New Oakland Bike Lane (Liberty: prices, most dangerous, public transportation)

[DoubleStraps]

If anyone is interested in some actual data rather than anecdotes, here's a PDF summary of the bike/ped count that took place in May, which includes data on sidewalk and wrong-way bike riding frequency:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B72...VX012ZUlN/view

Here's a more detailed look at the data:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B72...icnVsNlk0/view

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by DoubleStraps

If anyone is interested in some actual data rather than anecdotes, here's a PDF summary of the bike/ped count that took place in May, which includes data on sidewalk and wrong-way bike riding frequency:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B72...VX012ZUlN/view

Here's a more detailed look at the data:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B72...icnVsNlk0/view

Hey, facts are not ALLOWED on this Forum. Conjecture only.

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Better to spend 2 hours in a car, than 6 hours trekking on foot and waiting on buses.

Where do people get this notion that if you take Public Transit you must spend 6 hrs a day commuting .... I get from Downtown to Shadyside in 10 mins, NOT even a car can beat that .. I'm in Oakland in 5-10 mins .. in EL in less than 5 ... Waterworks 15-20, Waterfront 15-20, L'ville 15 mins, Bloomfield 10 mins ( I can walk to Bloomfield in 15 mins) ...

I don't solely rely on Buses either ... I use Uber/Lyft and on the odd occasion that I actually need a car will use Zip Car. I never waited more than 5 mins for an Uber/Lyft, at godsend of a service.

[DoubleStraps]

I'm on your side for the most part, but how in the world are you getting downtown from Shadyside in 10 minutes? Note that people aren't generally interested in the actual transit time, but rather in the front door-to-office door time. I lived literally on a bus stop in Shadyside and couldn't get downtown in less than 45 minutes during the school year (Oakland, yeesh). I could walk 10 minutes to get to the East Busway, which added up to about a 30 or 40 minute commute.

When you're weighing driving vs. public transit, you have to factor in the walk to the transit stop, the wait for the bus/subway (or, the adjusting your morning schedule to align with the bus/subway schedule), the actual trip, and the walk from your final stop to the office. Driving wins big on the walk to the transit stop, loses on the actual commuting time, and then is probably a toss up for the last leg of the trip (parking spot to office vs. transit stop to office).

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by DoubleStraps

I'm on your side for the most part, but how in the world are you getting downtown from Shadyside in 10 minutes? Note that people aren't generally interested in the actual transit time, but rather in the front door-to-office door time. I lived literally on a bus stop in Shadyside and couldn't get downtown in less than 45 minutes during the school year (Oakland, yeesh). I could walk 10 minutes to get to the East Busway, which added up to about a 30 or 40 minute commute.

When you're weighing driving vs. public transit, you have to factor in the walk to the transit stop, the wait for the bus/subway (or, the adjusting your morning schedule to align with the bus/subway schedule), the actual trip, and the walk from your final stop to the office. Driving wins big on the walk to the transit stop, loses on the actual commuting time, and then is probably a toss up for the last leg of the trip (parking spot to office vs. transit stop to office).

I can spit to the Negley Ave Station, I'm that close ... P1/P2 runs every 2 mins during rushhour, most times we don't make a stop at Herron Ave Station, therefore I'm Downtown in 10 mins. P3 and the 75 on Ellsworth both have me in Oakland in less than 10 mins. Then I have the 64 on Negley that takes me to Bloomfield, L'ville, Squirrel Hill and The Waterfront in 15-20 mins.

Most don't park right at their office either, there's some walking involved on that side.

I'm NOT Lazy, I enjoy putting in some walking milage everyday, I'm not going to break out in sweat because I need to walk 2 blocks to a bus stop ... My Goodness what is wrong with people, has car ownership made people seriously this Frigging Lazy?

[DoubleStraps]

I walk the two blocks as well (in fact, my bus stop is half a mile from me), but I wouldn't necessarily ascribe the unwillingness to walk to the bus stop to laziness. People value their time differently. The extra ten to twenty minutes spent walking to and from the bus stop is an extra ten to twenty minutes with your significant other or kids, for example.

