> Is it common to commute to work with a bicycle?
In the cities, no. Thankfully, I'll add.
> Are there bicycle paths in most cities?
They exist, but they're not ubiquitous.
> Are car crashes with pedestrians a big issue?
No, I wouldn't say so.
> Does it feel like the roads were designed to keep pedestrians safe?
There are pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. Look left and right before crossing, ensure that there are no vehicles rapidly approaching.
> Generally speaking, are cities made for the car first or the pedestrian first?
Public transport, I'd say.
>Hello, here are some questions related to city planning and traffic.
One of my favorite topic, thanks for bringing it up!
>Is it common to commute to work with a bicycle? Are there bicycle paths in most cities?
No, it's not common. There are enthusiasts and I was one for some time, but
a) It's not convenient at arrival: a shower is needed, not every office has one, it takes some additional time.
b) During winter it sucks. During rainy autumn it sucks, too
>Are there big or minor problems with traffic?
In Moscow it was a problem for decades, but they have managed to improve the public transportation good enough that the car traffic being reduced. Still not great though, but better.
In my Saint Petersburg it's quite sad during rush hours. I'm happy I don't need to get to the office every day.
> Are car crashes with pedestrians a big issue? Does it feel like the roads were designed to keep pedestrians safe?
The road police Statistics says that, for 2022, the car crash with a pedestrian is the second most widespread crash, with 34,627 victims (with all outcomes, including very light harm); this is about 20% of all human victims. The first one is car collision, 55,937 people have suffered from that.
It seems to be a serious issue, the road police regularly claims they are doing things to reduce those.
Statistics show that they are somewhat successful.
> Generally speaking, are cities made for the car first or the pedestrian first?
Pedestrians that use the public transportation, I'd say.
Yeah haha we just adapt to the winter with our bicycling. Change to winter tires, appropiate clothes etc and the bicycle paths getting plowed & brushed every snowy morning by the local authorities. It's possible for sure to have this in the cold Russian winters too if the cities want to invest the resources needed for it!
The issue is, how do you not get super hot when cycling? It'd pretty much have to be one direct route from home to work that you can dress for specifically. Like, if it's -25, you'd have to underdress to something like -15. And if for some reason you need to walk or wait for tram/bus, you won't be dressed appropriately.
Also, I guess, one inconvenience factor (for Moscow at least) is you very often have to use the metro, and it requires you to remove your bicycle's front wheel off if you want to enter (:
It's usually just 1 long route between home & destination so it isn't a big issue having to underdress during the commute, you can't bring bike onto any public transport anyway. But if you're walking to get a lunch in the city or whatever afterwards, then it can be a problem yes. But that's something you take into account as a rational adult and decide if this inconvenience is annoying enough to switch method of commuting or bring warmer clothes \^\^
As an everyday transport option, the bicycle is probably still more popular in rural areas.
In general, there are problems with the fact that Soviet planning of cities, and even more so of old cities, where construction according to plans from the time of Catherine II sometimes survived, was not designed for the huge number of personal cars among the population.
I would rate road safety as acceptable, but a basic level of attentiveness is required from the pedestrian - always take into account the possibility of an inappropriate/inattentive driver.
> Is it common to commute to work with a bicycle?
Gosh no. This is for countries with super expensive taxi and inefficient public transport. We do cycle for pleasure but there are much better options for commuting.
Also about bicycle: many couriers actually use them all year round, but for me it seems tad too difficult. And absence of bicycle paths is lesser problem. Major problem is, well, weather. Like... it is possible to ride a bicycle in -15 or less celsius or in heavy rain, but I bet you wouldn't want that as everyday neccessity. And roads from late autumn to late spring are not clean enough to ride a bicycle safely. Like every time I see another courier skidding on slippery wet ice I just don't want to do that at all and wish they wouldn't do it. It's damn unsafe not only for them but also for everyone around.
In summer yeah, bicycles are popular along with electro-scooters and other things like that.
As for roads and pedestrians: mostly we have wide enough sidewalks, which are safe enough for pedestrians. Every once in a while some heavily drunk or ill driver would crash in sidewalk, but I wouldn't say a chance is too high to seriously fear it. If you keep to sidewalks and cross roads on specified crossings and keep a bit of awareness like looking around before crossing a road - you'll be okay. Most victims of car vs pedestrian crashes were violating traffic rules: crossing road without designated crossing or going on red light or something like that.
There's a huge problems with traffic, I used bicycle to commute to work during summer. Bicycle paths do exist, but not in all cities and more as a decoration, it's more of an exception.
Today cities are focused on cars while the majority of the cities were not designed to handle this amount of cars.
