This week is Bike week and I don't mean that gangs of Harleys are going to be tearing into town. I mean the good ol'fashioned bicycle.http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2014/05/26/barrie-bike-week-kick-off-wheels-home-some-very-good-points
1) You may have no choice but when you do do you bike instead of using your vehicle? Why? and Why do you have no choice?
2) How could we make Barrie a better cycling city?
3) What environmental impacts can this have on our community?
4) Which of the 4Rs does this mostly fall into?
This is my post for the week
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not ride a bike instead of taking a vehicle because I have not had a bike for at least 6 years. However, if I did have a bike I would try to use it as much as I could instead of taking a vehicle if circumstances permitted. Some reasons why I and I believe others would not take a bike would be weather. All winter in Ontario people cannot use bikes, and I doubt people are comfortable biking in the rain. Another factor would be time. Although it is easy to make time, many people are in a huge rush in the morning and are unable to accommodate the time to have a longer trip to work or school due to taking a bike. Although it sounds bad the last factor would be tiredness or laziness. If I was really tired in the morning which I am I would not be up for a long bike ride to school. Barrie could be come a better biking city by making more roads accommodate for cyclists. We could also encourage people to wear appropriate attire such as reflectors, and perhaps make sure everyone was educated about the rules of the road when cycling so everyone would feel safe and perhaps more comfortable biking. This would help the environment by reducing resources that are used when making and using cars, and reducing green house gasses and emissions. I feel that biking instead of driving would fall under the reduce category because you are reducing your ecological footprint and impact on the environment. I also feel like it would be refuse because you are refusing to use a vehicle.
This link further explains the impacts cars have on the environment http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/racv/Internet/Primary/my+car/advice+_+information/motoring+_+the+environment/impact+of+cars+on+the+environment
I think that you're right Julia. Alot of people don't bike to school/work/the store due to inconience, but I think that social image has alot to do with it as well. It is more convient to drive to school, you won't get a sunburn, be too hot, or wet, even when there aren;t always parking spots when you arrive. I think that there are alot of people in our highschool in particular who do have a bike, and live close enough that they could bike in the summer and fall, but they don;t becuse everyone else drives. To encourage people to bike to school, would be an excellent initative, if you could convince a lot of students to participate.
ReplyDeleteThis is my post for the week
ReplyDeleteI would bike more often but several factors often affect my ability to, one is the weather. If it is a thunderstorm, or scorching hot , or a blizzard, i would much rather drive. Another factor is the terrible roads in barrie make it somewhat unsafe to bike with all of the potholes and large bikes. Barrei could be made a better cycling city by adding more bike lanes and fixing up some really bad roads by re paving and adding new lines to them. If more people rode bikes it would obviously be better for the enviorment by helping reduce pollution from the cars and other vehicles of transportation. This would fall under the reduce R.
Way to keep it short and sweet.
DeleteNice post Nick. I agree that the weather plays a huge role. IN Canada where the weather varies everyday, it definitely affects how many people actually go outside. I know I will not be biking in a thunderstorm. Nice post.
DeleteI agree with you Nick. The weather is a really big contributing factor in whether or not I will bike somewhere especially if it is in a blizzard storm.
DeleteI live in Innisfil and it's that same problem, the roads are terrible and it would be awesome if the put in some smooth bike lanes to ride one!
DeleteThis is my post for the week:
ReplyDeleteAs for my ability to bike to school/work/swimming, it is nearly impossible due to the location of my house. I think this is the case for most people in the city of Barrie. Biking to work is not a viable option because of the number of commuters in our community. That’s not to say that Barrie isn’t growing though. When the article talks about the Netherlands having a 60% rate of people who cycle to work, I think this is sole based on the population density of their country and the sheer size. Canada is much larger and therefore, less densely populated making it easier for people to bike to work or wherever they please.
Also there is the issue of cycling availability, I feel that Barrie is fairly bike accessible but could be a lot better. Roads like Mapleview and Dunlop would be suicide to bike down during almost any time of day.
I feel that biking is a very important way of not only reducing the amount of fuel we consume but also to make us healthier as a community by getting exercise.
Here is a link that can show you some get trails to bike on in the Barrie area:
http://www.barrie.ca/LIVING/PARKSTRAILS/Pages/BikePaths.aspx
This is my post for the week,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the comments that Nick and Julia made. There are plenty of times that I could have used a bike instead but have either been to lazy, or want to be quick about getting to where I need to go. I think mainly going to my friends houses is where I could definately use my bike, for the short distance they live I could just bike or even walk over. Sometimes I do have no choice, if both my parents are using the car so then I take the bus, but now that I think of it I could save money and bike, I think that Barrie making more biking lanes is a great idea and probably will encourage more people to bike places due to the fact that they will feel safer biking near traffic. I think that this is a good baby step to what we could really do. We could create lanes throughout Barrie or make more backroads, however I realize this could cost more money and take awhile. I think what would really make a change is if we talked to people about it more, or made people aware that it's good for them to be biking. Maybe start cyclist workout classes just like they do with yoga classes so people remeber that biking is in fact quite easy. With this change we could have less pollution and have more active and healthy people. I think that this would go under the Reduce category.
