Walkable, bikeable cities
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
was a little of a surprise to me that we are such a friendly place)
Yep, Miami is one of the most walkable cities in the country...
It's a close runner-up at 72 after Miami Beach which has a 75. NYC
which would be expected to be high is 84, probably #1 . Most other
places in this country are nearly unwalkable, so we must be proud! I
can understand the little community of South Beach is walkable, but
Miami!? WHERE ARE THE PEDESTRIANS? :ohoh:
Here's a casual list of things you may find in Miami as a pedestrian:
1- Mad drivers,
2- Mad dogs that bite (usually behind fences),
3- No shade anywhere,
4- NO SIDEWALKS in many places,
5- NO PEOPLE,
6- Long, long distances,
These long distance may easily be negotiable by bike, but the mad
drivers and mad dogs may be even more hostile to "pedestrians with
wings" (my metaphor). The saying goes, "BS walks and money
talks" (usually it buys you an SUV, which is the real way to get
around in Miami). ;)
------------------------------------------------------------
THE WISE TIBETAN MONKEY SAYS
"Walkable, bikeable communities are a Utopia that we may get before
the end of the world. Or perhaps the midnight clock (Doomsday Clock)
is ticking for us because we have lost meaning in life. Whatever."
Forrest Hodge
Interesting, the two nearest towns to me have 69 walkscore and whopping
92 walkscore. Still I'll keep my 2 acre lot and simply drive the 5 miles
to the nearest grocery store. I like living in a place with relatively
low population density.
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
Being a misanthropist is not a crime, right?
I like space when I have bad people around me.
Forrest Hodge
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
That's why people move to the suburbs, right? "Low --select--
population density."
Forrest Hodge
Possibly. I live where I live because I enjoy the short commute to work,
the near complete absence of crime, relatively low taxes, and general
convenience.
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
>
> - Show quoted text -
The idea is NOT totally crazy if you ride a bike instead of the
standard SUV.
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
On Jan 18, 10:23 am, "ranjit_math...@yahoo.com"
<ranjit_math...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Jan 17, 4:39 pm, Walt <wka...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > The big problems I see with having walkable/bikeable cities.
>
> > 1. If the temp is much above 20C you will be sweaty/stinky when you
> > get to work.
>
> Employer provided shower stalls for bicyclists!
>
> > 2. People want to have more open living space than they need and more
> > space for stuff they barely if ever use.
>
> Not all people want the same things. Be that as it may, if bicycle
> paths were (hypothetically) as ubiquitous as motorable roads, would
> living in a suburb prevent commuting by bicycle?
>
> > 3. Multi-household dwellings are not built to be insulated from
> > external noise or maybe we have become culturally noise intolerant.
>
> Good observation. Can they not be thus insulated?
>
> > 4. People want yards that to me seem like useless time and money
> > pits, maybe this is related to #3, it's a way to isolate oneself from
> > the noise of others.
>
> > 5. Cities save money by having people who should be in jail or
> > otherwise institutionalized ride public transportation all day.
>
> Might they save still more money by having people who should be
> hunting game ride public transportation all day, keeping an eye on
> these people who should be jailbirds.
That's more like my line of thinking but I was too lazy to answer.
Thanks!
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
> Responding to His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep
> jungle:
>
>
>
> > (It's not my fault if you don't live in a walkable community. But it was
> > ask me why the Christians hate walking or biking)
>
> > Yep, Miami is one of the most walkable cities in the country...
>
> >http://www.walkscore.com/FL
>
> > It's a close runner-up at 72 after Miami Beach which has a 75. NYC which
> > would be expected to be high is 84, probably #1 . Most other places in
> > this country are nearly unwalkable, so we must be proud! I can
> > understand the little community of South Beach is walkable, but Miami!?
> > WHERE ARE THE PEDESTRIANS? :ohoh:
>
> > Here's a casual list of things you may find in Miami as a pedestrian:
>
> > 1- Mad drivers,
>
> > 2- Mad dogs that bite (usually behind fences),
>
> > 3- No shade anywhere,
>
> > 4- NO SIDEWALKS in many places,
>
> > 5- NO PEOPLE,
>
> > 6- Long, long distances,
>
> > These long distance may easily be negotiable by bike, but the mad
> > drivers and mad dogs may be even more hostile to "pedestrians with
> > wings" (my metaphor). The saying goes, "BS walks and money talks"
> > (usually it buys you an SUV, which is the real way to get around in
> > Miami). ;)
>
>
> It does help if somebody bombs the shit out of a place to create an
> opportunity to improve things.
