Maybe they should start making bicyclists have insurance?
Yes, and "Bicycle rider's license" and license plate for bike with yearly renewal sticker and appropriate fee. Perhaps 3 levels of license by age bracket.
WIth more people opting for bikes for commutes, to avoid high gas prices, some form of regulation is needed. I see some adult bikers breaking the law and/or riding irresponsibly in my area.
Create another impossible to manage government function, over bicycles?? There are societies with a much higher reliance on the bike, without a huge law enforcement presence/bureaucracy attached.
So you get a "bicycle learner's permit" for your 6 year old? Special exemption for tricycles?
Any laws that are being broken are already on the books - the issues are around enforcement and awareness
I'm sure the government would make a mess of any kind of bicycle licensing. They would require airbags and crumple zones to start with.
Most of the time when I see someone riding I think I should get my bike out pump up the tires and go for a ride. Our road is hilly, winding and steep in spots. About 4 miles long and actually some kind of state road. There are lines for the bike riders on the right side going down the hill. There is about 6 inches of pavement before you hit course gravel in many stretches. The other morning we got behind a fellow riding his bike. This road is marked 50 MPH and should be 35 MPH as there are a lot of cross streets and driveways feeding onto it. On the long downhill stretches he was getting up to 35 MPH. Now trying to pass is dicey at best with a double yellow lines the whole distance. So we just kind of held back. He would glance over his shoulder at us every now and then expecting me to race around him. I did not and followed him to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill. He smiled as we took off from the stop sign ahead of him. I suppose he could have pulled over and stopped to let us by. I was not in a hurry so it was not a big deal. Many people do go over the 50 MPH limit and I imagine would have passed him and crossed the double lines. This is a popular area for bikes on the weekends. So we see big groups from time to time. I am learning to slow down now that I am retired and these situations no longer annoy me.
I see some adult bikers breaking the law and/or riding irresponsibly in my area.
I see many adult drivers breaking the law and driving irresponsibly in my area all the time. I bet I come to more of a complete stop at stop signs on my bike than most local drivers do. I look at it as a great opportunity to practice my track stands.
I know I signal my turns more than 99% of the drivers on the road. I guess most of them are out of blinker fluid.
Create another impossible to manage government function, over bicycles??
Licensing could be an arm of State motor vehicle departments.
Little kids not such a big issue as adult bike drivers who blow through stop signs, ride 3-4 abreast on rural roads, ride on narrow 55 mph roads and force car drivers to slow down to 5 mph to wait for oncoming traffic to clear in order to drive over center line, etc.
Bike driver licenses would as a minimum require passing written exams to give some assurance that bike drivers "at least" are aware of the rules of road that they must adhere to.
It's a real crime! It's $4.09! It's a real crime! It's $4.09! Regular's $4.09!
Well I spent all my pennies and I spent all my dimes (Gas it up pay it up $4.09) And just maxed-out my credit line (Gas it up pay it out $4.09) When I just filled it up with Regular at $4.09 ($4.09, $4.09) Gas it up pay it up max it out $4.09 (Gas it up pay it up $4.09) Gas it up $4.09 (Gas it up pay it up $4.09) Gas it up $4.09 (Gas it up pay it up $4.09) Gas it up $4.0...Putt putt putt sputter cough!
Nothing can stop it Soon a barrel's $409.00! $409.00?!?!? Owwwww! (Gas it up pay it up Owwww!) (Gas it up pay it up Owwww!) (Gas it up pay it up Owwww!) (Gas it up pay it up Putt putt putt sputter cough)
When I 'm filling-up my car it's really a pain (Gas it up pay it up $4.09) As I watch all my money go down the drain (Gas it up pay it up $4.09) It's Bush's fault, it's OPEC's fault, it's Big Oil's fault it's $4.09! ($4.09, $4.09, $4.09, $4.09...)
The US emphasized increasing the efficiency of auto traffic in the 70's. Kids started getting bused to school. Traffic planners (and many cyclists) preferred to treat bikes like vehicles. The result of the bike lanes separated by traffic by a solid white line is that only young males tend to use them. Everyone else thinks they are too dangerous. What bike paths we have tend to be recreational and don't connect to schools, work or shopping.
