As recent research by the Copenhagenize cycling blog made starkly clear, cyclists are given a tiny amount of road space, yet they actually ease congestion, as they’re vastly smaller than even the most compact of cars.
So when cyclists in Riga, the Latvian capital, staged a stunt for International Car Free day in September, this was the point they decided to emphasise. They strapped brightly-painted, car-sized structures to their bikes for their commute to work, to show how much road space they’d take up if they decided to drive instead. Then, they rode them precariously through rush-hour traffic.
.
And they did it in the rain!
Great idea.
Of course, they go slower than a car.
Ditto with motorcycle parking in Vancouver. We should organize a “park your motorbike in a car stall” day say along Robson on a Friday to see how little space motorbikes or scooters take. Vancouver needs to allow more motorcycle / scooter parking downtown as an average car spot can hold 5-6 bikes.
The value of real estate in MetroVan that is paved over for driving and parking is staggering .. billions. As such the fee to use such spaces ought to be far FAR higher, i.e. road tolling i& higher parking fees in commercial and residential areas is required as gasoline taxes alone are too low in an era of more e-cars and more energy efficient cars.
That’ll prevent them from riding on the sidewalks, too!