I live in Atlanta, which ain’t exactly the poster-child for bike-friendliness. But even here, at least in my part of town, it actually is getting to the point where short trips are genuinely more convenient on a bike. Dropping the kids off at school definitely is because I don’t have to wait in line, and any destination downtown is best reached on a bike because I don’t have to pay for parking. Going to the grocery store isn’t quite better by bike, but the margin is close enough that I bike anyway.
Parking is one of those things that could be improved for biking. I really hate most of the bike racks that most places use, and if you get a bad one it can take a significant amount of time to lock up your bike. And, a big reason why locking up a bike takes a while is that bike theft isn’t really treated seriously. IMO if bike theft were taken more seriously you wouldn’t need to make sure you had an excellent lock and had your front wheel secured, etc. Thieves would be much less willing to take the risk of stealing one, so a simple chain would be enough to discourage most thieves.
I feel like excessive parking for cars is a much worse problem than inadequate parking for bikes. But yes, parking for bikes could be better (and very easily, too).
I live in Atlanta, which ain’t exactly the poster-child for bike-friendliness. But even here, at least in my part of town, it actually is getting to the point where short trips are genuinely more convenient on a bike. Dropping the kids off at school definitely is because I don’t have to wait in line, and any destination downtown is best reached on a bike because I don’t have to pay for parking. Going to the grocery store isn’t quite better by bike, but the margin is close enough that I bike anyway.
Parking is one of those things that could be improved for biking. I really hate most of the bike racks that most places use, and if you get a bad one it can take a significant amount of time to lock up your bike. And, a big reason why locking up a bike takes a while is that bike theft isn’t really treated seriously. IMO if bike theft were taken more seriously you wouldn’t need to make sure you had an excellent lock and had your front wheel secured, etc. Thieves would be much less willing to take the risk of stealing one, so a simple chain would be enough to discourage most thieves.
I feel like excessive parking for cars is a much worse problem than inadequate parking for bikes. But yes, parking for bikes could be better (and very easily, too).