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From cycling cartoonist Dave Walker
https://davewalker.com/
I hate cars and I equally hate escooter turds who carelessly leave the damn thing wherever they hopped off. Middle of pavement, right in the dead center of a bus stop where they clearly jumped from scooter into the bus door.
No, the little bit of space left getting fucked up by careless rental users is very close as bad as cars.
There are pretty easy solutions for at least the e-blockage: dropoff zones. Big scooter is not quite there yet to go against a mediocre public backlash.
The car solution is super easy as well, there is just too much money to be made in that sector.
THAT BIKE IS TAKING UP A PERFECTLY GOOD PARKING SPACE! /s
I have actually seen people screech this unironically in response to converting car spaces to bike parking
I mean it sucks even more when someone is blocking part of the sidewalk when it's so narrow
The thing is, you can look at the image a few seconds more and notice that there are plenty of cars obstructing the sidewalk more than the bike.
Yeah and that sucks too
I feel like you've missed the point of the cartoon.
The cars are blocking the construction of better infrastructure for walking and cycling.
I didn't miss it, just saying the complaint is still valid. There's too little space already so blocking it sucks even harder
Walking cartoonist Dave Cycler
Daving cartoonist Walker Cycle
Cycling cartoonist Walk Daver
I mean yeah but also people do leave them littered everywhere
In Seattle we throw those green scooters in a pile blocking the garage exit to the ICE facility.
They have their use cases.
In China, they have a dedicated lane for parking bikes and motorcycles, as well as riding. The yellow bikes are 2USD/mo. By making bikes as cheap and convenient as possible, at the expense of what could be an entire carlane, they eliminate the demand for that car lane. There is a 2.50 fine if you park outside of the parking area, but youre never more than 10 feet from a parking zone.
That sounds far better than the American solution of leaving them in the sidewalk
You couldnt do that, youd block all the bikes, cars, and buses using that sidewalk.
Do they also use the ones that people can ride for free if they know how to disengage the brake? You can also take them way outside their intended zone.
You often get them around Nottingham clicking away. Since Uber is involved, this feels ethical anyway. It is always ethical to steal from billionaires.
Sure that's the problem. Not the fact that inner cities are completely clogged up with cars and everybody and everything else has to squeeze into the tiny spaces left over.
They are both a problem. Cars took up most walkable areas and now venture capitalists are exploiting what little is left by littering it with their electric scooters and bikes. Rentals are an important part of a mobility strategy, but they should be run by the government and get their own parking infrastructure.
My inner city is partially pedestrian only and partially streets for bicycles, buses, taxis and people who live there. No through-traffic. Those damn scooters used to be littered everywhere. So the city turned some car parking spots into designated scooter parking spots and they haven't been an issue since. It's not that hard.
Absolutely. They should be municipality owned or operated, and promoted alongside other transit options. It builds a stronger city having several transit options and while also reduces the necessity of car reliance for every trip.
That's a great point. I had a similar realization when riding one for the first time. It was something along the lines of capitalism "fixing" problems that it itself causes. Can't afford a car? Rent a scooter
Don't worry you don't have to pay now either. Just use "After Pay" and you can pay $20 extra in late fees. Or don't. Just keep racking up debt like the rest of society. We really don't care if you pay anymore. We just want a big $ we can show investors so we can all jerk off to the profits we pretend have real material value in the world that is crumbling around us.
but they should be run by the government and get their own parking infrastructure.
Well, yeah, but some soulless husks want to profit. Personally I think we should hold some "disruption" conferences on a remote island, and then "forget" to pick them all up afterwards.
Two things can be true. I live in a downtown area with plenty of open space for bike parking and kids will leave the rent bikes in the middle of wherever they want
I live in a major city and it isn’t a problem. There are plenty of racks and you cannot park(end your ride) in certain zones.
It is a very solvable problem compared to what is sacrificed to cars
Oh for sure. My deeper point is just that culture is a factor that never really comes up in these conversations and memes. So while yes, the pic is funny, and yes it's getting at the heart of the issue. That doesn't change the fact that some people just dont care and also doesn't change the fact that the transition period away from car dependency is awkward for a lot of people
What circumstances foster that culture? Are there just not sufficiently convenient parking places?
It gets the conversation started and it’s hopefully a point of inflection for some
I'm with you on this. We need more space for bike parking AND people regularly park rent-a-bikes like assholes. Like if there's not much room and it's restricting a portion of a sidewalk whatever I get it. I'm cranky but not at the person who parked the bike. So many people in Seattle though stop in the middle of the bike lane and wander off, park in front of wheelchair access, or seemingly go out of their way to ensure the bike is going across the entire sidewalk like a wall
Come the fuck on. You can't be this sarcastic while being an idiot at the same time. If a city is clogged up by cars, it doesn't help that people are irresponsibly parking these e-scooters (specifically the ones you hire for a short period through an app which are prominent in e.g. Sweden). Why let a private company carelessly put a bunch of shit on the limited space available for people?
throw them off the sidewalk and into a car lane
I have to assume a lot of people who complain about bicyclists are those who's only experience is with shared infrastructure.... E.g. no bike lane, share the road. Imo those shouldn't exist when the speed limit is >10mph... And a lot of them at in 35-45mph areas... At that point the biker might as well be a spiced out psycho crab walking down the road.
Where I come from roads are for motor vehicles and anything below 15mph shares the path/sidewalk. The national law started fucking with that and I've argued with my partner, who wants to follow the rules, against me, who thinks the rules are stupid and dangerous.
I went cycling with her recently, once, and while following her rules and the law, had three pricks. One in a car committed a blind hump overtake well above the speed limit to get past us - only incredibly dangerous - and two white van men were impatient also, one of which, at a traffic light, revved engine scaring my partner and pissing me off. I am a defiant person so I fight a threat. In this case I only took more time speeding up and flipped him off, because you know, I left my weapons at home. Bro nearly busted his engine to intimidate us, only to turn left and not even be slowed down by us.
Now she's scared to cycle because it's too dangerous on the road - duh - and she's also experienced pedestrian pricks too. It's not an apocalyptic or feudal era but you have to prepare to be assaulted before going out all the same.
Bikes are to walking as cars are to bikes. You should all be walking, stupid bikers. (/s if it's not obvious)
I have this attitude when biking. In the US. At least I assume everyone has this attitude towards me. I'd rather be respectful to the people walking and piss off the cars. There are just too many times when taking the sidewalk on a bike makes the situation 10x safer for you.
But I'm not gonna be an asshole to people walking. If it's a busy area. I walk the bike. If it's an open area where I can see I'll ride the bike and stop/walk if I see someone ahead.
It's not often I have to. Usually I just take up the entire lane on the street and bother the cars. But I'll take the sidewalk for a bit if it makes it significantly safer to do so.
Oh, I also turn off the electric assist on my electric bike when I'm on sidewalks with people. No one wants to hear that noise.
Yes. Cars are 100x worse. But people normalize that because they have to. I want people walking to see bikers as nice and respectful by comparison.
Even if we didn't totally abolish cars, I'd really like to at least see parts of the city for "personal transport". Any vehicle that carries a single person, with lanes only as wide as required to accommodate.
c/fuckbikes
Share the road! Dang cyclists
/s
I got a ticket one time doing this with a motorcycle on a sidewalk that was like 10 feet wide with other motorcycles nearby doing the same thing because it was downtown and all the parking was full. I made a point to not block egress, but it had just recently become illegal to do, and I was unaware.