Europe on the other hand spent a lot of money on safe walk/bike routes to schools, built dedicated cycle paths (sometimes simply separated from traffic by narrow islands, shrubs or bollards). Money was spent on driver's education too. Sidewalk biking is ok too (I think - the article wasn't clear).
Result?
A cyclist in the US is twice as likely to be killed as a German cyclist. Three times as likely to get creamed as a Dutch biker. Germany and the Netherlands also have the lowest rates of childhood obesity in the EU and it's 5 or so percentage points less than US rates. 50% of all city center trips and up to 73% of all school commutes in Denmark are by bike.
Sadly a kid cannot ride down many streets in the USA that does not have a sexual predator living there. Our Supreme Court could have eliminated some of them. . Consequently my daughter drives my Grandson to school and picks him up every day. clogging up the roads and wasting even more gas. From the looks of the long lines of cars at every school it is universal.
never mind bicycle riding licenses. clearly there's a need for government license requirement for anyone proposing to make any more of those songs about gas prices.
I read a statistic last year that said 20% of all traffic in cities consists of parents driving children to/from school. And, yes, they HAVE to because of all the pervs out there.
This is a huge change in the day-to-day life of Americans that few people talk about. 30 years ago, kids walked to grade school every day, and no one thought twice about it.
I used to live around Princeton, NJ. I remember the clogged up parking lot everyday at my high school being crammed with thirsty luxury cars waiting to pick up fellow students 13 years ago!! Just ridiculous.
I bet you the line of cars is a little thinner these days.
Better story yet, just a few years ago I would see my neighbor, with a Lexus LX470 drive to her friend's house 3 house's away about 5 times a day instead of walking!!! When you can't walk 500 ft., you know this country is in trouble!!
with a Lexus LX470 drive to her friend's house 3 house's away about 5 times a day instead of walking!!
Must be a rough neighborhood :sick:
I remember our high school parking lot was full back in 1960. There was mostly buses picking kids up that did not have a car. Not many parents making the trip. I rode my bike until I bought my first car. A 1947 Pontiac Convertible. With no top. Not many new cars in the student parking lot. Maybe a handful of rich kids out of 2500 students.
Yeah, Rough Neighborhood!!! If you consider million dollar home sitting on 1 acre lots where just about every driveway has either a Cadillac, Lexus, BMW, Audi or mercedes in it.
I remember going to Berlin in 1991. Bikes lanes were clearly separated with their own traffic lights. Cyclists were pretty respectful.
Cycling is pretty well regarded and motorists are rather careful, as many of them are cyclists too.
i think US situation regarding bikes is due to too many people behind the wheel are not cyclists themselves and don't understand the challenges of cycling. In turn, this makes cycling more dangerous and discourage even more people to do so. The vicious circle is complete and government won't raise a finger to counter this.
Most state and many local governments have bicycle planners attached to the transportation departments. There's one in my county. The funding to design/build stuff and educate the public is pretty minor though and the departments often consider bikes an afterthought. We're a few decades behind the curve in catching up. :sick:
Better story yet, just a few years ago I would see my neighbor, with a Lexus LX470 drive to her friend's house 3 house's away about 5 times a day instead of walking!!! When you can't walk 500 ft., you know this country is in trouble!!
That reminds me of a quote I saw in Reader's Digest. "Only in America will you see someone hop in their car and drive 1/2 mile to the gym to exercise."
Our State and Federal Governments Excel at making "do nothing" agencies and jobs. The only place I have seen decent bike trails is Anchorage. There you are likely to get robbed or raped in the remote areas.
In Ada county: Have you gotten anything for your tax dollars that resembles a bike path? Looks to me like the money will be spent on studies. One of my major pet peeves.
Europe on the other hand spent a lot of money on safe walk/bike routes to schools, built dedicated cycle paths (sometimes simply separated from traffic by narrow islands, shrubs or bollards). Money was spent on driver's education too. Sidewalk biking is ok too (I think - the article wasn't clear).
I personally know that driver attitudes toward cyclists in Europe (well, France anyway) are a lot different than they are here. When you're on a bike over there it's like you are some sort of national hero. Drivers go out of their way to be courteous to you. If it weren't for the $8+/gal fuel and other high costs of living I'd like to stay there longer.
