We Are Traffic
Written by Boston Biker on Nov 06We Are Traffic from Bank Tangjaitrong on Vimeo.
People have strong opinions about critical mass. Hate it or love it I thought this video was interesting. My personal point of view is that the more bike friendly a place is the smaller the critical mass is. Critical mass’ seem to be an outpouring of solidarity based on mutual repression. The nicer a place is to cyclists the less they feel the need to engage in these large protest/fun/whatever rides to raise their status. Basically in places where bikes are seen as just another way to get around there is a critical mass every day.
What do you think?
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By Benjamin Mako Hill on Nov 7, 2009 | Reply
So I agree with most of your post but I don’t think your proposition is backed up by facts. SF is actually quite a bike friendly place and their CM is the biggest around. Vancouver, Portland, Seattle and Melbourne are all big and pretty bike friendly as well.
At the end of the day, big CMs happen in places where there are a lot of cyclists; cities that are nicer to cyclists tend to have more of them.
I don’t think CM is any sort of effective protest or education campaign for folks who drive cars. And that’s OK. We’ve got to realize that protests are always more for the protesters than the people protesting. CM is what turned me from a person who biked every day into a cyclist. I bike year round because cycling has become an important part of my identity and CM was a big part of how I got here. I’ve got issues with CM too but I think it has played a really important role in the growth of cycling culture over the last couple decades.
By adry on Nov 14, 2009 | Reply
nice post. also interesting to see that was in orlando.
errr i was wondering and maybe i’ll send you out a whisper on bostonfixed but err now that i’m all moved back to miami it seems that people here do want more for cyclists. and i know damn well that up until a few years ago boston was seen as a pretty shitty place to ride… i was wondering if you had any advice/suggestions for actually getting something started up down here :/
in the last couple of weeks there’s been like 5 different accidents on the news. one of em actually by where my parents live, which is where i’m staying, and now i’m just like goddamn cuz i miss riding around boston.