Project Drawdown has characterized a set of 93 technologies and practices that together can reduce concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It’s a gigantic project with a lot of data and analyses.
In the linked video, the author goes through the measures to find which one is the most cost effective in terms of ratio of rCO2 reduction and economic cost
The maybe surprising result is that building bike infrastructure to shift a not even big percentage of travels from cars to bicycles or ebikes, is very cheap and has a huge effect on emissions.
The premise is that all solutions should be implemented to have a significant effect, but some are easier done than other.
Well, my city has been building bike infrastructure as part of their climate action plan, but if you’re looking for guidelines on how not to implement it, look no further.
They boast about how they put in a cycle track here or a trail there, but nothing connects to anything else. There are bridges and underpasses with no shoulder you must cross to get downtown from the suburbs. There’s a recreation complex with a pool, soccer field, track, and hockey rink with an extensive trail network starting behind it, but no way to reach it without travelling on 70 kph (45 mph) stroads with no bike lanes. So soccer moms are coming and going all the time in SUVs dropping their kids off to get exercise.
They’re probably building bike lanes in all the cheapest/easiest places first, to get the maximum number of miles built per dollar in order to brag about it at election time. The trouble is that without consideration of connecting them contiguously all the way from origins to destinations, ridership is low and they look like a failure even though the real problem is just that they’re incomplete. Then that gives the opposition an excuse to kill the future phases that would’ve made them useful, and the opposition’s criticism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
It’s the difference between trying to check a box and trying to genuinely solve a problem.
This is in some parts of my area. You get a block of really nice lane before what is nearly a wall cars rub against and you can either go back and choose another place or try to cozy in between the cars and the wall. Then after that there is nice lane for another 2 blocks then an intersection that is awful for everyone including drivers.
Always, always take the lane in that situation. In general, take the lane early and take it often.
Oh I try and there is signage for it too, but people will go beside then push you towards the wall even when they could just pass on the wrong side as some also do. Not every time but close enough to that it feels like it is. I just take an entirely different route. It’s too easy to get a driver’s license and at this point cars need to be entirely separated but that’s just as hard of a fix.
If they can do that without driving way into the next lane over, you’re still not far enough left. Ride a foot to the right of the double-yellow line if you have to!
That works somewhat enough of the time when there are two lanes, but I meant they go anywhere from halfway to entirely into the oncoming lane. In other streets I just avoid now I have had people split the lane the other way and pass me on the right as well. I’m hoping the trail from my new place after I move will be viable as I’ll only have 2 blocks of street that way but I’m worried it will be closed during the winter.
Wow, those are some incorrigible motherfuckers. In that case, get front and rear-facing helmet cams and call the police (and elected officials) about it so often that you become a nuisance.