BTW, very little littering observed along the French roads. It has to do with driver attitudes, not more trash pickup crews. I'm not sure if this is related to their attitudes about cyclists.
We have lots and lots of bike trails but they are a bit disjointed. It takes study money to figure out the right of way issues and work them out. There's a path parallel to the Boise River that goes for ~25 miles (or 19, depending on who you ask, plus there's a small pedestrian only section in dispute). There's a Ridge to Rivers system that has ~125 miles of hiking and biking trails, but most of those are for the mountain bike crowd (there's a new cycling park going in near my house and it's terrific and will increase my property value).
Boise is big on bikes - in fact Armstrong trains here all the time.
Oh Tedebear, not only do people drive the 1/2 mile to the gym, they'll take the elevator to it when it's not on the ground floor and then they'll hop on the StairMaster.
San Diego with arguably the best weather in the US outside of Hawaii, should be a great place to ride a bike year round. Most of the bike routes are part of the road system with a separating white line. It really is not a safe place to ride in my opinion. There are some bike paths along the beach that are so crowded with bikes, skateboards, razors, rollerblades & joggers that it may be safer riding on the highways. If you are a gungho Mt Biker there are some extreme trails to try. Overall I would say San Diego gets a D- for being bicycle friendly.
Before I moved out of Anchorage/Eagle River area in the early 1990s they were just finishing a nice wide dedicated bike path from Anchorage to past Eagle River. It was very nice. I think it gets used more in the winter by cross country skiers than the summer. This is what a bike trail should look like. Lines on a main road do not count as bike paths.
You may have to share with the critters from time to time.
>When you're on a bike over there it's like you are some sort of national hero. Drivers go out of their way to be courteous to you.
Bicyclists using a lane of public roadway here are treated to the same attitude being discussed in Discourteous Drivers here on Edmunds. They are blocking the lane of those drivers and they don't get courtesy. The attitude is like with left laners going slower than the driver thinks they should: "Get off my road."
You are right that courtesy begets courtesy. The worst case of discourteous bike riders I have come across was in Central Florida. I was cruising on a back country road and came across about 30 bike riders. They were scattered completely across the road. I followed for a bit and finally honked my horn. They very casually made enough room for me to squeeze between them.
I would say that over 99% of bike riding is for pleasure. That does not save a nickels worth of gas. They belong on dedicated bike trails or hanging in their garage if they cannot ride without impeding the normal flow of traffic.
I would say that over 99% of bike riding is for pleasure. That does not save a nickels worth of gas. They belong on dedicated bike trails or hanging in their garage if they cannot ride without impeding the normal flow of traffic.
The interesting thing is that that biker is PART of the flow of traffic, just like a slow moving semi, or an RV on the PCH, etc, etc. I do agree that many bikers could be more civil, however so can many drivers. The key is to SHARE the road, rather than assume the other guy is in "your" space.
I cannot say personally I have missed any appointments due to slow moving bicycles. I do anticipate an increase in people riding bikes to work. That can only add to the tie up in rush hour traffic on roads without dedicated bike lanes.
It would be a switch. China was mostly bikes 20 years ago. Now they are impacted with cars and we may go back to bikes. They got all the jobs we get the bikes.
Only thing i dont like about bicycles is when the go down the road side by side making it hard to pass them. My work is only 2.5 miles away. if they had bike lanes i would use a bicycle. I would still need a car for shopping.
Gary- Thanks for the reminders. There are no more scenic, well-built bike trails I've seen than in Anchorage. Oil money and all that. As for what I'll do at $4/gallon, I was considering a Prius, but the latest DFW ad has $30k for a Prius, $26k for an Avalon, $17k for a 4cyl Camry. Kinda hard to justify the Prius.
"...I bet the line of cars is a little thinner these days..."
I'll take that bet. In the upscale suburban school district I work for the buses sit and idle for a half hour or more because of the traffic jams caused by private vehicles dropping off their little darlings. And when the dropping is done you would think mom has just joined an Indy 500 racing team as she guns that big beast out of the parking lot running the bus red lights.
