Bmblbzzz wrote:Nice little film. You could quibble at all sorts of things that make Groningen atypical but what's the point, it's far too nice for that! But – liveability, in which cycleability is merely a part, rather than cycleability for its own sake.
I agree,cycling becomes default transport by its sheer convenience in the absence of motors,clean green motors can be used for deliveries outside opening times when there's a lot less footfall but a confined environment is much more pleasant without the presence of motors,any motors.
I once read an article which put foward the theory as to why most european countries were more open to cycling was because they were occupied during or just after WW1&2,their fuel was either taken from them by occupying forces or after the war(s) their economy was depleted and they couldnt afford to motor,as a result their default transport became the bike,it gets you to places quicker than your feet and with much less effort.
This went deep into the psyche and hasn't been forgotten by some nations especially NL when they saw the folly of too much car use and how it affected their lives,similarly so the Scandinavian countries.
Interestingly these countries though mainly flat have quite harsh winters and their summers are similar to the UK,which proves that utility cycling can and does work,but what these countries have done is restricted motoring and made cycling more convenient by building on the whole decent connected quality cycling infrastructure.
In the UK there seems to be a more brash attitude to motoring because it's been allowed and encouraged to get completely out of hand,park anywhere drive everywhere,so much so it's become a right rather than privilege.And worse than that a necessity due to a purposely badly organised public tranport system thats unreliable and expensive to use.
The results are a sickly population choking on its own vomit of toxic fumes caused by too much motoring in confined spaces.
As a parallel example go into any pub these days and compare it to how the atmosphere was before the smoking ban,more than that,smoking since the ban has declined and is still declining as a result.
Could it be the same with car addiction,can people really see how much better life can be without the constant accompaniment of the noise and nastyness of motors at close quarters?
In answer to HJD10's worry about deliveries of supplies to shops and businesses one has to ask how do the more enlightened European countries do it?
Or is that too much for the UK psyche to handle,after all who won the war anyway
