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107 comments on DrumBeat: February 4, 2007

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tstreet on February 5, 2007 - 6:07pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

This is nonsense. That's pretty pathetic if you think that biking and walking somehow is ended after your thirties. I still run, bike, hike, snowshoe, ski, etc. and I am 60. And I am hardly what you would call a naturally gifted athlete. I'd hate to think what sort of shape I would be in if I had quitted exercising in my 40s. If those who bike and walk are in a minority, that is simply a function of being lazy, not a function of age.

Most of Californians live on or near the coast where the climate is quite mild, so walking and biking would be a perfect solution for most of California.

As long as we are talking about infrastructure, let's make sure the infrastructure for walking and biking is available everywhere, for those days, even in the hotter areas, where biking and walking is feasible.

Snow shoveling is hazardous mostly for people who are out of shape. Yeh, if you sit on your ass all year and then go out and try to shovel snow, you are a candidate for a heart attack. But if you stay in good shape, which you should be able to do for your whole life, barring serious illness, you shouldn't have any problem with a reasonable amount of shoveling.

If you are older and out of shape, it is primarily a function of inactivity, not your age.

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Nick on February 5, 2007 - 6:27pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

"But if you stay in good shape, which you should be able to do for your whole life, barring serious illness,"

That's a big exception. A lot of people can't bicycle due to health (illness or disability). Bicycling is a great option, but it can't be mandatory.

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Donal on February 5, 2007 - 8:09pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

No one is asking for biking to be mandatory - just more convenient for those that are willing to do it.

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Nick on February 5, 2007 - 10:01pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Well, that's great. I wholeheartedly agree that we need infrastructure for safe and convenient walking and biking. I'm not sure everyone is quite as clear as you on the need for personal vehicles as well.

This was part of the original post:

"It appears to me that she is stuck in the "same old, same old" mentality of trying to continue and expand the very same infrastructure that we have now, just finding different fuel sources to continue "easy motoring" and "cheap air conditioning" and such."

That "very same infrastructure" for "easy motoring" is what people with illness and disability need to have "continue and expand".

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Donal on February 5, 2007 - 10:53pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Actually, I agree with the original post that we should not be expanding the infrastructure for automobiles. For one thing, such expansion always brings more traffic. For another, I suspect that we probably can't afford to maintain the extensive roadway system we've already built. We've got plenty of roads for those with illness and disability.

I think we should consolidate the many, many roadways we have back to streets, with sidewalks, that are part of cities and towns rather than building more bypasses and cloverleafs to the exurbs. I think such roads will be more amenable to a wider range of vehicles, from bikes to cars to buses.

BTW, I've been enjoying the http://pedshed.net/ series on connectivity.

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107 comments on DrumBeat: February 4, 2007

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