The amount of fuel wasted every day in this game could transport the entire 9000+ student body for a week. That's a $30,000 bill for us.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I know - it's insane. I mentioned a few days ago that I emailed Edmunds.com and asked them to do a story on surging hybrid demand. The update is that they emailed me back with a very polite letter with links to some stories they've done recently.
One in particular was on point, although it dwelled a bit on the decline in SUV demand with just a mention of hybrid demand. It was on some secondary website sponsored by Edmunds, which is why I never saw it before.
The articles they recommended were okay, but I was really looking for some individual examples and some numbers, like that lady who wouldn't take the dealer's offer for her Escalade, but came back six weeks later and they offered her $6,000 less.
I'd also like to know who's paying $30 grand for a Prius? I'm the biggest fan of hybrids on this forum, but for $30K, I'd still be driving my small SUV. A hybrid is worthless at that price.
I'll bet dealers have lots of juicy tales of desperate SUV owners taking peanuts for their trade-ins and people losing their assets on the price of new hybrids. I want the gory details! .
I'd also like to know who's paying $30 grand for a Prius? I'm the biggest fan of hybrids on this forum, but for $30K, I'd still be driving my small SUV. A hybrid is worthless at that price.
I agree. It looks like a package 6 touring Prius has an Edmund's Price tag of $29,607. With TTL in CA that is about $33k. A lot more than it is worth I would say.
It looks like VW is gunning for the Prius buyers. They show the new Sportwagon TDI loaded including a moon roof for about $1000 less. Those reporting there mileage are getting 46 MPG combined. More room, far better handling and performance with equal mileage. Should be lining up at the dealers. Hopefully the VW dealers are not as greedy as Toyota and Honda.
You want to give them, like any wild critter, a wide berth. A man was killed by a moose outside the sports center at the University of Alaska, Anchorage in '95, and woman was killed a couple of years before that in her yard. And at 1:35 this morning a teen bicycle racer was mauled by a grizzly during a 24 hour bike race up there (it's just after Solstice and it doesn't really get that dark). She's in critical condition. (Yahoo News). This moose in my yard one year was bigger than my minivan.
The newer minivan got filled up tonight to the tune of $65. RUG was $4.09, and a couple of stations are selling it for $4.15 today.
Getting $3,000 for a ten year old car? Not sure that it would be worth it. I noticed that they list a 2008 BENTLEY Continental Flying Spur 10/17/12 mpg on the list of approved cars. Three grand, that is like 1% of the price of a Bentley, right? :shades:
Historically gas has been much higher in Hawaii than even CA. I don't think you can find gas here in San Diego that cheap now. The last two years gas has been cheaper in Hilo, Hawaii than San Diego. Not sure why. They are probably not using ethanol. I am sure the cost of trucking that crap to CA has raised our prices since 2005.
In the 1980s gas in Hawaii was as much as a dollar a gallon more than CA. Maybe with the high prices shipping is not as much of a hit.
So my thought.... High energy costs will simply accelerate the return of jobs to the US. The development of industry/a middle class in India and China will also result in the movement of jobs back to the US. If it costs too much to transport either raw material or finished products then more work will be done in the US. In addition, as that burgeoning middle class requires higher wages to buy some of the nifty stuff they are building, then the costs of labor will rise, reducing the US/foreign worker differential, especially when the aforementioned transport/raw material costs are factored in.
It looks like Alaska has about the widest range of price on RUG. From Anchorage at $4.29 to Dillingham at $6.49 per gallon. I am sure some of the small villages are up to $9 or more per gallon.
"I'd also like to know who's paying $30 grand for a Prius? I'm the biggest fan of hybrids on this forum, but for $30K, I'd still be driving my small SUV. A hybrid is worthless at that price. "
Speak of the Devil! The Dallas Morning News just ran this article on Hybrid Hysteria today. Looks like some dealers are charging $5k over list. :mad: The story does describe a 'good' dealer that both forgoes the added dealer markup and runs the shoppers through a spreadsheet to see if the Prius is really better for them $$-wise.
Geeze! A $5K premium over the already expensive MSRP for a Prius? It kind of defeats the whole money-saving angle behind buying a hybrid. You'd have to do a fierocious amount of driving to justify paying that much!
