Today’s Futurist Friday is about bicycles. Specifically, where to put them.
DC’s “Sustainable DC” plan calls for bikes and walking to account for 25% of commuting by 2033. Right now that figure is about 16%, including the Washingtonians and tourists who zip (ok, lumber) across the city on red BikeShare bikes, which live in these public “stables.”
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| (This is DC, where I live) |
If we really want to increase bike use by over half again as much, how long before we start to look likeTokyo?
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| This is Tokyo (picture from Travelogue of An Armchair Traveler) |
This is a problem. Right? Maybe not. Your Futurist Friday assignment: watch this video (4 min) sharing a glimpse of the future:
Some museums are already jumping on the public bicycle rental bandwagon, hosting bike share kiosks on their sites. How long before a big museums in a dense urban center includes on of these underground systems in its plans? Keep an eye out.
There's a Sept 2013 Washington Post Magazine article that summarizes DC's efforts to increase bike use (for commuting and errands). The person coordinating the program since 2001, now uses DC's Bikeshare. He jokes that "his own bike isn’t as meticulously maintained as the Bikeshare bikes." So while the bikes' old-fashioned (dress-friendly?) appearance might give the perception that they "lumber", I hope someone who actually uses them will let us know if that is an accurate term. I know the strong racks keep them upright and tidy!