Anyone who works in IT, or who is a traffic engineer, knows of the 80/20 rule of networks. The 80/20 rule is simple, it states that on any given segment of a network, 80% of the traffic is local. The exceptions for this rule are rare.
Collision studies show that 80% of crashes and collisions occur within 5 miles of one's home, that is they occur locally. That is because 80% of our trips, and therefore 80% of our time, is spent within those five miles.
5 miles is about the same as the upper limit people are willing to cycle from home to shopping and other errands on their bike. We spend 80% of our time driving 5 miles or less. Some of these trips can, and should, be made by bike.
The point of the city's Bike Plan is not to force everyone to make all of their trips bike, but to encourage, enable, and empower more people to ride a bike for at least some of their trips. And the trips which would be most likely to qualify are those in the 80% -- the shorter, local trips.
Comments
E-Bike Rider (not verified)
The point of the city's Bike
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 17:33The point of the city's Bike Plan is not to force everyone to make all of their trips bike, but to encourage, enable, and empower more people to ride a bike for at least some of their trips. And the trips which would be most likely to qualify are those in the 80% -- the shorter, local trips.
And yet the TCU wants E-Bikes not to be allowed on bike paths...Very hypocritical....It seems to "bother" the TCU whether people are pedalling or not, when it does not bother the Department of Transportation or Insurance Companies. Another alternative to driving is opened up in Ontario, to help deter motorists for short commutes, and the TCU has the audacity to post an ACTION ALERT to forbid them on the bike lanes. Never mind their 6 year excellent track record in BC, never mind three years in Ontario...They do not want to share the road. People are so "Torontocentric". Just because it is so congested downtown Toronto, The TCU wants to squash e-bikes right to ride on bike paths everywhere. Hypocritical to say the least. I don't travel downtown, but i am totally offended that this organization feels they have the right to say I can't ride on a bike lane in North York that is so unused. As a taxpayer and a citizen I am offended by the TCU and that they are using their position to post this nonsense. There is a world outside of downtown Toronto that perhaps the TCU should consider. E-Bikes are not the problem..Are Electric Cars next on their hit list?
anthony
Will you be fighting for e-bikes tomorrow?
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 20:16Will you be at the PWIC meeting tomorrow, fighting to ride your e-bike on sidewalks as well?
Agenda link (see item #PW25.18):
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/pw/agendas/2009-06-03-pw25-ar.pdf
See also:
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/pw/bgrd/backgroundfile-21458.pdf
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2009/pw/bgrd/backgroundfile-21459.pdf
Tom Flaherty
The Point?
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 23:00I don't know how an e-bike comment is even remotely relevant in this subject, but I will say that e-bike supporters have done a tremendous job of promoting the TCU's position on e-bikes. The TCU made its position statement regarding e-bikes on March 8th, but judging by comments like the one above, you would think it was announced yesterday.
You have the legal right to ride an e-bike on a bike path, I don't agree with it, but that is the law today; however that doesn't mean there is a condition in place that allows for the suspension of common sense.
I would never consider riding a 200 lb + electric scooter along a busy bike path, but if you really think it's a good idea, I would ask you to permit reason to supersede legal limits.
E-Bike Rider (not verified)
my last post on this forum
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 23:48my last post on this forum Tom and i agree common sense goes along way. My scooter style weighs no where near 200 pounds. (130 pounds) I originally chimed in because we are actively trying to get people to ride e-bikes instead of cars for short commutes as mentioned above. No harm intended. My Bad.
AnnieD
The point of the city's Bike
Thu, 06/04/2009 - 10:49This is the issue that needs to be repeatedly highlighted in the media. I can't stand to read the comment section of cycling articles in The Star because so many of the comments are of the defensive "I can't ride a bike because I have mobility issues and need to carry a piano with me to my workplace which is on the other end of town and takes forever by TTC and I can't move closer to my work because my wife works near our home and has to be at work at 4:00am. Therefore, the city shouldn't be putting in bikelanes on the roads I need to use." Of course some people can't bike to work, yeesh - we're not aiming for 100% here! But putting in bikelanes and getting more people out of their cars - those who do have short commutes and can bike instead of drive - will make the roads clearer for everyone else for whom biking is not an option.