Just read a report showing that bridge/tunnel traffic in the NYC area is down in May, about 4-6% and that mass transit ridership is up. My guess? ALL rates rise.
I believe that the tolls will go up, because they will be missing those wonderful "targets" for revenue... and the argument will be made that the states count on that money to pay for stuff - including subsidies for mass transit.
I also believe that mass transit fares will increase... because the cost of electricity, or diesel will have to be passed on, the subsidies from tolls will be less, and, magically, the increased ridership will not offset the costs, and those increased riders will be "putting a strain on a system that is already nearing capacity." Bottom line? Screwed again.
"Just read a report showing that bridge/tunnel traffic in the NYC area is down in May, about 4-6% and that mass transit ridership is up. My guess? ALL rates rise. "
Same thing's happening in Dallas - the light trains are SRO, with full parking lots and folks outside the area using them, much to the chagrin of those of us living in the cities that helped pay.
"Were those facilities funded by any State monies? Grants from the US government? County-wide sales taxes? "
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) was started in '83, funded by a one cent sales tax in the 13 participating cities. Not participating, but now benefitting to the extent they drive to the lots and get on the trains, are the northern suburbs of Allen, McKinney, and Frisco, which were largely farmland in '83.
Edit - Those three 'towns' had about 50k people in '83, now closing in on 300k :surprise:
Delayed effects, that's all. Expect gas to rise again if oil stays above $140/barrel.
On the plus side, where I am some were predicting $5/gallon gas by July 4th, and instead it rose only to around $4.50 and has stayed there for some weeks now. With only three days to go until the 4th, I am confidently assuming we won't get to that $5 mark! ;-)
I am just hoping we don't reach it at all this summer. :-/
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
"...High energy cost will simply accelerate the return of jobs to the US..."
Boy I wish that were true. Then at least there would be something positive about this mess.
Unfortunately, the rise of the enviromentalist class will probably crush any business trying to relocate back to the US. These folk who either earn their living with the green movement or benefit from it (think news media) will put considerable road blocks in the way.
Two examples I can think of are in my local area.
First, a large company had a cement plant nearby. They couldn't meet the demand for their product and because the plant was older they were having trouble meeting pollution quotas. They proposed a new state of the art plant. They would have doubled employment and cut emissions by 60%.
In stepped the enviros who protested everything including the view. The company tried to accomodate everyone but they kept coming up with new objections. Finally, the company gave up and sent the jobs elsewhere.
Now these groups are protesting the emissions from the old plant as being too high. I think their goal is to chase all the jobs away.
The second example involves a tree nursery. Pretty green business wouldn't you think? Not so. Spurred on by the enviro community the local gutless government has cited the small business owner numerous times for offences such as putting trees to close to a stream. I doubt this guy is planning on investing much more money in the US.
I think the regulatory climate has to change.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Comments
Yes, and "Bicycle rider's license" and license plate for bike with yearly renewal sticker and appropriate fee. Perhaps 3 levels of license by age bracket.
WIth more people opting for bikes for commutes, to avoid high gas prices, some form of regulation is needed. I see some adult bikers breaking the law and/or riding irresponsibly in my area.
I mean, you are kidding,right?
Create another impossible to manage government function, over bicycles?? There are societies with a much higher reliance on the bike, without a huge law enforcement presence/bureaucracy attached.
So you get a "bicycle learner's permit" for your 6 year old? Special exemption for tricycles?
Any laws that are being broken are already on the books - the issues are around enforcement and awareness
Most of the time when I see someone riding I think I should get my bike out pump up the tires and go for a ride. Our road is hilly, winding and steep in spots. About 4 miles long and actually some kind of state road. There are lines for the bike riders on the right side going down the hill. There is about 6 inches of pavement before you hit course gravel in many stretches. The other morning we got behind a fellow riding his bike. This road is marked 50 MPH and should be 35 MPH as there are a lot of cross streets and driveways feeding onto it. On the long downhill stretches he was getting up to 35 MPH. Now trying to pass is dicey at best with a double yellow lines the whole distance. So we just kind of held back. He would glance over his shoulder at us every now and then expecting me to race around him. I did not and followed him to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill. He smiled as we took off from the stop sign ahead of him. I suppose he could have pulled over and stopped to let us by. I was not in a hurry so it was not a big deal. Many people do go over the 50 MPH limit and I imagine would have passed him and crossed the double lines. This is a popular area for bikes on the weekends. So we see big groups from time to time. I am learning to slow down now that I am retired and these situations no longer annoy me.
