Crossposted from: https://feddit.de/post/10138600
As Deputy Mayor David Belliard of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV) aptly notes, cycling in Paris has transcended mere trendiness; it’s become a fundamental aspect of the city’s identity. Despite challenges like inclement weather, cyclists continue to flock to the streets, setting new attendance records and reshaping the urban landscape in the process.
Pariscycling numbers doublein one yearthanks to massive investmentIf you build it, they will come.
It always irks me when I speak with city planners who say they can’t build out cycling infrastructure because there aren’t enough cyclists.
Can you tell me how many cars are on undeveloped land with no roads? Yeah, same reason.
Paris, along with other cities who have invested in cycling infrastructure, have found out that cyclists actually do use it! And seeing more cyclists on safe infrastructure encourages other people to become cyclists!
I wonder if this will give the stereotypical obese Americans pause before visiting?
I guess there are still ebikes.
It won’t. They’ll still visit in droves and complain about the parking.
Is that really what Americans complain about when visiting Paris? I was too busy complaining about the lack of public bathrooms.
Ones I’ve personally heard:
-
parking (either insuficient or too tight)
-
speed of service in restaurants
-
“why don’t they speak english?!”
-
accessibility for the disabled (this one is actually pretty fair, but it’s also very hard to fix)
Edit, PS: the lack of public toilets is also a fair complaint. It’s also a pretty common one, even in New York and London. Amsterdam comes to mind as a decent counter-example, at least for men. There are urinals strewn about most everywhere in the city.
I think the only place with a good amount of public toilets I’ve been in is Luxemburg.
Your third bullet point goes both ways. I’ve seen french people trying to speak french in a US national park and getting annoyed nobody understands them.
Absolutely! Shitty, entitled tourists are everywhere and hail from everywhere. It’s part of the reason travelling is such a pain nowadays.
Added note: I’m also rarely actively looking for public restrooms. So I could be very mistaken. The public restrooms are usually ( unfortunately) filthy AF. People can be such animals sometime :(
Tragedy of the commons…
-
Lack of public bathrooms? All of Paris is a public bathroom!
