New best comment opposing traffic calming like concrete bump outs: “Do you know toxic cement is to the environment?” Ma’am. Have you heard of CARS? Incredible stuff. 10/10. No notes. - ThreadSky

brookebikesmke.bsky.social • 72 days ago

New best comment opposing traffic calming like concrete bump outs: “Do you know toxic cement is to the environment?”

Ma’am. Have you heard of CARS?

Incredible stuff. 10/10. No notes.

Comments

dvdham.bsky.social•71 days ago

That's a good one to save for the highway overpass or bridge widening consult.

Sorry, can't do it . . . 'Do you know how toxic cement is?'

coldbrewsoymilk.bsky.social•71 days ago

If they want, we could replace most of this concrete with brick or cobblestone. Pretty sure way cheaper to maintain longterm anyway

vmcat.bsky.social•72 days ago

Concrete *is* toxic. You do not need concrete to narrow roadways as we have seen with boulders, planters, bollards, bike racks, and more. Plus, concrete is permanent whereas many other options can be moved or replaced if needed. So "concrete is toxic" ≠ don't build safer bike/ped spaces.

schizachyrium.bsky.social•71 days ago

it’s a little conspicuous that people only voice concerns about cement toxicity when it comes to bike lanes, given how much of the built environment is made of it. it’s also only toxic as a powder! cars are toxic every time they drive by!

vmcat.bsky.social•71 days ago

"Cement is the source of about 8% of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to think tank Chatham House." (BBC) I oppose new concrete wherever it could be replaced by something else.
Use bollards, boulders, & planters. No concrete, safe infra! Some examples: https://youtu.be/JrG1DLe0pRY?feature=shared

vmcat.bsky.social•71 days ago

https://twitter.com/i/status/1782866067632595342

vmcat.bsky.social•71 days ago

Here are some more examples. Some places use discarded, already constructed concrete pipes made into planters, boulders, planters made from pallets, bollards, sculptures, separators made from used tires, etc.

schizachyrium.bsky.social•71 days ago

i’m well aware of the climate impact of concrete. i’d be happy if they used stone instead. but i think a) the impact is offset by getting more people on bikes and b) the impact is dwarfed by the construction of freeways, so why bicker about bike lanes specifically?

yodelinghippie.bsky.social•72 days ago

True but you'd be amazed how a single 4 dollar bag of concrete accidentally mixed and dropped in the middle of the road calms drivers down.

tapesinside.bsky.social•71 days ago

iirc cement/concrete production is incredibly energy/carbon intensive, and yet it comes nowhere near cars when it comes to the actual impact on the environment, ofc there's an argument of scale and that we probably don't use loads of concrete for every building anymore, unlike in the 70s

motosunburn.bsky.social•71 days ago

I don't know why they call it traffic calming, from what I can see all they do is piss people off.

seanickhart.bsky.social•72 days ago

Reminds me of the time I heard someone argue against reusable bags because they take even more time to decompose than single use plastic…

biknmusicmama.bsky.social•71 days ago

Well given that my local Target is getting around our plastic bag ban by just giving away cheapskate “reusable” bags instead, I think there’s an argument to be made that something isn’t working as intended

marcmchardy.bsky.social•71 days ago

I learnt that black top heats up quick and releases a tonne of toxic fumes that are bad for the atmosphere and if we made roads a lighter colour it would legit reduce global warming but it's too expensive so we do nothing and that lives rent free in my head

biknmusicmama.bsky.social•71 days ago

And we make lanes and lanes of it for cars!

uberfahr.bsky.social•71 days ago

Toxic environment indeed.

sctryn.bsky.social•71 days ago

The right turn side bump outs make bike lanes dangerous for the bike lanes, in our towns. Well designed ones are better.

gatadero.bsky.social•71 days ago

Similar to what I was told years ago, that the paint used for lane separation was toxic and would pollute runoff water

frequentflats.bsky.social•71 days ago

I agree. Alternatively, we should seize the car of every tool-driver, trash it where they were witnessed driving like a tool and leave the car-carcuss rotting in the road as a warning and traffic calming feature.

Even more effective, the driver has to live in it for the rest of their life.

guaxary.bsky.social•71 days ago

Environmental activists in my city argued against bike lanes. Why? They slow down cars, and when you drive slower you burn more petrol. Or drivers will take a longer route to avoid bike lanes. Plus has anyone checked if the green bike lane paint is marine safe.

nevakos.bsky.social•71 days ago

😳

spyfragments.bsky.social•71 days ago

Sounds like they were just people calling themselves environmental activists. This sort of concern trolling is right on brand for the drivers’ lobby.

guaxary.bsky.social•69 days ago

No, many of them were the Green party members and voters. It just shows how car addicted my city is - even people who genuinely care about the environment will give anti-bike arguments everyting theyve got. (The same people also oppose apartment builings - middle and upper class privilege)

baro.bsky.social•71 days ago

I honestly can never tell if these pearl clutching environmentalists believe what they're saying or it's entirely a cynical tactic. The near-crying tone I've heard crunchy hippie homeowners tell me that bike lanes will worsen climate due to cars idling in traffic...

jameslonghurst.bsky.social•71 days ago

Oh I got STORIES about this kind of take

affabletoaster.bsky.social•72 days ago

We had a municipal candidate here (Halifax, NS) recently who opposed bump outs because they made us less safe because they make drivers mad and presumable more likely to take it out on vulnerable road users. 🙄

terriclarke.bsky.social•71 days ago

Oh boy. Which candidate was that?

affabletoaster.bsky.social•71 days ago

TM, in District 9, in her HCC survey responses. She also said that bump outs caused the closure of lanes on Almon St (what?), and that this “causes congestion and ill feelings towards bikers.”

terriclarke.bsky.social•71 days ago

Somehow I missed that reading the survey. She ran for the PCs too. Luckily we dodged that bullet twice.

affabletoaster.bsky.social•71 days ago

Yep. When I saw her running in the provincial election it put her terrible municipal platform in context.

anthonychristofi.bsky.social•71 days ago

Classic Road Safety Auditor move there. Don't do anything that will slow down cars or they will get angry and attack people. Seen it many times.

affabletoaster.bsky.social•71 days ago

It’s such a plainly carbrain argument. Recently my aunt in another province found out I bike with my children, and she said I shouldn’t bike with them (or at all) because some people road rage & could hurt us. Gosh, I guess we all need to travel in metal living rooms. What else could we possibly do?

affabletoaster.bsky.social•72 days ago

(I mean, at least that’s pretty close to admitting we’re in an abusive relationship with the automobile.)

lhasacm.bsky.social•71 days ago

The Mid-Atlantic AAA spokesperson opposed banning right-on-red in DC because it would make drivers impatient and therefore increase danger. My favorite is when a local official complained about flexposts for curb bulb-outs because "those plastic sticks made people have to slow down when turning."

rational.bsky.social•71 days ago

I think about this kind of thing every time I drive past the row of 4' boulders that line the edge of the local high-school soccer fields. When people actually want to exclude cars from a space it turns out there are some pretty reliable ways to do it!

brookebikesmke.bsky.social•71 days ago

Thanks I hate it!

bcmfietser.bsky.social•72 days ago

They're *so close* to getting it!

kadschmad.bsky.social•71 days ago

at a master plan town hall, someone addressed the plan to complete the sidewalk network and widen some sidewalks by saying that sidewalks are bad for the environment because of the impermeable surfaces. never mind that people might use them to get somewhere instead of taking their car…

cyberfarer.bsky.social•71 days ago

You would not believe how quickly selfish, oblivious drivers can become defensive mobility activists when drive-thrus and parking spots are threatened.

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