City Cycling

In chapter 6 of Peter Furth's book City Cycling he explains how bicycles are used as a form of transportation across the globe, however public policy on how to deal with cyclists varies by country. This is mainly concered with the different types of bicycle facilities seen in urban developments today. These facilities consist of bike lanes (separated by striping), cycle tracks (physically separated from roadway), stand-alone paths (not adjacent to street), and shared streets. Furth explains the different types of facilities and how European policy leans towared cycle tracs while American policy leans toward bike lanes and shared streets. A main point of the chapter is that proper bicycle facilities will encourage cycling and reduce trip time for cyclists.

For a trip in my hometown of St. Petersburg, cycling would be a much faster alternative to walking, albeit the more difficult and dangerous option. For a cycling trip, first I would have to get my bike out of the garage and ensure it is in proper riding condition, which could take around 5 minutes. Next I would look at a map before leaving to figure out the most comforatable route (avoiding arterial roads), this would take another 5 minutes. Then, assuming this trip was to a store 1 mile away, I would start riding on the sidewalk until I reached a street with a bike lane. After many crosswalks and close calls with passing vehicles, I would arrive at my destination in about 5-7 minutes, then another 2 minutes to find a space to lock the bike. This is a total trip time of about 15-20 minutes. Now for walking, most of which would be done on the sidewalk. I could check the map as I walk and could leave immediately after deciding to go, saving a few minutes. taking crosswalks into effect a 1 mile walk would take approximately 15-20 minutes as well, with no parking required. These times are very similar due to the availible facilities and little experience with biking around my own city. If proper bicycle facilities were installed, I would not have to check the map for the most logical route since I could simply follow the paths along each road. A cycle track would also increase the traveling speed because it is smooth and straight, and reduce delay of intersections and crosswalks.