- very few biking lanes
- very few separated from cars by curb
- having biking lanes between car lanes and car parking is absurd. on many occasions, there are street signs, construction signs, etc on the biking lanes.
- drivers are not often watching out for bikers, not even when crossing “bike lanes”
- bikers themselves are negligent, don’t signal, don’t follow street laws (cross on red light), don’t seem to be fined for it. many bikes don’t even have cat eye lights.
- in some areas in the bay area, biking on the side walk is legal. this greatly endangers the pedestrians (especially since many bikes don’t even have a honk)

It may well be that changing the roads, changing some laws to secure the safety of those that are nor driving, and enforcing fines would drastically change this.

As it is, in a bike-unfriendly road system, this high level of mutual negligence and irresponsibility between drivers and bikers perpetuates a climate in which biking is downright dangerous in the city. A great shame, since biking would seem to have a perfect place in the general health- and environment-consciousness here, would alleviate some of the traffic, and might in some ways make the city even more dynamic than it is.

I was in Paris a couple of years ago, just a before they introduced the bike system there. A few days later, the city was transformed! I was very proud to see this system enter North America through my dear Montreal.
The streets here have been changing the last few years to accommodate cycling lanes everywhere, as well as a more and more popular tour of the island. However, from the moment the Bixis arrived (a couple of months ago), it’s as though they’ve always been here. How have we managed without them?

Advantages:
- they are everywhere (at least around the downtown neighbourhoods),
- they are convenient (if one goes out, no need to worry about getting the bike stolen, no need to care for the bike if it’s not needed after reaching the destination i.e. chaperoning the bike back home, just park it at a station and forget about it!)
- the loading and unloading of the bike takes seconds
- the stations are monitored online (so that we can see how many bikes are available for each)
- the pricing is incredibly affordable (first 1/2 hr is free, $1 per each next 30 minutes, up to $6 a day, $28 dollars/month and about $70 for about 8 months) for those not owning a bike or visiting
- the pricing beats the public transit, for travel within an hour
- they are durable, safe, easily adjustable for different heights, with speeds for going up the hills
- they are ecological
- they keep one fit
- they take you anywhere you want to go, without a need for scheduling (as when waiting for the bus/metro)
- they allow one to indulge in the city in a new way
- they discourage the ugly smoky rusty traffic; why does anyone drive downtown, again?

Disadvantages? That I can’t take one on the plane with me.

I do hope San Francisco will welcome Bixi. I, for one, will love it.

ioa

But overall, Bixi was fabulous. It became my primary mode of transportation in Montreal.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Bixi is here, and (surprise) Bixi LIES unmasked

http://cyclingfunmontreal.blogspot.com/2009/05/bixi-here-and-bixi-lies-unmasked.html

Most of it is in French…. see http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

bike theft is one thing that might really slow programs like this from working in the states. it strange but the US seems to be one of the only countries where people jack each others bikes. other countries ive been, rich or poor, it seems like people dont steal bikes. my friends road around tokyo with flossed out track bikes and didnt even use locks, and no one in the caribbean towns really uses locks for there cruisers either.

maybe someday we will be cool enough.

Now, if I expect any cyclists in the world to NOT be opportunists and greenwash-enablers it’s my old friendly friends in San Francisco and the Bay Area!

I thought that Bixi was free of the horrible traitorous nonsense involving “free” bikes with Clear Channel, JCDecaux and Cemusa, but I was wrong, and actually this Rio Tinto hocus pocus was no secret.

People think it is about the aluminum for the bikes. It is not.

Don’t let me down! Don’t let US down.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS212816+28-Oct-2008+PRN20081028

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Tinto_Group#Criticisms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-nuclear_movement_in_California#Nuclear-free_communities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6ssing_Uranium_Mine