Comment by hillbillyjack | Hacker News Reader

Comment by hillbillyjack | Hacker News Reader

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Without living in the US it is hard for you to come up with a valid argument against prioritizing automobile infrastructure.

Population density alone makes it an issue outside of large cities like New York, because of that you'll also find most cities have pretty lackluster public transportation.

It is tragic that people are hurt and worse because of automobiles but they are a fact of life in America and cyclists are a very minor subset of the population for which taxes rarely cater.

One of the major problems with bicycling is the lack of respect between the cyclist and the motorist, it goes both ways but there are plenty of motorists who do not understand the laws and despise cyclists. But there are also many cyclists who fail to follow the laws which helps perpetuate the hate from motorists.

If more cities had the budget for dedicated cycling paths and road usage I'm sure they would use it but as it is now only some "greener" cities are able to do anything.

> Without living in the US it is hard for you to come up with a valid argument against prioritizing automobile infrastructure.

I'm American, and have lived in the U.S. for about 90% of my life, so I'm pretty familiar with the issues. Even leaving aside major change, and just taking cities as they exist today, pedestrian/bicyclist access and safety is just not prioritized even within cities. I lived in midtown Atlanta for three years, and two people I know were hit by automobiles while crossing in a crosswalk (fortunately neither killed, but one injured seriously). Bicycling safely was pretty much impossible, because the roads were designed exclusively for cars. And god help you if you were anywhere worse for pedestrians than midtown, which was relatively good.

It's partly infrastructure and partly culture imo. If you compare how drivers and pedestrians interact in, say, a German city center, with how they interact in Atlanta, the German intersections give much more formal protection: more crosswalks have lights, whereas many Atlanta crosswalks are not signalized, and the lights will typically give at least a short fully protected period to cross, while the Atlanta ones leave you dodging left/right turning cars even on a 'walk' signal. And culturally, the German drivers are just much more conscientious about yielding right of way when the law says they should. Pedestrians in a crosswalk are supposed to have right of way in the U.S., too, but at least in Atlanta you can't rely on it.

in short: you're (incorrectly) extrapolating what you know about one midsized city to the rest of the US.

I could tell you about the years I lived in Houston or Los Angeles if you prefer. The situation for pedestrians there was not any better. I've also, more relevant to this article, spent a little time in Raleigh, though I haven't lived there. There is about a 2 block by 8 block area of downtown Raleigh that is reasonably safe for pedestrians.

Maybe somewhere like Portland is different; I haven't been there.

All three of the cities you've lived in are notorious for sprawl. It would be reasonable to strive for improvement in those cities, but don't make the mistake of thinking that the problems those cities have is representative of the rest of the country.

It's like living in rural Idaho then complaining that America needs to learn how to pave roads because packed dirt just isn't cutting it.

I don't find any difficulty when being a pedestrian in L.A., besides actual distances.

As a pedestrian you don't need to "share the road", only to cross it. Sidewalks seem plentiful, even if underutilized, and most road crossings have been well marked and signaled. Cars have generally been respectful when I cross.

Cycling here would certainly make me more nervous, outside of the corridors with well-spaced dedicated bike lanes. But walking is fine. It's good exercise and the weather's great.

LA has 4000 hit-and-runs a year, including 100 pedestrians killed (in 2009). The police department doesn't do a very good job of investigating. http://www.laweekly.com/2012-12-06/news/los-angeles-hit-and-...

I am willing to bet very few drivers will stop for you at an unmarked crosswalk, as well.

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