[PIT2MAD]

Something that has not been mentioned is the ease at which one can now plan public transit trips with the real time tracking information available.

Still, it's not for everyone, I do not have a family to support so I am rarely on a tight schedule and I get a weird enjoyment out of being a part of the hustle and bustle of a robust transit system, whether it's the NYC metro or riding a packed T train during rush hour.

I have found time and time again that the systems are easy to figure out and tend to be rather reliable, (again, if you have 10 minutes to spare here and there) despite the bad rap they get from those who probably have never used it before There is a learning curve and I know many people who would be terrified to be in the position most of us have been in, where you make a mistake and end up in the wrong place or at a stop where the bus doesn't come that day or at that time. In my experience these catastrophes (as well as breakdowns/system shutdowns/etc) happen on a similar frequency to accidents on the road/storms/construction that occasionally made my car commute a living hell too. But still, not everyone is willing to figure out the intracies of the system when they have a car sitting in the driveway.

I'm 29 and love driving cars, but after several years getting used to transit in Pittsburgh and then moving to a small flat city where I could get everywhere by bike, I sold my car and have been without for almost two years now. I'm now on my third city which affords me the opportunity to get everywhere by transit/walking and do not foresee reinvesting in a personal vehicle anytime soon. I'm surely not the norm, and as I said I do not have anyone to support but myself, but I would argue there are many more people my age doing what I am doing nowadays than even 10 years ago. I love driving, it's so relaxing and served my needs perfectly when I lived in rural/suburban areas, but honestly I believe this is this is the way cities were meant to function and I will not go back until life forces me to.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by DoubleStraps

The extra ten to twenty minutes spent walking to and from the bus stop is an extra ten to twenty minutes with your significant other or kids, for example.

Unless the alternative to that 20 minutes of walking is biking to work on one of the new bike lanes (hey, back on topic), you're either spending that time exercising or you're going to lose a much larger amount of time with your family in terms of early morbidity or mortality.

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by PIT2MAD

Something that has not been mentioned is the ease at which one can now plan public transit trips with the real time tracking information available.

Still, it's not for everyone, I do not have a family to support so I am rarely on a tight schedule and I get a weird enjoyment out of being a part of the hustle and bustle of a robust transit system, whether it's the NYC metro or riding a packed T train during rush hour.

I have found time and time again that the systems are easy to figure out and tend to be rather reliable, (again, if you have 10 minutes to spare here and there) despite the bad rap they get from those who probably have never used it before There is a learning curve and I know many people who would be terrified to be in the position most of us have been in, where you make a mistake and end up in the wrong place or at a stop where the bus doesn't come that day or at that time. In my experience these catastrophes (as well as breakdowns/system shutdowns/etc) happen on a similar frequency to accidents on the road/storms/construction that occasionally made my car commute a living hell too. But still, not everyone is willing to figure out the intracies of the system when they have a car sitting in the driveway.

I'm 29 and love driving cars, but after several years getting used to transit in Pittsburgh and then moving to a small flat city where I could get everywhere by bike, I sold my car and have been without for almost two years now. I'm now on my third city which affords me the opportunity to get everywhere by transit/walking and do not foresee reinvesting in a personal vehicle anytime soon. I'm surely not the norm, and as I said I do not have anyone to support but myself, but I would argue there are many more people my age doing what I am doing nowadays than even 10 years ago. I love driving, it's so relaxing and served my needs perfectly when I lived in rural/suburban areas, but honestly I believe this is this is the way cities were meant to function and I will not go back until life forces me to.

Good for you, I bet you find your QOL much better as well, not being a Slave to having to drive everywhere. Like I said there's just something Soul Crushing to me as person seeing people who've become slaves to their Cars. Having to always adjust their social lives around beating Traffic, or can't hang (drinks) because they're driving.

Not mention the added bonus of not having to budget for:

Car Note
Car Insurance
Gas Pricing
Parking
Routine Maintenance Checks
Ticketing

[erieguy]

You see slaves and even harder to fathom, "soul crushing". We see it as a convenience and more often a pleasure.

On the flip side, nothing you've described is appealing to me. I'd much rather walk around the neighborhood than city streets and jumping back and forth catching public transportation.