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YouAreADadJoke t1_je56ovh wrote

Reply to comment by Xanny in Demolition proposal sparks debate in Hampden by locker1313

99.99% of people are not going to bike during the winter. It's also a nightmare with children or if you want to carry something heavy or in the rain or if you have a disability. You hipsters need a serious reality check on this topic. The constant posting absolutely reeks of ableist upper middle class privilege.

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Xanny t1_je5926j wrote

40% of the city also doesn't drive, because they cannot afford a car and thus do not own one.

Transit is not one size fits all. Its providing as many options as possible to give as many people as possible access. Its multi-modal, and requires enablement of all kinds of different use forms - bikes are generally the optimal vehicle for an able bodied person living in a city, but bike lanes are also for powered chairs and scooters. Getting bikes off sidewalks make them safer for pedestrians and strollers. Reducing car lanes makes the whole outside built environment safer for people in general. Getting higher frequency more reliable busses lets people forsake car ownership and thus reducing crowding in the public space, again. Building an actual metro would make Baltimore a real first class city because it would get you around faster in the city than a car ever could.

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YouAreADadJoke t1_je7rbo6 wrote

I agree about the metro. But you have completely sidestepped the issues I raised which shows just how detached you are from what the average person thinks.

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HorsieJuice t1_je5oo1a wrote

Seriously. It's sort of gone beyond ableist privilege into straight absurdity. I'm a healthy adult and I live about a half mile from there, so it's well within walking distance for me - if I'm getting a bottle or two. But once you get up to a case (which is about the only way I buy beer), then it starts getting kind of cumbersome. A case + something else starts is pretty awkward regardless of the distance.

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Xanny t1_je6hd0c wrote

Bikes to carry stuff exist and are called bakfiets. You can buy them in the US, they just aren't common, because as long as the infrastructure is so poor practically using one is challenging. NotJustBikes has a video about this.

Bikes are also perfectly fit for towing, though you would probably want an e-bike if you do that regularly. Still, the fed just announced a tax credit for ebikes, so they suddenly just became a lot more practical too.

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bmore t1_je6cnse wrote

The majority of disabled Baltimoreans do not own a car. Hundreds more Baltimoreans are disabled every year as a result of crashes that could be prevented with safer street design that does not prioritize cars over pedestrian safety.

Designing neighborhoods to prioritize cars is ableist. Encouraging other options is not.

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HorsieJuice t1_je6u1wk wrote

If you want to advocate for safer streets, go for it. The question at hand here is knocking down one single dilapidated house and replacing it with a parking lot. It’s not going to move the needle on pedestrian safety.

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bmore t1_je6wuso wrote

Every time someone says advocate for safer streets they say "except for this exception here" lol. This will make that block less safe for pedestrians. That's bad, and worse than any value add of inducing demand for a paltry few parking spots.

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