I see many adult drivers breaking the law and driving irresponsibly in my area all the time. I bet I come to more of a complete stop at stop signs on my bike than most local drivers do. I look at it as a great opportunity to practice my track stands.
I know I signal my turns more than 99% of the drivers on the road. I guess most of them are out of blinker fluid.
THANKS!
Now I know why those darn things don't work!
Create another impossible to manage government function, over bicycles??
Licensing could be an arm of State motor vehicle departments.
Little kids not such a big issue as adult bike drivers who blow through stop signs, ride 3-4 abreast on rural roads, ride on narrow 55 mph roads and force car drivers to slow down to 5 mph to wait for oncoming traffic to clear in order to drive over center line, etc.
Bike driver licenses would as a minimum require passing written exams to give some assurance that bike drivers "at least" are aware of the rules of road that they must adhere to.
It's a real crime! It's $4.09!
It's a real crime! It's $4.09!
Regular's $4.09!
Well I spent all my pennies and I spent all my dimes
(Gas it up pay it up $4.09)
And just maxed-out my credit line
(Gas it up pay it out $4.09)
When I just filled it up with Regular at $4.09
($4.09, $4.09)
Gas it up pay it up max it out $4.09
(Gas it up pay it up $4.09)
Gas it up $4.09
(Gas it up pay it up $4.09)
Gas it up $4.09
(Gas it up pay it up $4.09)
Gas it up $4.0...Putt putt putt sputter cough!
Nothing can stop it
Soon a barrel's $409.00!
$409.00?!?!? Owwwww!
(Gas it up pay it up Owwww!)
(Gas it up pay it up Owwww!)
(Gas it up pay it up Owwww!)
(Gas it up pay it up Putt putt putt sputter cough)
When I 'm filling-up my car it's really a pain
(Gas it up pay it up $4.09)
As I watch all my money go down the drain
(Gas it up pay it up $4.09)
It's Bush's fault, it's OPEC's fault, it's Big Oil's fault it's $4.09!
($4.09, $4.09, $4.09, $4.09...)
Europe on the other hand spent a lot of money on safe walk/bike routes to schools, built dedicated cycle paths (sometimes simply separated from traffic by narrow islands, shrubs or bollards). Money was spent on driver's education too. Sidewalk biking is ok too (I think - the article wasn't clear).
Result?
A cyclist in the US is twice as likely to be killed as a German cyclist. Three times as likely to get creamed as a Dutch biker. Germany and the Netherlands also have the lowest rates of childhood obesity in the EU and it's 5 or so percentage points less than US rates. 50% of all city center trips and up to 73% of all school commutes in Denmark are by bike.
(From a 7/06 Urban Land mag.)
This is a huge change in the day-to-day life of Americans that few people talk about. 30 years ago, kids walked to grade school every day, and no one thought twice about it.
I bet you the line of cars is a little thinner these days.
Better story yet, just a few years ago I would see my neighbor, with a Lexus LX470 drive to her friend's house 3 house's away about 5 times a day instead of walking!!! When you can't walk 500 ft., you know this country is in trouble!!
Must be a rough neighborhood :sick:
I remember our high school parking lot was full back in 1960. There was mostly buses picking kids up that did not have a car. Not many parents making the trip. I rode my bike until I bought my first car. A 1947 Pontiac Convertible. With no top. Not many new cars in the student parking lot. Maybe a handful of rich kids out of 2500 students.
Bikes lanes were clearly separated with their own traffic lights. Cyclists were pretty respectful.
Cycling is pretty well regarded and motorists are rather careful, as many of them are cyclists too.
i think US situation regarding bikes is due to too many people behind the wheel are not cyclists themselves and don't understand the challenges of cycling.
In turn, this makes cycling more dangerous and discourage even more people to do so.
The vicious circle is complete and government won't raise a finger to counter this.
