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Originally Posted by shermanator
As someone who will never drive to work downtown in my lifetime, I'm curious why others do? Is it simply a choice of convenience? Is it because those who do work downtown and have customers out of the core? Is it because transit service to the far flung suburbs is spotty? Because as someone who walks to work everyday the majority of rush hour drivers seem absolutely miserable every day.
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I worked with someone who paid to park downtown, even though it was a huge expense for her, because she has such an aversion to crowds of strangers that the idea of taking transit horrified her.
I've always assumed it's a status thing for a lot of people, especially men. There has to be a reason men aged 25-60 are dramatically under-represented on public transit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jammies
I generally don't drive, and walk everywhere. There is simply no comparison between the percentage of cyclists that bike like morons and the percentage of cars that do the same. I can guarantee that if I walk more than 4-5 blocks along 5th street, for example, I will see at least one cyclist "stop" for a red light or flashing crosswalk by slowing down, glancing both ways then booking it. I might see one car turn left or be late on a red, but that'll be one car out of dozens and one cyclist out of 3 or 4.
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As a cyclist, I have to grudgingly agree with this observation. I'd guess over a third of cycle commuters routinely break the law and defy all courtesies of the road (and the pathway). Cutting corners. No signalling. Taking every advantage possible without regard for others. Maybe that's to be expected when they're drawn primarily from a population of aggressive and confident males amped up on adrenaline. While cycling is often promoted as a way to get out of the isolation of a car, in my experience a great many cycle commuters ride in a bubble of selfishness as impenetrable as anyone in a jacked up pickup with tinted windows.