Was thrilled to be a small part of the Rethink35 rally yesterday to oppose the expansion of I-35 through Austin. Huge amount of credit to @kelseyhuse.com for making it actually happen. No one wants this project to happen - and we're going to do everything we can to make sure it doesn't.
These are my thoughts as well. The caps/decks would definitely be an improvement over current expansion plans, but it's so expensive that the "bang for your buck" of that kind of money is just too low.
Oh, gotcha, yeah always fair to ask "what is the best way to spend this money to support non-car transportation?" Not sure if the grant here could have been used for something like that. re: subsidizing EV cycle co, MetroBike is owned by CapMetro, which is part of city gov't.
In a study published in Ecological Economics, it was estimated that society generally foots the bill for 41% of the total costs associated with car driving - with the total cost being ~$640k per driver over a lifetime. Much cheaper for a city to maintain a fleet of e-bikes. Source in link card.
As alternatives to cars - which we already subsidize very heavily. Cars have a lot of hidden costs. There are those associated with pollution and noise pollution. Cities provide free roads and parking. Cars are dangerous, and require dedicated law enforcement. E-bikes are none of these things.
Sarcasm or no?
They're also very valuable for anyone who wants to "try out" e-bikes before committing to buying one. I live car-free thanks to my e-bike, but I never would have had the confidence to buy an e-bike if I wasn't able to rely on Citibike for months beforehand.
Amazing!! Thank you for your advocacy on this important topic.
It's a great day to be an Austin urbanist. Huge shoutout to everyone at AURA who pushed this one to the finish line.
My heart mourns for the person who died here, as it does for all victims of traffic violence. These people die because of choices we make. We need to start making different ones.