I'm not riding today. After yesterday's 30 and knowing I'll be doing about 25 tomorrow, today is a down day to let my ... body ... recuperate.
But I'm THINKING about bike things, so that counts for something.
Did you know that 85% of our trips we take by our personal cars are within 5 miles of our homes? I realize some of those trips are very difficult to do by bike, especially those involving children and sports equipment. What if only HALF -- 42% -- were done by some other form of transportation -- bike, walking, or public transit. Think of the most congested roadway around your house. Is it within 5 miles? Now imagine the traffic there cut in HALF. Yeah.
One of the biggest challenges to people using public transportation is what is called the "last mile" dilemma. If the transit station is more than a mile (even half a mile) from people's homes, they won't choose public transport if the only alternative to getting there is walking.
But one can bike, easily, 1 mile. Heck, you don't even break a sweat going 1 mile! Then lock up the bike and get on your way to your job, or wherever you need to go by bike or train. OR, in our county, you can put your bike on the front of the bus, and during off-peak hours, you can take your bike on the train.
Planners have worked hard to give us lots of options for turning our "sitting" time into "active" time. It's our own fault if we're not taking advantage of those options!
Just my .02
2 comments:
I drive 40 miles to work each day (& 40 miles back), BUT most of my other destinations in my small town are really close. I should totally be able to bike to church, for example...
Yeah, 40 miles is a bit far to commute ... not worth the time trade-off.
What we try to do here is encourage people to take their bikes to the closest "commuter gathering point" for them. Here, it's usually the Metro station or commuter (high speed) bus station.
Post a Comment