West & East divide-cycling issues, non-car issues

[shootingstar]

I wouldn't think much of East/West differences in discussing cycling in US -- living in NYC I would likely have more in common talking to cyclists in San Francisco than cyclists in Atlanta or Nashville.

Cities are so different -- as others have pointed out, age of city and population density are two things that would radically affect any transportation planning.

Do we know for a fact that people don't look to other cities for ideas? During the (admittedly minor) involvement I've had in transportation planning there was discussion of what has gone on in other cities.

OT but marginally related: I was always amused by my native-New-Yorker friend who was outraged that you couldn't just hail a cab in other cities like you can in Manhattan. He was intelligent and educated, too.

If you talk to cycling advocates here who have lived in Vancouver for a long time (longer than me which is 8 yrs.), they tend to know more deeply and have more interest/connection what is happening on cycling infrastructure planning on the West Coast ....vs. in Toronto. There is interest in NYC here probably because of some cycling developments and a couple of dynamic NYC individuals who talk about cycling in an intelligent, yet accessible and captivating way.

Recently we published this article to give our spin on a very recent development in Toronto.


Even though people who work full-time in transportation planning with a strong focus in cycling, one does not find much cross-reference in published articles, comments between blogs, newsletters, websites between the 2 cities.

Sometimes it's just lack of time, sometimes certain things are not easy to compare. But also the cycling terrain and city layout for Vancouver compared to Toronto, is quite different. However I argue based on living in the 2 cities long enough, plus latest census statistics, that Vancouver is better off looking at how Toronto, Los Angeles...handles cycling advocacy because demographically Vancouver is way more diverse than Portland both in numbers and porportionality.

But sometimes all it takes are 1-3 dynamic spokespersons with a regional/international profile from certain cities to highlight what is going on cycling-wise in their respective home cities.

I dunno. Maybe it's the Rocky Mountain range that creates that pyschological block at times. Seriously.

Or people who work in cycling as a full-time job, are engrossed in immediate local matters which pits them against funding for new highways, bridges, etc. or dealing with local businesses who may not want a bike lane, etc.