The issue with bicycles is bad infrastructure and not price. You can easily get a decent new one for 1000€ and second hand they often can be had for nearly nothing. Unfortunatly most will not ride bicycles in car traffic for very real safety concerns. So it is much better to build proper protected city wide cycling infrastructure and promote it especially towards students.
Stroads are streets that are designed like roads and in doing so, fail at being good at either one. They are too sprawling and hostile to be good streets, and they are too busy and complicated to be good roads. Stroads are inefficient, unsafe, expensive, and ugly.
This video introduces the concept of Stroads, and talks about why you will (almost) never find these kind of places in the Netherlands: because here all roads need to have a single purpose as either a motorway, connector road, or end-destination street.
The name “stroad” was invented by Strong Towns as a way to explain why road design in the US is fundamentally broken.
There is more to it, like modal filters, to create long pathways for reducing car traffic, while not stopping cycling and walking. That should fix most problems in the residential areas.
Actually allowing density around train stations. Denvers regional rail is pretty good, but nobody can really use it. However they are fixing it.
Creating alternative cycling and pedestrian infrastructure truely away from cars.
Pedestrian zones especially in the city center. Those block cars fairly well and really create some great places.
Expand regional rail and light rail. Some large parts of the city lack decent public transport altogether. That is a great thing to redesign stroads. Take away two lanes for light rail. Add some trees and proper protected cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and then take away parking minimums. It does not turn a stroad into something truely amazing, but it would fix most problems. Especiall with allowing redevlopment of the parking lots into mid density housing. It will take decades to truely heal thou.
I think by getting more bicycles on the road will drive demand for better bike infrastructure. It will show people what they can do with the existing infrastructure and show where I can be improved. I assume it’s cheaper to get more bikes out there then change infrastructure.
Bad ones cost 300€ or even less, but they will not last. You really need to spend some money to get a good new one, but it will last a lifetime. Otherwise go second hand and as I said you can get good ones for nearly nothing, but they will not be up to date in terms of technology. Honestly second hand is the way to go anyway.
The issue with bicycles is bad infrastructure and not price. You can easily get a decent new one for 1000€ and second hand they often can be had for nearly nothing. Unfortunatly most will not ride bicycles in car traffic for very real safety concerns. So it is much better to build proper protected city wide cycling infrastructure and promote it especially towards students.
The classic stroad video comes to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORzNZUeUHAM
There is more to it, like modal filters, to create long pathways for reducing car traffic, while not stopping cycling and walking. That should fix most problems in the residential areas.
Actually allowing density around train stations. Denvers regional rail is pretty good, but nobody can really use it. However they are fixing it.
Creating alternative cycling and pedestrian infrastructure truely away from cars. Pedestrian zones especially in the city center. Those block cars fairly well and really create some great places.
Expand regional rail and light rail. Some large parts of the city lack decent public transport altogether. That is a great thing to redesign stroads. Take away two lanes for light rail. Add some trees and proper protected cycling and pedestrian infrastructure and then take away parking minimums. It does not turn a stroad into something truely amazing, but it would fix most problems. Especiall with allowing redevlopment of the parking lots into mid density housing. It will take decades to truely heal thou.
I think by getting more bicycles on the road will drive demand for better bike infrastructure. It will show people what they can do with the existing infrastructure and show where I can be improved. I assume it’s cheaper to get more bikes out there then change infrastructure.
1000€ is quite a lot of money
Bad ones cost 300€ or even less, but they will not last. You really need to spend some money to get a good new one, but it will last a lifetime. Otherwise go second hand and as I said you can get good ones for nearly nothing, but they will not be up to date in terms of technology. Honestly second hand is the way to go anyway.