Toward a History of Needs

A good quote from the 60s on the advantages of cycling From Energy and equity: Toward a History of Needs. Ivan Illich, New York: Pantheon, 1978: "The bicycle uses little space. Eighteen bikes can be parked in the place of one car, thirty of them can move along in the space devoured by a single automobile. It takes three lanes of a given size to move 40,000 people across a bridge in one hour by using automated trains, four to move them on buses, twelve to move them in their cars, and only two lanes for them to pedal across on bicycles. Of all these vehicles, only the bicycle really allows people to go from door to door without walking. The cyclist can reach new destinations of his choice without his tool creating new locations from which he is barred. "Bicycles let people move with greater speed without taking up significant amounts of scarce space, energy, or time. They can spend fewer hours on each mile and still travel more miles in a year. They can get the benefit of technological breakthroughs without putting undue claims on the schedules, energy, or space of others. They become masters of their own movements without blocking those of their fellows. Their new tool creates only those demands which it can also satisfy. Every increase in motorized speed creates new demands on space and time. The use of the bicycle is self-limiting. It allows people to create a new relationship between their life-space and their life-time, between their territory and the pulse of their being, without destroying their inherited balance. The advantages of modern self-powered traffic are obvious, and ignored."

Message from a cycle city.

Bicycle Anecdotes from Amsterdam from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Rents in London's housing ‘backwaters’ increase thanks to Boris bikes - London - News - London Evening Standard

Rents in London's housing ‘backwaters’ increase thanks to Boris bikes - London - News - London Evening Standard



While the academic in me doesn't normally rely on these kinds of surveys I think it does show that investing in cycle infrastructure does raise the value of housing in the areas affected. This is also a good example of taking a hybrid approach, that is, extending the reach of the current tube network by providing on demand bicycle transport to the station.



 This ability to extend the reach of stations with bikes does change the overall economic's of trains. The general problem with trains is always do, you want to build the stations as far apart as possible, this reduces train (station ) cost but also means that the trains have fewer stops in an overall distance meaning that the journey time is quicker.  Not something that London needs to worry about that for capitals and cities installing new infrastructure it's something to be aware of.

Lift accessed mountain biking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lift accessed mountain biking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You would think if sportsmen can have this then why can't commute cyclists? ( he said in an old and bitter voice).

Street Space For 60 People: Car, Bus, Bicycle | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Street Space For 60 People: Car, Bus, Bicycle | Flickr - Photo Sharing!: Street Space For 60 People: Car, Bus, Bicycle

I think one of the problems we have in urban planning is that 60 cars looks like a lot of cars and its usually successful road building program. Where has 60 bicycles looks like an insignificant trickle. Our inability to comprehend the above truth is one of the things that truly limits our ability to design well

Over 1,000 cyclists stage die-in protest outside Transport for London HQ | Environment | theguardian.com

Over 1,000 cyclists stage die-in protest outside Transport for London HQ | Environment | theguardian.com



Nice quote  on John Stuttle's aritcal "  A helmet won't protect you from a 20 ton lorry or bus's wheels. Abiding by the rules won't help you if there is inadequate provision to segregate cyclists from the heavy vehicles we currently have to commute alongside every day." 



I guess the question is if the alternative is a flat, dry and safe would cyclists use it?