[HN Gopher] As Bikers Throng the Streets, 'It's Like Paris Is in...
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       As Bikers Throng the Streets, 'It's Like Paris Is in Anarchy'
        
       Author : perihelions
       Score  : 20 points
       Date   : 2021-10-03 19:14 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nytimes.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nytimes.com)
        
       | Raztuf wrote:
       | Such pettiness in this article. If anything all the problems
       | listed are caused by a car-centric urban planning and not the
       | bikes themselves. Most big european cities are slowly restricting
       | car access to their center and that kind of change takes time.
        
         | convolvatron wrote:
         | the article generally paid the most attention to the problems
         | the bikes cause for pedestrians. i dont find that petty at all.
         | as a former pedesterian who loathed bikers whose is now an avid
         | rider myself - this is a real problem.
        
       | readonthegoapp wrote:
       | I think its a fair article
       | 
       | There are obviously very real safety concerns from Parisians
       | about the lawless bikers
       | 
       | I think the Danish biking obedience to red lights is insanity
       | 
       | I hope paris comes to find the best balance of any city yet
        
       | scrose wrote:
       | Somehow the NYTimes managed to make a negative article about the
       | dangers of cyclists, while the only deaths and injuries they
       | managed to conjure up in the entire story are from a truck
       | failing to yield and running over a family.
        
         | readonthegoapp wrote:
         | Scooter driver killed pedestrian
        
       | noiseman wrote:
       | https://archive.is/QVfzZ
        
       | happyhills8 wrote:
       | As a pedestrian in Paris we are not anti bikes! We think it's a
       | great idea but we are not going to accept bad behavior and
       | breaking of laws that put our citizens in danger!
        
       | Grakel wrote:
       | Paris is in anarchy but it's not the bikers.
        
         | axiosgunnar wrote:
         | Who is it then?
        
       | Gravityloss wrote:
       | Yeah, it's not the same but a bit similar: increasing amount of
       | cars, increasing amount bicycles, both have to be dealt with,
       | with proper infrastructure etc. Copenhagen is very advanced in
       | that regard, in many ways, and it's great to see that those
       | lessons can be learned elsewhere.
       | 
       | Proper routing for the large amount of bicycles with designated
       | lanes for turning and waiting for traffic lights etc...
        
       | throwaway0a5e wrote:
       | How do people even find the spare fucks to give about this kind
       | of thing?
       | 
       | If you can fit in the lanes and, traffic speeds and mostly meet
       | the other traffic's expectations for how traffic is supposed to
       | behave I don't care what you drive/ride.
        
       | pshc wrote:
       | NYT can clutch pearls about bad bicyclists all they like but it's
       | a minuscule problem compared to the horrors of car culture. Go
       | Paris!
        
       | erdo wrote:
       | I'm very happy about it (as someone who lives here), the cars
       | need to go.
        
       | contingencies wrote:
       | It's nought but shoddy journalism to see such an article written
       | without due respect for Paris' bike sharing scheme _Velib_ ,
       | which was one of if not _the_ first major city bike sharing
       | scheme globally. Fast forward 20 years and China 's had a
       | billion-bike share bubble. Also no mention of French historical
       | significance in the field of cycling, _Tour de France_ , etc.
       | Paris is still _a l 'avant_.
        
       | mcv wrote:
       | > _" She has made highways along the Seine car-free and last
       | year, during coronavirus lockdowns, oversaw the creation of over
       | 100 miles of new bike paths. She plans to limit cars in 2022 in
       | the heart of the city, along half of the Right Bank and through
       | the Boulevard Saint Germain."_
       | 
       | > _" Parisians have heeded the call: A million people in a
       | metropolis of 10 million are now pedaling daily. And Paris now
       | ranks among the world's top 10 cycling cities."_
       | 
       | This is pretty awesome. I had no idea that Paris has become so
       | bike-centric since I last was there (which was probably more than
       | 6 years ago). It sounds fantastic.
       | 
       | Weird that the article tries to put such a negative spin on it.
       | Of course, the people and the city need to learn how to handle
       | this, figure out what traffic arrangements work best, enforce
       | laws and maybe fine bikers who run red lights and ignore zebras,
       | but it's not like Paris traffic wasn't already anarchy before.
       | 
       | Instead of looking at Copenhagen, perhaps they should look at
       | Amsterdam, which is also a very bike-oriented city with a strong
       | and old bicycle culture, but also a strong anarchistic streak and
       | lots of cyclists who flaunt the rules. Lots of people complain
       | about it, but most of the time it actually works fine. (I stick
       | strictly to the rules nowadays because I want to set a good
       | example to my children, but that was very different when I was a
       | student.)
        
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       (page generated 2021-10-03 23:01 UTC)