Bicycle Awakening
Post-Covid Transformation
Mark Cramer (author of Old Man on a Green Bike and Urban Everesting)
During the coronavirus lockdown, cities around the world discovered the wonders of clean air, responding with literally “concrete” measures to encourage more citizens to bicycle. Throughout the Paris region, for example, by simply applying white and yellow paint to street surfaces, a majority of our streets now give priority to the cyclist instead of the motorist.
Intended as temporary measures, so far, in the post-lockdown period, these streets have retained their bike priority.
Our city officials know that the more people who cycle, the sooner we can move toward a clean-air utopia for all citizens, including those who choose to not cycle.
Research from Holland published in the American Journal of Public Health shows that regular bicycle commuters gain one hour of life for each hour cycled thanks to the health and psychological benefits of pedaling to work on human energy. Imagine: one hour added to your life expectancy per hour ridden! This means that your net commute time becomes zero.
Thousands of deaths each year caused by poor air quality could be averted if a larger portion of the commuting mode shifted away from cars and to cycling and other forms of active transportation.
Bicycle organizations around the world bring these facts to the attention of local governments by showing their presence in joyous mass demonstrations, such as these two in Paris, France (MDB: Mieux se Déplacer à Bicyclette) and in La Paz, Bolivia (Masa Crítica-La Paz).
The increasing numbers of cyclists on the streets and roads has influenced cities to make themselves more friendly to bicycle commuters. We’re seeing an increase in protected intersections and bike lanes, cycle highways, low-speed bike-priority streets and parking facilities.
Improved safety and convenience will increase the modal share for the bicycle. But what about cities with geographic obstacles such as unending sprawl and hilly terrain? By blending bike commuting with public transit, cycling to both work and play can now be accomplished in places where it was once impossible. A most extreme example is the rugged canyon city of La Paz, Bolivia at 12,000 feet above sea level, where bicycles are now allowed in the city’s 11-line aereal cable car transit system.
One of the most daunting challenges for the bicycler is sprawling Los Angeles, California. But now you can bike from home to the Metrolink train, and then from the train to either work or a recreational site.
Each time a citizen uses a bike instead of a car, the “one-car-less” factor translates into a reduction in carbon emissions. This is also true for bicycle touring, which brings to the art of travel a more satisfying interaction with both people and terrain.
With bike touring you cover less territory than in a car, but as a tradeoff you get a much more vivid and intimate feel for the surroundings. “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best,” wrote Ernest Hemingway.
The great news is that we can cycle for legitimate self-interest: the joy, the health benefits, the big savings, and then, without even thinking about it, the environmental benefits. There’s much talk about needing to make sacrifices to reduce energy consumption, but with the bicycle, we make no sacrifice. Our legitimate self-interest happens to coincide with the best interest of our climate and our planet.
Yes, fun, health, savings (at least $8,000 per year if you exchange the car for a bike) and convenience are measurable benefits from using the bicycle as transportation, but let’s not forget the less tangible benefit: conviviality.
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