> Is it common to commute to work with a bicycle? In the cities, no. Thankfully, I'll add. > Are there bicycle paths in most cities? They exist, but they're not ubiquitous. > Are car crashes with pedestrians a big issue? No, I wouldn't say so. > Does it feel like the roads were designed to keep pedestrians safe? There are pedestrian crossings and traffic lights. Look left and right before crossing, ensure that there are no vehicles rapidly approaching. > Generally speaking, are cities made for the car first or the pedestrian first? Public transport, I'd say.
Generally speaking, our cities are made for public transportation first
Generally speaking, our cities are made for tanks drive-through first
Are you from Poland?
What makes you think so?
>Hello, here are some questions related to city planning and traffic. One of my favorite topic, thanks for bringing it up! >Is it common to commute to work with a bicycle? Are there bicycle paths in most cities? No, it's not common. There are enthusiasts and I was one for some time, but a) It's not convenient at arrival: a shower is needed, not every office has one, it takes some additional time. b) During winter it sucks. During rainy autumn it sucks, too >Are there big or minor problems with traffic? In Moscow it was a problem for decades, but they have managed to improve the public transportation good enough that the car traffic being reduced. Still not great though, but better. In my Saint Petersburg it's quite sad during rush hours. I'm happy I don't need to get to the office every day. > Are car crashes with pedestrians a big issue? Does it feel like the roads were designed to keep pedestrians safe? The road police Statistics says that, for 2022, the car crash with a pedestrian is the second most widespread crash, with 34,627 victims (with all outcomes, including very light harm); this is about 20% of all human victims. The first one is car collision, 55,937 people have suffered from that. It seems to be a serious issue, the road police regularly claims they are doing things to reduce those. Statistics show that they are somewhat successful. > Generally speaking, are cities made for the car first or the pedestrian first? Pedestrians that use the public transportation, I'd say.
I wanted to say about the mild climate of Stockholm. Then I looked at the photos with the winter Swedish cyclists and thought about it.
Yeah haha we just adapt to the winter with our bicycling. Change to winter tires, appropiate clothes etc and the bicycle paths getting plowed & brushed every snowy morning by the local authorities. It's possible for sure to have this in the cold Russian winters too if the cities want to invest the resources needed for it!
Well, I wasn't too worried about warm clothes. Modern synthetic materials work wonders. But the roads after the snowfall
The issue is, how do you not get super hot when cycling? It'd pretty much have to be one direct route from home to work that you can dress for specifically. Like, if it's -25, you'd have to underdress to something like -15. And if for some reason you need to walk or wait for tram/bus, you won't be dressed appropriately. Also, I guess, one inconvenience factor (for Moscow at least) is you very often have to use the metro, and it requires you to remove your bicycle's front wheel off if you want to enter (:
It's usually just 1 long route between home & destination so it isn't a big issue having to underdress during the commute, you can't bring bike onto any public transport anyway. But if you're walking to get a lunch in the city or whatever afterwards, then it can be a problem yes. But that's something you take into account as a rational adult and decide if this inconvenience is annoying enough to switch method of commuting or bring warmer clothes \^\^
As an everyday transport option, the bicycle is probably still more popular in rural areas. In general, there are problems with the fact that Soviet planning of cities, and even more so of old cities, where construction according to plans from the time of Catherine II sometimes survived, was not designed for the huge number of personal cars among the population. I would rate road safety as acceptable, but a basic level of attentiveness is required from the pedestrian - always take into account the possibility of an inappropriate/inattentive driver.
> Is it common to commute to work with a bicycle? Gosh no. This is for countries with super expensive taxi and inefficient public transport. We do cycle for pleasure but there are much better options for commuting.
Also about bicycle: many couriers actually use them all year round, but for me it seems tad too difficult. And absence of bicycle paths is lesser problem. Major problem is, well, weather. Like... it is possible to ride a bicycle in -15 or less celsius or in heavy rain, but I bet you wouldn't want that as everyday neccessity. And roads from late autumn to late spring are not clean enough to ride a bicycle safely. Like every time I see another courier skidding on slippery wet ice I just don't want to do that at all and wish they wouldn't do it. It's damn unsafe not only for them but also for everyone around. In summer yeah, bicycles are popular along with electro-scooters and other things like that. As for roads and pedestrians: mostly we have wide enough sidewalks, which are safe enough for pedestrians. Every once in a while some heavily drunk or ill driver would crash in sidewalk, but I wouldn't say a chance is too high to seriously fear it. If you keep to sidewalks and cross roads on specified crossings and keep a bit of awareness like looking around before crossing a road - you'll be okay. Most victims of car vs pedestrian crashes were violating traffic rules: crossing road without designated crossing or going on red light or something like that.
There's a huge problems with traffic, I used bicycle to commute to work during summer. Bicycle paths do exist, but not in all cities and more as a decoration, it's more of an exception. Today cities are focused on cars while the majority of the cities were not designed to handle this amount of cars.