How much foot traffic is there in Midtown/Downtown? (live, cost)

[NewToCA]

Though we live in the suburbs we enjoy walking around the Midtown and Downtown areas. Today, my wife and I went down to the R St area to see how the development was coming along, and walked extensively around the R, S and T St areas. I'd say that the city is a great place to walk and we rarely have any concerns for our safety.

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by Koray

Follow-up: Midtown turns out to be busier with pedestrians and bicyclists than
I'm surprised to have ever seen any suggestion on this forum (I think I saw it somewhere?) that it might be at all challenging to live without a car here, if you are willing and able to ride a bike. It is SO EASY to get around on a bike. Grocery shopping is super-easy. Even getting bulky apartment stuff from Target has been easy; I just set it on the handlebars and walk ten blocks. I do have a car and I kind of wish I didn't! Maybe some people don't like biking as much as I do though... or maybe they go to more varied kinds of places than I do. I don't know.

It depends on the type of job you have and accommodations at work for bicyclists whether you can really do without a car in Midtown. If you have a higher end office job, where you are expected to dress well, and smell good - if there are no showers/lockers at your worksite, or nearby, cycling really isn't an option.

I think we could have an enormous amount of bicycling commuting not only in Midtown and the Core but throughout the region if employers would somewhat relax dress standards, especially during the hot months, and install showers/lockers in their buildings. The bottom line why there isn't more bike commuting has less to do with those changes and more to do with laziness IMHO. When I bike to work - which is often - I get the "I'd bike, but (INSERT LAZINESS EXCUSE HERE)". Now, for those in the life cycle where they have children, etc. its not quite so simple to bike - the folks that you do see doing that generally are higher incomes, professional types that have bought in the grid and who still have the disposable income to either own a car or rent one on a regular basis when they need one.

Transit in Sacramento is a disaster. Cycling is really a better option. RT is great if you are a downtown gov't worker with a very regular schedule and you get a transit pass subsidy; as you ride free - or nearly free - and you are riding during the hours that security is tighter and the scum are kept off the trains by the commuting crowds and security. Outside commuting hours, though, I wouldn't ride. Its not safe.

[Koray]

Aha yes heat and sweat, I didn't really think of that because I moved here in the winter and haven't seen a summer yet.

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by Koray

Aha yes heat and sweat, I didn't really think of that because I moved here in the winter and haven't seen a summer yet.

Its going to get really hot really soon

[ryuns]

And biking is summer isn't such a huge problem. I wear the full trousers and button up to work everyday and that's what I wear on my bike. Easy for me because it's only 3 miles, but still, it's cool enough in the morning that I don't even bother changing clothes. In the evenings, I pop off the dress shirt and ride home in trousers and the under shirt. Usually a little sweaty when I get home, but rarely bad enough to require a shower.

But yes, the biking mode share increases substantially when there's infrastructure and a culture to support it. If everyone in downtown had facilities like the Cal-EPA building, there'd be a lot more bike commuters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__ZdGXBTdKE

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

I think we could have an enormous amount of bicycling commuting not only in Midtown and the Core but throughout the region if employers would somewhat relax dress standards, especially during the hot months, and install showers/lockers in their buildings. The bottom line why there isn't more bike commuting has less to do with those changes and more to do with laziness IMHO. When I bike to work - which is often - I get the "I'd bike, but (INSERT LAZINESS EXCUSE HERE)".
.

LOL, so different priorities & interests equal laziness? classic.

I live about 10 miles from my job, but riding my bike would require adding either another 5 plus miles to the trip, or riding up a narrow steep mountain-like heavily traveled road. My company does offer a few bike lockers & onsite showers, but IMMO its too much of a PIA to get there. We have an annual ride your bike to work day, and people take advantage of it, so I know the route from Folsom. What I see mostly, is people who bring their bikes to work, and then ride as a group for lunch or after work. I much rather pump iron after work, than ride my bike to work.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

LOL, so different priorities & interests equal laziness? classic.

I live about 10 miles from my job, but riding my bike would require adding either another 5 plus miles to the trip, or riding up a narrow steep mountain-like heavily traveled road. My company does offer a few bike lockers & onsite showers, but IMMO its too much of a PIA to get there. We have an annual ride your bike to work day, and people take advantage of it, so I know the route from Folsom. What I see mostly, is people who bring their bikes to work, and then ride as a group for lunch or after work. I much rather pump iron after work, than ride my bike to work.

Indeed, the sanctimonious arrogance of some of these people is something. As if those of us who get our exercise in the garden or weightlifting (because it gets a lot of exercise done in a short amount of time) are inferior people.

[wburg]

And some of us get our exercise reaching for the remote control alternating with high-rep Cheeto ingestion, but use a bike for transportation. It helps if you live closer to work than 10 miles, of course. Since we're discussing Midtown here as a place to live, there are several times as many jobs within 2-3 miles as there are people, which makes a short commute (and thus a bike or pedestrian commute) a lot easier.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by ryuns

But yes, the biking mode share increases substantially when there's infrastructure and a culture to support it. If everyone in downtown had facilities like the Cal-EPA building, there'd be a lot more bike commuters.

Thats really cool. It would be great if more businesses, even those out here in the burbs, offered similar accommodations.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by caligirlz

What I see mostly, is people who bring their bikes to work, and then ride as a group for lunch or after work. I much rather pump iron after work, than ride my bike to work.

That depends though. I used to commute about 10 miles each way, and I know a lot of people that ride regularly in to work from Folsom, Roseville and Davis. For that kind of ride, that probably will be all the exercise you get. Upshot is that since you needed to get to work anyway, you're basically multi-tasking. On the other hand, it's likely to wipe you out, and keep you from doing much else for exercise. (I don't think "getting too much exercise" is a huge problem for most Americans, so that's not an excuse for most folks!)

That said, the average American bike commuter doesn't go nearly that far. Depending on traffic and parking, it's not much of a time suck. My commute on bike is about the same as driving when you factor in parking and walking to the building. Add in a couple errands with bike racks super close to the entrance, and I come out ahead.