Making Schools More Bicycle Friendly

Alcibiades

Fri Aug 08 01:34:31 -0700 2008

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The main problem is safe routes.  We have the bikes, we have the roads.  Its just that mixing cars and bikes on them is too dangerous, and so people won't do it, and in particular, won't let their children do it.  The first step would be safe roads.  A combined step has to be taken at the same time, and that is provision for safe parking.  But the case of Holland shows that if you have safe routes, you can defer or fudge that to some extent.  People will end up using bikes not really worth stealing and decent locks not worth breaking for those bikes.  You do need covered bike sheds though at major points of arrival, like large employers or schools.

Without safe routes, ie routes where there are no cars, its not going to happen on any scale.

Making Schools More Bicycle Friendly

KlaymenDK

Fri Aug 08 03:21:59 -0700 2008

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The main problem is safe routes. We have the bikes, we have the roads. Its just that mixing cars and bikes on them is too dangerous, and so people won't do it, and in particular, won't let their children do it.

Teaching kids to be good cyclists is, or should be, no different than teaching them to be good pedestrians: it requires more than mastering just the mechanics, it includes knowing how to behave out on the streets. I am obviously biased by my own upbringing; what I see is that the amount of effort put into these things varies greatly between families and countries.

In Germany, where I spent part of my childhood and early school years, there's actually a mandatory class which teaches kids proper traffic rules: how to perform a safe left-turn at a large intersection, how to signal that you're pulling over and stopping, and what to expect from other traffic. After written and real-world tests, you even get a sort of drivers' license. I don't know if they still do that, but it actually worked quite well, and I felt very safe when biking in traffic.

Then I moved to Denmark, where I was astonished to find dedicated (with lights, signs, yield-lines and all!) bike lanes and out in the suburbs even bike "roads", quite separate from other roads. This effectively separates cyclists from the harder traffic, but it also means there's a lot less of a need for proper  education, and it shows. Education is up to the parents, and there is a steady supply of both very inconsiderate cyclists (and drivers!) and very needless accidents.

I realise that the US is quite car-centric (no offense inteded), so I can imagine that there's a limit to what even a dedicated parent can achieve in terms of teaching good cycling habits simply due to an adverse environment. Still, I'm convinced that if you can teach your kid to be a good pedestrian, you should be able to teach your kid to be a good cyclist, too.

Making Schools More Bicycle Friendly

Alan

Fri Aug 08 04:42:35 -0700 2008

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Its just that mixing cars and bikes on them is too dangerous, and so people won't do it, and in particular, won't let their children do it.

I rode to school every day, from the age of about 12, on roads shared with cars, trucks and buses. And later though inner Melbourne to university.

I guess these same parents will be happy to let their kids drive at a slightly older ages, when they can kill themselves and others quite effectively.

One useful feature of bikes is that they're hard to ride drunk, unlike cars. You tend to fall off before you go fast enough to get hurt (much).

Making Schools More Bicycle Friendly

stephen

Fri Aug 08 06:20:03 -0700 2008

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It depends where you live. I biked to school from 5th grade through 12th grade. It was on the edge of a town with a population of 25k, so it wasn't a big deal. Now I bike 10 miles to and from work in a city of 250k. People drive 55 in 35 zones and pay no attention to cyclists and pedestrians. I have been honked at, cursed at, deliberately run off the road, and hit. Once a lady in her Mercedes yelled at me to stay away from her car. No way would I let my kids bike anywhere outside of our neighborhood.

One major problem

VonSkippy

Fri Aug 08 11:09:14 -0700 2008

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How do you fetch a full keg on a bike?

One major problem

stephen

Fri Aug 08 12:04:03 -0700 2008

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http://www.croozerdesigns.com/croozer_travel.html

http://www.bakfiets.nl/eng/models_cargo_bike.php