Yes, I know I can walk around it, hence the mildly infuriating. Still a d*ck move
You can walk around them, people in a wheelchair or with a buggy cannot. Disrespectful af.
Yup, exactly this.
Even just people with luggage and baby strollers are fucked. People who are blind also are really disadvantaged here. The scars on the shins of people who have used a white cane for years are numerous.
I’m a fan of fewer cars on the road, but things like this are also reasons why we need still some forms of direct transport access. Travelling a few blocks from a public transport stop can still be filled with hazards like this that prevent people from arriving at their destination.
It’s not an old video game. They’re not immovable parts of the level design. You can likely move or bump them out of the way enough to pass through.
Meanwhile right next to them is a huge metal box that stole 4 times as much sidewalk, transported half as many people and is literally un-moveable if you’re not in a heavy motorized vehicle.
Okay, so as a cab driver I have a lot of opportunities to get frustrated with how selfish and myopic people are. But you know what happens when I do that? I make myself miserable.
I, personally, find that my mental state is much, much better the more I’m willing to accept people not doing things ‘the right way’. Yes, I could get annoyed for the hypothetical people who might encounter an obstacle to their mobility here (who have not and may not ever arrive), but what will that actually do for me or for anyone else?
Unless I’m actually moving the obstacle my disapproval is completely useless. It may even cause me to do something stupid and inconsiderate myself as I become distracted by my annoyance.
But if I just let it go, smile, and move on, the utter insignificance of the action can just fade into the background and not make itself part of my focus on how to reflect on humanity or my day.
Very true, but this community isn’t called “Letting things go”.
Who gave you the right to bestow such a beautifully worded response >:(
I’m literally angry with rage!!
I think this is more of people looking out for the disabled, not being annoyed.
Hmm … I think the point of this post, and comm, is being (righteously) annoyed. When leavened with humor, of the self-deprecating kind, it’s good.
But public indulgence of righteous indignation is kinda gross. Once in a while maybe…
Mmmm
Cherry picking going on here
Yes, I could get annoyed for the hypothetical people who might encounter an obstacle to their mobility here (who have not and may not ever arrive), but what will that actually do for me or for anyone else?
You could move the bikes for that hypothetical person. I can not move a bike like that because of my disability.
Personally I could pass those at the side, but I have friends who need a walking aid or wheelchair who probably couldn’t. Vehicles parked in the middle of the way are a regular road block. It is often because people without disabilities can’t (or won’t) imagine that people who can’t move a bike or climb over a scooter exist.
I heard it’s psichologically unhealthy to hide them in your darkest parts of mind, after all they’re just sitting there in your subconscious without you knowing it. Frustration will keep gathering though, please speak to your friends, family or therapist about these issues before depression hits.
If you suppress it, letting it fester, you’re right. But that’s not what they’re talking about.
They’re describing actually letting it go. Letting the emotions wash over you and dissipate naturally. It may look the same on the outside, but internally it’s very different. It’s by far the best skill for your mental health.
I know the trick, that’s what I do when my wife starts talking too much
Christ almighty found the boomer
Get new material.
Well, there’s three bikes in this picture and only one car. The car is taking up more space than all of the bikes. Simple solution: get rid of that car parking spot and turn it into bike parking. Now more people can visit the businesses!
But that’s not how it’s currently set up, both cars and bikes can coexist. These bikes shouldn’t be parked there just like cars shouldn’t go into the sidewalk.
There are multiple additional parking spaced behind the car. Replacing one spot with bike parking still allows both modes to visit the shop but provides an increased number of visitor spaces.
The car also has a Dutch license plate. While I am generally a big proponent of bike friendly infrastructure, even at the expense of car amenities, the Dutch of all the people don’t need any more prodding in that direction.
They certainly do. There’s still wayyyy too many people driving everywhere, with just one person per car.
The problem is not lack of bike parking, we have plenty of that in the Netherlands 😊 We’re just sort of spoiled and like to park our bike right at the place we need to be. If you do that normally it usually isn’t a problem.
The problem is not lack of bike parking, we have plenty of that in the Netherlands 😊 We’re just sort of spoiled and like to park our bike right at the place we need to be. If you do that normally it usually isn’t a problem.
In the US, this would be a F250 extended King Cab blocking your path while idling and spewing diesel exhaust.
I guess our “mildly” infuriating things are different.
It’s not legal to ride your bike on the sidewalk in the US, no?
It’s a local thing. My town doesn’t let you ride on the main street sidewalk, but you can everywhere else. There are signs posted at the end of the street that you would never notice.
That being said, ride in the road. Assert some dominance.
Unless the cars on the road are going to fast for comfort or are too agressive, then do whatever you can to not feel like you are going to die at any moment.
When I learned to drive there was a pretty big emphasis put on paying attention to cyclists in round abouts. Nowadays the official rule for how a bicycle should go through a round about is: in the middle of the road. Even as a car driver I love the boldness of this approach.
