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Re:Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Star... by doctoboggan on Thursday May 15, 2025 @01:19AM (#43992079)
I live in Chicago and use a cargo ebike with a child seat for probably 90% of my trips. I can take my kid to school, go shopping, and go to my office on my bike, often quicker than if I were to take a car.

Chicago has (recently?) put a lot of focus on their bike infrastructure (protected bike lanes, bike signals, bike only paths, etc) and it seems pretty widely used.

Re:Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Star... by lazide on Thursday May 15, 2025 @07:31AM (#43993916)
I’ve experienced Chicago winters.

Do you put the kid in that seat?!?

Re:Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Star... by doctoboggan on Thursday May 15, 2025 @09:43AM (#43995027)
Yes, with a warm coat and this full enclosure[0] she was happy in the winter.

[0]: https://betterabound.familybikeride.org/img/winter-kit.jpg

Re:Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Star... by ty6853 on Thursday May 15, 2025 @12:07PM (#43996448)
The bigger problem in the winter is the drivers get even crazier and the roads can occasionally get icy.

When I was bike only I had my arm damaged in a way that it took close to a decade to get back to normal. On another occasion I was knocked unconscious. Both occasions were drivers who left turned into a parking lot without looking, crossing a lane then going right into me in the bike lane.

A car provides a nice cushion for those sorts of happening. I think if I had a child in either case there is a good chance they would be dead.

While I support the right of people to make their own risk assessments for their family, I fear it is only a matter of time until they come to understand what I did about Chicago biking.

Re:Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Star... by ghaff on Thursday May 15, 2025 @10:13AM (#43995303)
>protected bike lanes

I'm certainly not opposed. But my observation in the relatively nearby city when I go in and sit on the sidewalk at a restaurant is that the fairly new protected bike lanes have a fairly terrifying combination of transportation modes (bikes, ebikes, things that I guess are ebikes but look almost like small motorbikes, escooters, and pedestrians crossing). And then, because they're in a bike lane, many seem to assume the signal at the next street doesn't apply to them.

Not sure of the best answer.