Maybe not. Around here they know to waste money but not how to get it
right.
Do we need the legendary German engineering?
Forrest Hodge
Riding a bike isn't feasible for the morning and afternoon commute. Two
land roads with no shoulder to speak of with typical speeds of 45-55
MPH. During the weekends or during off-peak hours, then it's pretty
doable.But at those times, other than exercise there's no practical
reason to bike out that way. If I want to bicycle for pleasure or
exercise there are plenty of back country roads out here to do so.
During a 60 minute ride you might encounter maybe 3 or 4 cars total.
Beats dodging cars, trucks, and pedestrians in the city if you ask me.
SMS
> (It's not my fault if you don't live in a walkable community. But it
> was a little of a surprise to me that we are such a friendly place)
>
> Yep, Miami is one of the most walkable cities in the country...
>
> http://www.walkscore.com/FL
>
> It's a close runner-up at 72 after Miami Beach which has a 75. NYC
> which would be expected to be high is 84, probably #1 . Most other
> places in this country are nearly unwalkable, so we must be proud! I
> can understand the little community of South Beach is walkable, but
> Miami!? WHERE ARE THE PEDESTRIANS? :ohoh:
Lots of cities have areas that are very walkable if you choose the right
area of the city. My city varies from 0 to 83, and I'm at 77. Those that
want the mansions up in the hills have a score of 0 and they have to
drive _everywhere_. Those with the more modest homes down near the city
center can walk lots of places. It's a choice we all make.
That web site has some major problems. One place I used to live that
should be close to 100 is at 75. You can walk to just about anything
you'd need, including a light rail stop which doesn't even show up.
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
I'm aware of all those problems and I have similar ones along the most
scenic and practical routes. But the bicycle should be able to solve
many problems associated with the sprawl, starting with the LACK OF
SIDEWALKS.
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
> Responding to His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep
> jungle:
>
>
>
> > On Jan 18, 2:16 pm, Mike Jones <l...@dasteem.invalid> wrote:
> >> jungle:
>
> >> > (It's not my fault if you don't live in a walkable community. But it
> >> > Don't ask me why the Christians hate walking or biking)
>
>
> >> >http://www.walkscore.com/FL
>
> >> > It's a close runner-up at 72 after Miami Beach which has a 75. NYC
> >> > which would be expected to be high is 84, probably #1 . Most other
> >> > places in this country are nearly unwalkable, so we must be proud! I
> >> > can understand the little community of South Beach is walkable, but
> >> > Miami!? WHERE ARE THE PEDESTRIANS? :ohoh:
>
> >> > Here's a casual list of things you may find in Miami as a pedestrian:
>
> >> > 1- Mad drivers,
>
> >> > 2- Mad dogs that bite (usually behind fences),
>
> >> > 3- No shade anywhere,
>
> >> > 4- NO SIDEWALKS in many places,
>
> >> > 5- NO PEOPLE,
>
> >> > 6- Long, long distances,
>
> >> > These long distance may easily be negotiable by bike, but the mad
> >> > drivers and mad dogs may be even more hostile to "pedestrians with
> >> > wings" (my metaphor). The saying goes, "BS walks and money talks"
> >> > (usually it buys you an SUV, which is the real way to get around in
> >> > Miami). ;)
>
>
> >> It does help if somebody bombs the shit out of a place to create an
> >> opportunity to improve things.
>
> > Maybe not. Around here they know to waste money but not how to get it
> > right.
>
> > Do we need the legendary German engineering?
>
The Germans got tired of war and went into engineering. But the
British and Americans are still playing that primitive game. I think
Christian influence is at work too, not in engineering but in war.
But maybe I'm wrong.
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
The Christians may be saying, "Someone must rule the world and who's
better than us that mean business that progress."
Now, many people have a different idea of what "progress" means
(usually democracy, SUVs and junk food) and there lies the problem.
But I may be wrong.