If we can get these people off the defensive and get them to see how getting more people out of their cars will benefit them, we might find ourselves with some new allies. :) :) :) OK, maybe not. But maybe we can take some of the steam out of them.
anthony
point of the post
Thu, 06/04/2009 - 14:23AnnieD, you found the true point of my post. You win the prize! Yay!
You're right in that we all need to be speaking to this point more.
E-Bike Rider (not verified)
**** Absolutely not...Bikes
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 21:23**** Absolutely not...Bikes of any kind have no business on sidewalks period...unless of course it is a child.
I am all for the TCU and what it stands for except their stance on e-Bikes. The TCU concerns itself with a couple
of kiliometres in downtown Toronto that is congested. There is a whole province out there that would benefit greatly by another alternative, Small towns, cities, suburbs, beaches. There is a world outside of downtown Toronto. That is Yvonnes world not mine, and she wants to impose her thoughts of whether e-bikes belong on a bike paths in Whitby, or Timmins, or Kingston or London or Windsor, or in the suburbs of Toronto? She rides in a congested part of the city and there is not enough bike lanes so her answer to the problem is get rid of e-bikes on bike paths...Kind of self centred, n'est pas?
Tom Flaherty
Personal
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 23:16E-Bike Rider,
If you have an issue with the TCU's position on e-bikes, that's fine, but you have no right to launch personal attacks based on the position of the TCU.
If you want respect between cyclists and e-bike riders, I challenge you to lead by example.
PS: Your reference to the scope of the TCU's focus is incorrect, the TCU represents the interest of cyclists and its members across Toronto, and is not limited to, as you said, "a couple of kilometers in downtown Toronto"
E-Bike Rider (not verified)
My apologies...where I ride
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 23:54My apologies...where I ride along with other e-bikers we see very few cyclist and have no problems when we do.
I am in the Whitby area and most bike lanes are empty. I certainly have no problems with cyclists...or motorists for that matter.
electric
Commonly know as the pareto principle.
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 21:29How about the flip side, that 20% of "cyclists" could easily cause 80% of the problems in bike lanes.
That first comment was a bit of a non sequitur ... I'd venture to say that electric/hybrid cars aren't on the hit list, because nobody is trying to reclassify them. The hybrid/electric car situation is unlike the current re-classification of battery powered mopeds/scooters into bicycles.
Anyways, e-biker there is already a forum discussion here: http://www.ibiketo.ca/forum/commuters/seen-today-e-scooter-playground-path
E-Bike Rider (not verified)
BTW... nobody is
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 22:53BTW... nobody is reclassifying e-bikes as bicycles as they are new to Ontario. A moped is gas powered, goes fast and requires a M1 Licence. Electric bikes are much slower, cannot be gas, and cannot exceed 32 km per hour....which is more of a bicycle speed. Using the word Moped just shows that more awareness and education is necessary. Thought everyone was clear on that in this forum....guess not....
E-Bike Rider (not verified)
How about the TCU using
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 21:34How about the TCU using E-Bikes as a more positive weapon and demand more paths as a result of their existance, instead of trying to get rid of them because of insufficient paths. You would certainly have a larger voice with us than against us. You objected about e-bikes since their inception into Ontario and three years later are still objecting. Thousands of e-bikers ride their bikes instead of cars and the TCU object to this, and you don't see the hypocrisy?
E-Bike Rider (not verified)
My apologies...I object to
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 21:38My apologies...I object to the title of that forum....perhaps i will start another one...
Random cyclist (not verified)
That is because 80% of our
Fri, 06/05/2009 - 10:32That is because 80% of our trips, and therefore 80% of our time, is spent within those five miles.
Sorry, I know this is completely beside the point but I can't help myself: longer trips take more time so these two statements are incompatible.