Probably rating bike lanes
Recently Marcus of Probably Riding rated his city's bike lanes. For years his videos depicted places Seoul as well as other places in South Korea as somewhat of a bike mecca at the level of Copenhagen or Amsterdam. But here he reveals the reality and rates Seoul bike lanes firsthand .
The rating criteria:
- Safety
- Efficiency
- Scenery
- Connectivity
- Inclusivity
Commentaries
Some commentaries on timestamps of the video.
※ as my blogs restriction I can't place images yet. In the future I'll add them so better make do with timestamps and the hopes of a reader with vigor to actually watch the video
08:00 Shimizu ramen bar mentioned. As an aside I quite like the atmosphere of the shop (what I look for at other shops hehe)
11:20 Reception Coffee. Comments if this shop was featured before
13:00 paint not being infrastructure at Guangwoman Palace. A prime example of a situation where piles up stuff park on the bike lane and then people wonder why no one rides or question the need of it given the zero users. A bike lane to go to, not one that connects you to other places.
16:30 No bike infra, try the back streets. Reminds me of Not Just Bike's remarks why thousands ride a bike in Japan urbanized places despite having little to no infrastructure for cycling. The quite narrow streets and car restriction factor helps it so.
18:25
“Cycling here (back streets) is in more of a thing you just do in your neighborhood, or as a leisurely pursuit. One that you dress up for on the weekend and do with your friends rather than something for daily life...”
This quote hits me as it explains what I see during Car Free Sundays: something the rich or free-time-abled can do on a weekend but does not greatly benefit the daily commuters outside the reach of said car free Sundays in my opinion.
19:06
“But I think the big part of why a lot of people don't ride for daily life is because the infrastructure isn't there. I think if you build it more, people will use it. It needs to be safe and separated from cars, and separated from pedestrians. It needs to be efficient, it should be the fastest way to get around; the most direct. Not just a way to get bikes off the road so cars could get faster.”
Word.
12:44 Once an elevated Highway. Now a river with access roads on each side and a painted bike lane. Need to confirm if the river is the highway (Cheonggyecheon)
23:50 Seafood market shortcut
25:20 scary part cycling before the University bike lane at Donook University up to Hannam, past Nam San.
28:00 Pedestrian footbridge over a sea of car lanes, and an obligatory bike carry down winding flight of steps.
28:42 THe Han River bike path we always see across Probably Riding videos.
31:55 So how does Seoul compare to where you live?. An imposing question that merits a separate post :D
References
Places mentioned during the video: