019 6:44 a.m., Duane wrote:
James wrote:
On 3/1/19 10:14 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ms/2319972002/




There are some people who claim our MHL didn't (and doesn't) dissuade
people from riding. No doubt there are confounding factors when people
try to find a causal link between MHL and bicycle use.

Fuel prices are well known to be a driving factor in public transport
use, for example.


I doubt you can tell much by country wide stats. It even differs by area
in the same city.
I know here in Montreal the numbers are increasing, especially in the urban
areas. The bike paths are full. Whether or not they’re safe is a
different question.

I live in the suburbs and commute to town. There are fewer people doing
this. For some, it’s the distance. For others it is definitely the lack
of infrastructure. The lack of lockers, showers and safe bike storage on
the job also enter into it.


That said, we had freezing rain yesterday and the temperature dropped to
-16C. This morning it was snowing with some accumulation. I saw 2
riders on fat bikes commuting from my neighborhood and another couple on
my way in.

People freak out when it snows around here. We get some accumulation most years which sticks around for a few days but rarely more than a week. Anyway, when it starts to fall -- often in the late afternoon, the city turns into a parking lot, and the best option is actually a bike. Fresh snow is pretty grippy, and I've ridden home on 23mm tires and stayed upright. And I rode the five or six miles home in one-quarter the time it would have taken to drive. When the snow re-freezes or its sheet ice, it's hard to stay upright even on studded bike tires. Only the DUII cyclists or the super hard-core ride, and they often regret it. I couldn't imagine living in the Mid West or some place where there was snow on the ground for long periods of time and below zero F on a regular basis. I'd move to Phoenix.

-- Jay Beattie.