Most state and many local governments have bicycle planners attached to the transportation departments. There's one in my county. The funding to design/build stuff and educate the public is pretty minor though and the departments often consider bikes an afterthought. We're a few decades behind the curve in catching up. :sick:
That reminds me of a quote I saw in Reader's Digest. "Only in America will you see someone hop in their car and drive 1/2 mile to the gym to exercise."
In Ada county:
Have you gotten anything for your tax dollars that resembles a bike path? Looks to me like the money will be spent on studies. One of my major pet peeves.
I personally know that driver attitudes toward cyclists in Europe (well, France anyway) are a lot different than they are here. When you're on a bike over there it's like you are some sort of national hero. Drivers go out of their way to be courteous to you. If it weren't for the $8+/gal fuel and other high costs of living I'd like to stay there longer.
BTW, very little littering observed along the French roads. It has to do with driver attitudes, not more trash pickup crews. I'm not sure if this is related to their attitudes about cyclists.
Boise is big on bikes - in fact Armstrong trains here all the time.
Oh Tedebear, not only do people drive the 1/2 mile to the gym, they'll take the elevator to it when it's not on the ground floor and then they'll hop on the StairMaster.
Before I moved out of Anchorage/Eagle River area in the early 1990s they were just finishing a nice wide dedicated bike path from Anchorage to past Eagle River. It was very nice. I think it gets used more in the winter by cross country skiers than the summer. This is what a bike trail should look like. Lines on a main road do not count as bike paths.
You may have to share with the critters from time to time.
http://www.trailsofanchorage.com/kincaid_park.htm
http://www.muni.org/iceimages/parks/TrailwatchMap.pdf
Bicyclists using a lane of public roadway here are treated to the same attitude being discussed in Discourteous Drivers here on Edmunds. They are blocking the lane of those drivers and they don't get courtesy. The attitude is like with left laners going slower than the driver thinks they should: "Get off my road."
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I would say that over 99% of bike riding is for pleasure. That does not save a nickels worth of gas. They belong on dedicated bike trails or hanging in their garage if they cannot ride without impeding the normal flow of traffic.
The interesting thing is that that biker is PART of the flow of traffic, just like a slow moving semi, or an RV on the PCH, etc, etc. I do agree that many bikers could be more civil, however so can many drivers. The key is to SHARE the road, rather than assume the other guy is in "your" space.
It would be a switch. China was mostly bikes 20 years ago. Now they are impacted with cars and we may go back to bikes. They got all the jobs we get the bikes.
The US may end up healthier for the switch.
it hard to pass them. My work is only 2.5 miles away. if they had bike lanes i would use a bicycle. I would still need a car for shopping.
Thanks for the reminders. There are no more scenic, well-built bike trails I've seen than in Anchorage. Oil money and all that. As for what I'll do at $4/gallon, I was considering a Prius, but the latest DFW ad has $30k for a Prius, $26k for an Avalon, $17k for a 4cyl Camry. Kinda hard to justify the Prius.
I'll take that bet. In the upscale suburban school district I work for the buses sit and idle for a half hour or more because of the traffic jams caused by private vehicles dropping off their little darlings. And when the dropping is done you would think mom has just joined an Indy 500 racing team as she guns that big beast out of the parking lot running the bus red lights.
The amount of fuel wasted every day in this game could transport the entire 9000+ student body for a week. That's a $30,000 bill for us.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I know - it's insane. I mentioned a few days ago that I emailed Edmunds.com and asked them to do a story on surging hybrid demand. The update is that they emailed me back with a very polite letter with links to some stories they've done recently.
One in particular was on point, although it dwelled a bit on the decline in SUV demand with just a mention of hybrid demand. It was on some secondary website sponsored by Edmunds, which is why I never saw it before.
The articles they recommended were okay, but I was really looking for some individual examples and some numbers, like that lady who wouldn't take the dealer's offer for her Escalade, but came back six weeks later and they offered her $6,000 less.
I'd also like to know who's paying $30 grand for a Prius? I'm the biggest fan of hybrids on this forum, but for $30K, I'd still be driving my small SUV. A hybrid is worthless at that price.
I'll bet dealers have lots of juicy tales of desperate SUV owners taking peanuts for their trade-ins and people losing their assets on the price of new hybrids. I want the gory details!