Opus
the deep jungle" <nolionnoprob...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>snip<
> > Riding a bike isn't feasible for the morning and afternoon commute. Two
> > land roads with no shoulder to speak of with typical speeds of 45-55
> > MPH. During the weekends or during off-peak hours, then it's pretty
> > doable.But at those times, other than exercise there's no practical
> > reason to bike out that way. If I want to bicycle for pleasure or
> > exercise there are plenty of back country roads out here to do so.
> > During a 60 minute ride you might encounter maybe 3 or 4 cars total.
> > Beats dodging cars, trucks, and pedestrians in the city if you ask me.
>
> I'm aware of all those problems and I have similar ones along the most
> scenic and practical routes. But the bicycle should be able to solve
> many problems associated with the sprawl, starting with the LACK OF
> SIDEWALKS.
Where I live getting around by bicycle would be very feasible distance
and climate-wise, except for single-mode streets with highway speed
limits. It's crazy, in residential areas we had 30-35 MPH speed
limits, and once you get on the arterials you have 45 MPH speed limits
that everyone automatically adds 10 MPH to for actual speeds of 50-55
MPH NO MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER CONDITIONS. The only time I see people
slowing down for conditions are when the conditions physically prevent
driving 10 MPH over the limit. They will also slow to 30 MPH for the
posted 20 MPH school zones. And this is a town that I can cross in 20
minutes by bicycle, or get to most of the major shopping areas and
employment areas from my house in 30 minutes or less without having to
breathe hard (except for climbing the one hill in town).
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
It's the same thing here. The 3 roads out of my cave are no-man's land
and the rest is pure backstreets. Stop and go, and pray no car runs
the stop.
I guess you are for bike facilities short of allowing the cyclist to
TAKE THE LANE, which is far fetched at this point.
Opus
the deep jungle" <comandante.ban...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>snip<
> > Where I live getting around by bicycle would be very feasible distance
> > and climate-wise, except for single-mode streets with highway speed
> > limits. It's crazy, in residential areas we had 30-35 MPH speed
> > limits, and once you get on the arterials you have 45 MPH speed limits
> > that everyone automatically adds 10 MPH to for actual speeds of 50-55
> > MPH NO MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER CONDITIONS. The only time I see people
> > slowing down for conditions are when the conditions physically prevent
> > driving 10 MPH over the limit. They will also slow to 30 MPH for the
> > posted 20 MPH school zones. And this is a town that I can cross in 20
> > minutes by bicycle, or get to most of the major shopping areas and
> > employment areas from my house in 30 minutes or less without having to
> > breathe hard (except for climbing the one hill in town).
>
> It's the same thing here. The 3 roads out of my cave are no-man's land
> and the rest is pure backstreets. Stop and go, and pray no car runs
> the stop.
>
> I guess you are for bike facilities short of allowing the cyclist to
> TAKE THE LANE, which is far fetched at this point.
Well since there are no connected "back" streets I have to get around
by taking the lane or riding in the grass. The only way to get from
one place to another once you get out of the pre-WWII part of town is
to ride on the arterials with the cars doing 40-45 if they do the
limit which almost nobody does. In my city we have 2 possible
solutions, building off-road facilities, which is starting to get some
traction from the political leaders of the city, or rebuild the roads
so that the speed limit can be lowered. That idea went nowhere for a
couple years until it was shown that people driving at high speeds
didn't stop and shop at the local stores, they just keep driving to
shopping areas that were corporate-owned and sent local money to big
out-of-town companies. The major problem is we are pretty much built
out as far as our infrastructure is concerned, so building anything is
going to require tearing out something else. That includes off-street
bicycle facilities.
His Highness the TibetanMonkey, the prophet of the deep jungle
Things are not happening because there's no political will. I think it
should be a right of every citizen in the West to be able to ride a
bike anywhere without fear. We are no better than the Taliban if we
deny space to those who want to do something for the Planet & the
Community. They have to adapt to us, not us to them.
sf
wrote:
Agreed! My address only scored 75, but two colleges are within easy
walking distance, light rail is half a block away, another one is 2
blocks away, a public school is 2 and a half blocks away, a major
shopping center is half a mile away (easy walking distance), the list
of what's within half a mile (bike shop, groceries, restaurants,
tattoo, tanning, nail shops etc) goes on and on... but it got a 75.
Go figger.
--
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.