this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2023
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They are paying you to throw away probably the biggest plastic thing you own. How thoughtful.
Here's the thing: the bulk of the climate damage cars do happens during operations.
Replacing fossil-fuel-burning ones with ones which don't burn fossil fuels is a net win for any car that's actually driven several times per week.
It's better to get people onto bikes, ebikes, or mass transit, but those won't work for 100% of the population.
Surely it's more like 99% in the USA (j/k) 😉
Realistically better transit plus cycling infrastructure could displace half or more of driving
In some places. But if you're in a non-metropolitan area somewhere that it gets cold and snowy, you're going to need a vehicle to bring you directly to your house unless maybe you're downtown, and it's going to need to have four wheel drive or at least enough weight to grip the snow.
Bikes with studded tires do amazingly well in snowy conditions. The main reason people don't use them more is that car drivers are a lot more dangerous. Get rid of the cars, and it's totally doable.
Even seasonal replacement of cars would be an improvement.
If you tried to bike in heavy snow here your entire tire would literally be buried. Especially if there were no plows.
There are, in fact, places that get real snow.
Yes, there are conditions where you are better off on skis or snowshoes than a bike. And there are conditions where you should be in a snowmobile and not a car or truck. What you're describing sounds like that.
Skis would probably be more reasonable at certain times of year, but the terrain between cities isn't exactly designed for skiing.
I know you want American infrastructure to not necessitate some sort of vehicle bigger than a bike, but it literally just does. Wanting it won't make the change, and making unrealistic suggestions will remain just as ineffective as making no suggestions at all.
Accessibility is also more or less non-existent with these proposed solutions.
Cyclist’s mantra: There is never bad weather, only bad clothes.
If only plows existed.
They won't if you get rid of cars. Good luck plowing with a bike.
You don’t use a car to plow the sidewalk. It’s too wide. Why would think a cycle path doesn’t have the same problem? Of course you use a bicycle to plow a cycle path.
Have you ever experienced actual snow? Like, four feet deep with a frozen crust on top? You're not plowing that with your feet.
Yes, in Minnesota. I shoveled it but just as well could have used a snow blower. I certainly would not have driven a car or truck onto a path as narrow as a sidewalk.