Ep. 278: Can bicycles transform our cities?

Guest: Paul Dragan, Reckless Bike Stores

In a world of climate change, the bicycle is playing a vital role in reshaping the way people get around in dense urban environments.

Micro mobility refers to a host of small (mostly two-wheeled) alternatives to cars and commercial vans.

The pressure this transformation is putting on cities that, for the past 70 years, were designed to accommodate automobiles is increasing. Bikes, mopeds, skateboards, scooters and pedestrians are demanding more and more of the available space. The conflicts are inevitable.

Automobile drivers who pay the majority of the taxes that pay for the byways of our cities are being relegated to second-class citizens. I recently heard car drivers described as the new smokers. As in, yuck, you drive a car!

Local governments are challenged on how to build the appropriate spaces for this onslaught of traffic that frequently spills out of its designated lane and into the path of cars, buses and trucks.

Bike theft is a huge issue that stops many from cycling to and from work. The more bikes there are, the more they get stolen. Bicycles are the perfect item to fence for quick cash. We are at a collision point: car bike tension, rules of the road and theft. These issues will need to be addressed if we hope to get more people out of cars.

We invited Paul Dragan, the Big Wheel at Reckless Rider, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the transportation transformation that is reshaping our cities.