Knockdown college
Mar. 23rd, 2005 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ewxA common response to complaints about a shortage of road space in Cambridge is “which college do you want to knock down?”.
[Poll #459884]ewxewxA common response to complaints about a shortage of road space in Cambridge is “which college do you want to knock down?”.
[Poll #459884]
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-23 02:41 pm (UTC)The answer is clearly to ban all traffic from the most central part of cambridge town and then offer a park-and-rickshaw scheme. Park the car for a reasonable fee (as now) and walk, or park and pay a little more for a rickshaw pass - hail a rickshaw to get zipped around the city for those places that are a little further away.
At the end of the day, people are basically lazy, and whilst cycling is good and many do it, transporting shopping on a bike can get a bit more problematical, especially with the daft anti-motorbike/cycle-with-panniers barriers up at the ends of many off-the-road cycle paths.
Park-and-rickshaw seems to make more sense in that respect. Those that walk, will walk, and those that can't/won't have an option that would see the centre of the city free of the numpties circulating from one side to the other to get to a car park close to where they want to shop - and stop the ones that park somewhere, shop, go back, park somewhere else, shop more, drive back across the city to go home...
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-23 02:49 pm (UTC)I think Cambridge has been a functioning community for many centuries, and has an impeccable balance between roads, colleges, shops, private houses, student lodging, and so on. All that's needed is to stop accumulating ever more people, dammit!
Yes, I know that'e easier said than done, especially with all these silly people who keep having children…
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-23 02:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-23 04:09 pm (UTC)http://www.bikesatwork.com/bike-trailers/
http://www.cyclesmaximus.com/cargotrike.htm
Things like big fridge-freezers tend to be delivered by lorry anyway (though admittedly not always).
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-23 04:53 pm (UTC)The cargotrike looks encouraging, but the 250kg load limit seems to include the driver's weight.
Besides which, given all the cobbles and speed bumps, I think something with at least some suspension would be a good idea when trying to carry anything even remotely delicate!
Cargo trike.
Date: 2005-03-24 11:52 am (UTC)I agree suspension would be good. Looking at this (http://www.cyclesmaximus.com/generalfeatures.htm) and this (http://www.cyclesmaximus.com/flatbed.htm), there is a bit, but adding more on top of the platform might be appropriate for that sort of load.
They aren't cheap though (can't see a price list of their own site, http://www.workbike.org/zero/maximus.htm says £3410.00 for the cargo trike).
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-24 12:06 pm (UTC)Note that it'd have to be available for hire after midnight, by the way.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-24 03:46 pm (UTC)A cargo one might not face the same taxi opposition as slane's trishaws, but still roughly bugger all. I wasn't claiming a practical solution, merely pointing out a possibility. It wouldn't necessarily have to be self-drive, you could hire the rider too and use your conventional bike to accompany them to load and unload, but that probably reduces the chances of it being economic.
One the other hand, if "The answer is clearly to ban all traffic from the most central part of cambridge town", then the demand for something like that might go up to the point where it is plausible someone could afford to buy one of these to hire out.
(There are bicycle delivery services in some places - http://home.t-online.de/home/radlast/Eservice.htm)
I was looking for this earlier - http://hpv.tricolour.net/organ-trailer.html
Hammond organ (and organist) on a trailer pulled by a bike (well, a recumbent tandem trike).
> Note that it'd have to be available for hire after midnight, by the way.
You'ld need the Park and Rides working that late too then. You can get a car out after the barrier in closes, but transfering a big load would be trickier. Maybe Velvet's hypothetical ban wouldn't apply that late though.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-23 02:51 pm (UTC)Oh soddit...
Date: 2005-03-23 03:10 pm (UTC)and I'll leave the car at home!
http://www.a-v-d.com/MOVIES/windQT.mov (quicktime)
http://www.clubwindcheetah.com/MOVIES/wind.mpg (MPEG)
I want one!
Re: Oh soddit...
Date: 2005-03-23 04:17 pm (UTC)Leaving the car at home wouldn't be enough though, I'd have to sell it, and even then an Ice would be closer to my budget than a Windcheetah.
http://www.ice.hpv.co.uk/buyers_guide_ice_trice_diff.htm
Re: Oh soddit...
Date: 2005-03-23 04:23 pm (UTC)Still, I can dream.
And couldn't sell the car - I use it for work (not just commuting to and from). And trains aren't very 'bent friendly - certainly not trikes. It'd take me all weekend to cycle to and from Cambridge from where I live to see my better half :-)
Re: Oh soddit...
Date: 2005-03-24 11:55 am (UTC)Re: Oh soddit...
Date: 2005-03-24 12:42 pm (UTC)I went for more of an all-over coverage on the cycle-helmet, as you can see from the pic. I think it makes me more aerodynamic too, without the ears catching the breeze...
(no subject)
Date: 2005-03-23 03:59 pm (UTC)Park for free at the Park and Ride and get the bike out of the back of the car works for me, mostly.