Cycling infrastructure. A pipe dream

[Zebra]

I lived in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, for three years, 20-odd years back, and back then, the USA did some very good things converting ‘rails-to-trails’…

which meant around 1km from my house, we had a 40 mile trail (unpaved, but very, very smooth) across the State line into Pennsylvania, the next door State…it was the old NCR Rail line, (North & Central Railway), and was fantastic for recreation, and a few people commuted (part of) it.

The stations remained, they were turned into Tourist info, as well as a coffee shop, as well as a restaurant, as well as a bike rental/repair/shop!
 

fun fact; I had a long-wheelbase u/seat steering recumbent, and could hold 40km/hour on it in short bursts; when 5  ladies were walking 5 abreast, in effect ‘blocking’ the trail, I would sneak up fairly close behind them and give a longish blast on an UBER- realistic wooden train whistle that sounded VERY much like the real thing…

Well, they would SCATTER, and then we would all have a good chuckle when I blew past; their minds knew their was no train on the old railroad, but their subconscious made them scatter! All in good fun, of course!

might not be so easy here, since land is so sought after…

Edited September 10, 2023 by Zebra
added file

[DieselnDust]

3 hours ago, Mamil said:

Our whole civilisation is like a smoker who knows that every cigarette he lights is killing him. But he keeps on chain smoking.

I seriously believe the bicycle, particularly the refinement of ebike technology is a significant part of the answer.

 

i agree

[Shebeen]

I smile every time I see a blue collar commuter on the road.

These guys are usually on cheap bikes but they are getting to work. Depending on the distance of their commute, many will be doing it quicker than the door to door trip using public transport and changes.

The financial payback on a cheap commuter vs public transport could be about 6 months. 

These are the smart guys who should be listened to and embraced in making cycling easier in CT, not guys with wireless shifting, deep sections and an account on this forum.

It could be as easy as just getting a mass of qhubeka Buffalo bikes rolled out.

Bless them.

[Longbarn Killer]

19 hours ago, Danger Dassie said:

Oh? 
Proportionally how many cycle paths are there within road infrastructure? Of those that are, how many are actually usable in a safe manner? 
 

A lot of cyclists don't even use the ones that are in usable condition. 

It just blows my mind. 

[Longbarn Killer]

19 hours ago, TNT1 said:

Really?

 

Please come show me the cycle paths on the east rand.

If there are no cycle paths, then the argument is irrelevant. 

Maybe he should have said that cyclists don't like to use them when there are cycle paths available. 

[Mamil]

It seems a feature of our times that wherever we turn there are intractable apparently insoluble problems that severely threaten our future.

We could massively reduce the pollution of our atmosphere, tackle an epidemic of non-communicable diseases .... all the indisputable benefits of a cycling infrastructure that we all know about and yet ....

 

[Mamil]

5 minutes ago, Longbarn Killer said:

A lot of cyclists don't even use the ones that are in usable condition. 

It just blows my mind. 

 

3 minutes ago, Longbarn Killer said:

If there are no cycle paths, then the argument is irrelevant. 

Maybe he should have said that cyclists don't like to use them when there are cycle paths available. 

 

I'd love to know where these functional cycle paths are - the only one I know of does a lap around the Rondebosch common and while it is routinely full of broken glass and one can still be dutch doored on the southern leg, it is at least usable.

[TNT1]

8 minutes ago, Longbarn Killer said:

If there are no cycle paths, then the argument is irrelevant. 

Maybe he should have said that cyclists don't like to use them when there are cycle paths available. 

For the vast majority of us recreational cyclists in SA, it's hard to say that too, as we never ever encounter a bike path.

[Zebra]

5 hours ago, Longbarn Killer said:

A lot of cyclists don't even use the ones that are in usable condition. 

It just blows my mind. 

Yes, and....no. For example, their is a perfectly usable cycle lane from Paarden Eiland into Cape Town, but when riding ALONE (early mornings, mainly) I choose not to use SOME of it, since it passes a VERY well known (repeat) hijacking hotspot - the foot of the stair-bridge that leads from Woodstock, over many, many railway lines, to near Paarden Eiland - usually riders ONLY use that lane when they can ride in multiples, so there ARE exceptions, just so you are aware.

Cheers, Chris

[Bernard Horn]

On 9/30/2021 at 1:29 PM, Zebra said:

Yes, and....no. For example, their is a perfectly usable cycle lane from Paarden Eiland into Cape Town, but when riding ALONE (early mornings, mainly) I choose not to use SOME of it, since it passes a VERY well known (repeat) hijacking hotspot - the foot of the stair-bridge that leads from Woodstock, over many, many railway lines, to near Paarden Eiland - usually riders ONLY use that lane when they can ride in multiples, so there ARE exceptions, just so you are aware.

Cheers, Chris

Did not want to take another chance on Hijack Alley this morning so I took Marine dr.It was a tight fit between the container and bulk fuel carriers

[mazambaan]

Just an observation I went through Bulawayo in July and the fairly big street we drove on had a clearly, but not recently, marked cycle lane.  Not much sign of use or being kept clear and clean unfortunately. Bicycles more used for cargo rather than riding in rural areas.