.
I agree. It looks like a package 6 touring Prius has an Edmund's Price tag of $29,607. With TTL in CA that is about $33k. A lot more than it is worth I would say.
It looks like VW is gunning for the Prius buyers. They show the new Sportwagon TDI loaded including a moon roof for about $1000 less. Those reporting there mileage are getting 46 MPG combined. More room, far better handling and performance with equal mileage. Should be lining up at the dealers. Hopefully the VW dealers are not as greedy as Toyota and Honda.
The newer minivan got filled up tonight to the tune of $65. RUG was $4.09, and a couple of stations are selling it for $4.15 today.
Hitting a squirrel at 35 mph will buy you time in ICU let alone a moose....R.I.P.!!
I love filling up my Denali for $90!! INSURANCE!
Regards,
OW
Getting $3,000 for a ten year old car? Not sure that it would be worth it. I noticed that they list a 2008 BENTLEY Continental Flying Spur 10/17/12 mpg on the list of approved cars. Three grand, that is like 1% of the price of a Bentley, right? :shades:
http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/HIavg.asp
Regards,
OW
In the 1980s gas in Hawaii was as much as a dollar a gallon more than CA. Maybe with the high prices shipping is not as much of a hit.
When the Aveos were new on the market a friend who drives one hit a semi wheel that had fallen in the middle of the road. Bent a rim.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
So keep those Snap-On tools oiled and ready....
Speak of the Devil! The Dallas Morning News just ran this article on Hybrid Hysteria today. Looks like some dealers are charging $5k over list. :mad: The story does describe a 'good' dealer that both forgoes the added dealer markup and runs the shoppers through a spreadsheet to see if the Prius is really better for them $$-wise.
I believe that the tolls will go up, because they will be missing those wonderful "targets" for revenue... and the argument will be made that the states count on that money to pay for stuff - including subsidies for mass transit.
I also believe that mass transit fares will increase... because the cost of electricity, or diesel will have to be passed on, the subsidies from tolls will be less, and, magically, the increased ridership will not offset the costs, and those increased riders will be "putting a strain on a system that is already nearing capacity." Bottom line? Screwed again.
But I've been wrong before....
Same thing's happening in Dallas - the light trains are SRO, with full parking lots and folks outside the area using them, much to the chagrin of those of us living in the cities that helped pay.
Were those facilities funded by any State monies? Grants from the US government? County-wide sales taxes?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) was started in '83, funded by a one cent sales tax in the 13 participating cities. Not participating, but now benefitting to the extent they drive to the lots and get on the trains, are the northern suburbs of Allen, McKinney, and Frisco, which were largely farmland in '83.
Edit - Those three 'towns' had about 50k people in '83, now closing in on 300k :surprise:
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/20080630_Gas_prices_recede__oil_t- ops__143_a_barrel.html
On the plus side, where I am some were predicting $5/gallon gas by July 4th, and instead it rose only to around $4.50 and has stayed there for some weeks now. With only three days to go until the 4th, I am confidently assuming we won't get to that $5 mark! ;-)
I am just hoping we don't reach it at all this summer. :-/
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Boy I wish that were true. Then at least there would be something positive about this mess.
Unfortunately, the rise of the enviromentalist class will probably crush any business trying to relocate back to the US. These folk who either earn their living with the green movement or benefit from it (think news media) will put considerable road blocks in the way.
Two examples I can think of are in my local area.
First, a large company had a cement plant nearby. They couldn't meet the demand for their product and because the plant was older they were having trouble meeting pollution quotas. They proposed a new state of the art plant. They would have doubled employment and cut emissions by 60%.
In stepped the enviros who protested everything including the view. The company tried to accomodate everyone but they kept coming up with new objections. Finally, the company gave up and sent the jobs elsewhere.
Now these groups are protesting the emissions from the old plant as being too high. I think their goal is to chase all the jobs away.
The second example involves a tree nursery. Pretty green business wouldn't you think? Not so. Spurred on by the enviro community the local gutless government has cited the small business owner numerous times for offences such as putting trees to close to a stream. I doubt this guy is planning on investing much more money in the US.
I think the regulatory climate has to change.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible