[sustran] Mixed (motorized and non-motorized) transportation and Landuse.

[J.H. Crawford]

>  Being a biker in an urban city like NY. I have found that I can take
>my bike on the subway unimpeded. However that is not so with the longer
>train lines like the LIRR (long island Railroad) Where passes must be
>obtained in advance to do so and some (I suspect) rather restrictive
>rules are applied.

But if lots of people tried to take their bikes on the
subway, it would be banned because of the space it 
requires. Even here in Amsterdam on the new metro
lines, only two bikes are allowed in each metro car.

> But regulations of which I complain, would remove from the riders the
>flexiblity of applying commonsense or using good judgement. As if
>bicycle commuters/users were an undesirable thing to be prevented even
>at some costs.  Fortunately, the TA police, applying their own good
>judgement, gave such rules the enforcement they deserved (namely none). 

I'm afraid that common sense and consideration for one's neighbors
are no longer a reliable way to run anything. If the trend continues
unchecked, it's the end of civilization.

>  Unfortunately too, over the last few weeks, our Mayor's drive to calm
>  Bikes are very efficient for travel in American urban centers where
>traffic congestion/parking costs are high, and distances are likely to
>be short 1 - 2 miles most trips and 5 - 10 mile between extreme
>destinations. But seeing as there is little provision for traveling with
>a bike between cities, this mixed mode is hardly encouraged.

Even here it's not easy, and the Dutch probably have the
best bike infrastructure in the world. You can take your
bike on pretty much any train, but you have to buy a separate
ticket for it. City buses and trams do not accept bikes.
You can rent a bike at most train stations for about $3/day,
which is an excellent solution in many cases. They rent a LOT of
bikes this way. They're decently-maintained, single speed bikes.

>  It would be even more efficient to have 'station bikes' or something
>like the Seattle yellowbike program see http://www.yellowbike.com (I
>think or do a search on yellowbike and do another on redbike - another
>program in place although I forget exactly where).  But even those bikes
>don't solve the problem of carrying goods of some bulk that may be
>purchased in various localities and getting them back to the station.

We're trying the "provo" bikes again here after a 30 year lapse.
Last time, all 20,000 were stolen within a week.




                                          ###

J.H. Crawford    Crawford Systems    joel at xs4all.nl    http://www.mokum.com/