Good points about saving money and walking/riding to your friends' houses rather than bus or drive. I think ill keep that in mind! Good post
DeleteI agree Brittany! It's difficult to opt for the bike option when the streets are always full of obstacles (parked cars, garbage bins, etc.) which makes biking inconvenient!
DeleteThis is my weekly post:
ReplyDeleteI think its great that the City of Barrie has put more initiatives so more people bike to work. Personally, I do not ride my bike very often. Most of the time I only ride my bike for pleasure instead of actually riding it to get to work/school etc. I try not to ride my bike to get to my destinations because of how inconvenient it can be. Since everything in Barrie is so spaced out, the rides tend to get really long. If I have to transport anything, it makes the ride even harder since some of the roads are so narrow.
There are many ways Barrie can be a better cycling city. First, we could start putting more bike lanes and bike stands around town so less people are concerned with the safety of them and their bikes. In Toronto, they actually have bikes that can be rented from a machine. If we had some of these this could empower someone to ride a bike for a much smaller cost. Also, we could try to offer classes on bike safety so people are more confortable biking around town and have bike groups available. This would make biking seem much more fun and encourage the residents to bike more.
As more people bike, this could impact our environment tremendously. The more people bike to get around, the less they use their car. As the amount of driving is reduced, so is the amount of oil we consume which would lower much of Barrie’s carbon footprint. Also, the use of more bikes allows for more space on the road so there would be a lot less road developments. This could help the ecosystems that would otherwise be destroyed by the road developments. I think by using more bikes this would fall under the reduce category because we would be using less oil for our cars.
Here is a link that explore bike-friendly cities all over Canada and what they are doing to allow for this in their city: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/05/15/bikeable-cities-canada_n_1517624.html
This is my week's post,
ReplyDeleteI think that riding your bike is one of the best ways to get around the city, especially when the weather is as nice as it has been lately. That being said, I find that it is difficult to always use your bike, especially with the conditions of the roads lately. There are potholes everywhere, some large enough to damage cars, but more that are no problem for cars but will easily take down a cyclist. On top of this, drivers are generally very ignorant to people riding bikes, apparently oblivious to the fact the bikes have equal right to the road.
I think that Barrie is on the right track to making itself a better city for cycling. The very few roads that currently have a bike lane are like a slice of heaven for someone riding their bike to work, or wherever. You don't have to worry about cars coming far too close, or honking at you, or pushing you off the road, which happens far more often than it should. Barrie moving towards simply repainting roads in order to include a bike lane is a great first step.
I think that this could have excellent effects on our environment seeing as it could encourage more people to ride their bikes instead of driving, thus reducing carbon emissions. Also, it could clear up the traffic a little bit for the cars that are on the road that need to be, allowing for less idling, stopping and starting, and therefore more efficient car travel. In addition, when researching for my ISU on climate change, I noticed an interesting article that showed that biking is the most efficient way to travel (after converting calories into essentially mpg). Therefore it requires less refueling (eating) than any other manual form of transport, which is also good for the environment.
This is my post for the week:
ReplyDeleteI choose to ride my bike for shorter trips around. I live fairly close to a lot of shopping places and a lot of parks so i would rather bike there than take the car. I also enjoy to ride my bike and i spend a lot of my summer riding around town. I think that something Barrie could do is create more bike trails/paths. It would be nice if there were even more places for me to go when on my bike. Although it is fun to ride my bike, when i am using it to get around it's because it is either the most convenient way or because i am being environmentally conscious.
Using more bicycles to get around means that we are polluting the air less to get around. It means locally we will have quieter roads and cleaner air. Globally, reducing the amount of cars on the road means a healthier planet.
When talking about the R's, I would say this falls under reducing. We are reducing pollution, gas, and in the long run the materials it takes to maintain a car. In a sense, we are also rethinking and refusing as well. Overall choosing to ride a bike has far less of an environmental impact and is a smart decision.
Here is a reference to my weekly post:
DeleteThis article talks about how riding a bike is a better choice to get around for the environment. It refers to the reduction in pollution and other benefits
http://www.adultbicycling.com/component/content/article/9-bicycling-basics/17-environmental-benefits-of-biking.html
I agree with your R's not to mention we are reducing our dependency on fossil fuels!
DeleteThis is my post for the week:
ReplyDeleteI think the biking is and excellent idea for many many reasons. first one being the positive environmental impact that is can have by reducing the amount of driving. Secondly theirs the health benefits of getting exercise. and thirdly the positive financial opportunities it provides.
Hopping on you bike instead of getting in the car has so many positives, I feel we should all do it more often! I try and do my part by biking to work most of the time but i'm sure there's room for improvement. There are programs that city's have to encourage biking, for example in Toronto they have the Bike Share Program, and many cities are introducing bike lanes and Barrie has the city wide bike week. I believe that with more programs and encouragement, that we can drastically increase the amount of people that are biking. In doing this we can reduce our impact on the environment and be healthier in the process.
this is a link to the Bike Share Program in Toronto
http://www.bikesharetoronto.com/