NPR, please put this in some perspective. Cars kill and maim hundreds of thousands of people every year. You’re wagging a finger, which supports a status quo that kills people and destroys the planet. Where is the discussion of safe spaces for bikes, walking, AND scooters?
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Car death acceptability is so engrained into our consciousness even NPR misses the real story. So sad.
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If people are so concerned about safety they'd ban cars immediately. Anyone who says boo about scooter or bike safety and is silent on cars is a hypocrit of the first order.
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Cars don’t normally drive on sidewalks intended for pedestrians only
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People driving cars run down and kill 6,000 pedestrians a year, on the sidewalk, in the crosswalk, anywhere. 6,000 people minding their own business killed by drivers in cars. Talk to me about bad cyclist or scooter behavior when when 100 people are killed in any given year.
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In the past decade in my city 1,000 people have lost their lives due to drivers, and ZERO people have died due to cyclist or pedestrian or scooter behavior. 1,000 families shattered. It's not even close.
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Yeah, I agree. I’m a car commuter, but I’m sick of people losing their crap over a mild nuisance at worst. They DO need to ensure scooters are stored in such a way that people who use wheelchairs aren’t blocked from moving on the sidewalk. I’ve seen this happen.
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The safety concerns are not new - bicylists and pedestrians have been suffering injury and death by drivers in America for decades. Our streets and communities have been built for one thing: moving cars without delay. We need safer streets, not foam hats and victim blaming.
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We are facing multiple interconnected crises of obesity, housing affordability, pollution and climate change, and helmets are the solution to none. Making it feasible, safe, even
enjoyable to live in America without total reliance on a car for all daily tasks, is one. -
This same article could have been written, and indeed was written, five years ago when bike share first started emerging in cities across America. And everywhere, the recipe for safety is the same: protected bike lanes, lower speed limits, and more people biking and walking.
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It needs to be clear where these scooter riding folks are supposed to ride. On sidewalks, bike lanes? Just as SOME bicyclists, they seem to be all over the road. I’m super careful but it’s super hard when not everyone follows the laws when riding.
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You can tell someone where they're supposed to bike or scoot as much as you'd like - but people will go where they feel safe. If your city's roads feel safe for bicylists and others, they will ride there. In Portland I enjoyed scooting where I had a slow street or a bike lane.
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That’s true mostly. However, driving west on NE Broadway most of the time is a good example of what we have to deal with. It’s like an obstacle course, literally. Usually because of bicyclists coming at us, crossing in front of us all while going the wrong way on a one way road.
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That's too bad. Safe and sufficient bike infrastructure encourages uniform and predictable behavior and makes all road users safer. But I understand Portland has a long way to go with this, especially on the east side.
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Yes it does. When we were in Germany a few years ago, we noticed their sidewalks since we walked a lot. It was sectioned off for bicyclists and pedestrians. It was very clear who was safely supposed to be where. It was a great idea.
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In Portland civil authorities give you a helmet for a scooter while allowing hooded and masked hoodlums take over the streets, got it.
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Ummm... pretty sure I live here and I can assure you no masked hoodlums are taking over the streets. Turn it down a bit.
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What about the area outside the ICE offices this summer? Seems like there are a lot of protests and counter protests up there that turn violent, no?https://thehill.com/latino/399628-ice-agents-claim-oregon-mayor-created-a-zone-of-terror-and-lawlessness-with-protest …
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Sometimes yeah, but seems like taking over the streets is a bit hyperbolic and not useful in the world we live in. Being hyper left or right is bad for everyone.
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Also why is that your response to a story about scooters...?
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