LF 04 - 01 - 2010

Theory While sitting at the hotel window in Beijing, I observed how much of the traffic consisted of bicycles and a few taxis. It was early in the morning and many parents were riding their young children to school and the older children were riding by themselves. In China bicycles are the only way for many people to get around: Our tour guide, Harry, told us of the time he had to take his wife who was about to give birth to the hospital and all he had was a bicycle so that's how he got to the ER. Using alternate modes of transportation (buses, metro, bicycles ,walking) in cities is without a doubt sustainable but in some cities people still feel that their automobiles are a better option. After visiting both Amsterdam and Paris it had become apparent that it is necessary to provide various types of transportation. For example in Amsterdam there is a system of bike lanes within the city as well as many bikes (image to the bottom right). In order to use their bicycles people from the suburbs need to drive their car, or take the metro into town in order to then use their bikes. In Amsterdam it is easier to ride a bike then to drive a car or to walk because bikes have the right of way followed by the pedestrian and then the automobile. Paris has a similar system to Amsterdam in that there are many bike lanes ,(sketch to the top right) and people have a well organized metro system and bike lanes which allow people to use both systems to replace their car. It'll be interesting to see how traffic in London functions since they have a congestion fee, and an old system of underground transportation. In order for people to willingly replace their car it has to be convenient and economical, and built into to their lives as seen in China, Amsterdam and Paris.

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