Whoops, accidentally bumped into your bikes as I walked down the sidewalk they were parked on!
I was really tempted to do that, but I felt them being an asshole shouldn’t be a reason for me to be one as well
You’re just making space for anyone that needs by in a wheelchair.
While I admire your stance of being the bigger person, there’s also the alternative of politely moving the bicycles. Doing that doesn’t make you the asshole, you’ve taken away a source of frustration, and the chances of the owners having memorized to the centimeter where they’ve parked their bikes are very low so there would be no harm done.
There is the whole getting caught in the act and being screamed at by Karens or incels, but I do feel most people will accept your actions along with the explanation.
Mostly pisses me off because it blocks disabled people. I wouldn’t blame them for knocking it down.
I might be too american, but I’m more concerned about leaving a bike outside unlocked without a fear to have it stolen. How does that work?
They are actually locked. In the Netherlands bikes usually have ring locks attached to the frame that lock just the rear wheel. It’s way more convenient, you can quickly lock your bike and pop into a store. It’s of course less safe, so especially in larger cities and at train stations people do lock their bike to something.
Example of lock ring lock: https://www.google.com/search?q=axa+ring+lock&biw=412&bih=712&dpr=2.63
I am an american but i think it works like this:
- streets are bike friendly
- more reasonable to just bike everywhere so everyone does
- city may provide free bikes to use
- more demand for bikes, more competition, less expensive bikes
- less bike theft in general as a result
- these aren’t $4k+ bespoke bikes
- something something socialized healthcare something something better labor laws something something higher taxes but a better quality of life. Why steal? Be happy.
We don’t have these things here. Except for expensive bikes, that’s all we have. That’s why I got these boltcutters…
Except for expensive bikes, that’s all we have. That’s why I got these boltcutters…
Well of course, how else do people get expensive bikes?
Haha no, bikes get stolen all the time and the cheap ones are easiest to sell. These bikes are in fact locked
We call them junkie bikes because you buy them from your local junkie for 10/20€ and don’t ask where it’s from.
Those are all locked. This is in from the Netherlands. The most bicycle happy and bicycle friendly country in the world. So much so thar they have bicycle parking problems.
In the Netherlands they get stolen all the time as well. Locked or not. We have bike thieves that just load the whole bike including lock into a van and drive off with it.
Either that, or if attached to a pole/bike rack with a chain or bar lock, they’ll just pull out the old angle grinder and go to work.
Happens everywhere, happens in broad daylight, happens when there’s people around, and usually doesn’t raise a lot of suspicion because “might be someone who’s lost their keys”.
Since there’s 4 bicycles for every person living in the Netherlands, the key strategy is just making sure your bicycle is a little less fancy than the one locked up next to yours. Thieves tend to go for the ones they can resell for the most amount of money. In other words: Hide in the numbers.
Key strategy, hah. I do that too, parking my bike next to fancier one.
Leuke naam, ik krijg er honger van.
Also these kinda lock are really common here. I could pick then up and walk away with them yeah, but they where locked
Here it comes paired with a surveillance state that will catch you stealing a bicycle and have the cops waiting for you at your home before you can even reach it.
Nah. In Copenhagen we lock them like this, too, but you’d never get the police to check video to maybe identify the theif. Rape or violence, sure, but not bike theft.
I’m not in Copenhagen, however.
Sorry, no, of course not. It wasn’t my impression it was like that in NL.
While they could have snugged them in, they do need the ability to park them somewhere while shopping. One option is in the road, like the white van. Or put up some bike racks to guide parking. This is poor city planning.
This is poor city planning.
There’s a lot of things wrong with the Netherlands, but poor city planning - at least when it comes to bike infrastructure - is not something you’ll find there.
There’s no way to tell from this single pic. Who knows, there might have been proper bike parking spots just around the corner.
This is the Netherlands, better bike parking is always a stone’s throw away
The social way is to at least put them both right next to a wall, not side by side in the middle of the sidewalk
you may not realize…that belongs to the main character
There’s an office building near me where one of the employees parks his Harley Davison motorcycle on the handicapped ramp of an emergency exit. Granted it doesn’t see daily foot traffic but someone in a wheelchair might need to, you know, escape a fire.
Someone should inform the authorities and let them tow it. There should be something that can be done legally.
I wonder if there is a law against this or if it’s some kind of building code violation. What authority governs having handicapped accessible escape routes from a private building?
I’m just guessing, but in my country you get towed for blocking escape routes. Maybe your local fire department can help you understand what is possible to do.
That’s actually a great suggestion. The fire department are always helpful.
I’m in the US and when I read the title I assumed it’d be a car parked in an insane way. I wish we had the opportunity to be mad at bikes haha. The closest is people dumping scooters wherever or they try to park them politely but then they fall over
I assume people putting themselves, or their personal shit in everyone’s way.
Yes Karen, you and your five friends, walking shoulder to shoulder, on the only place for people to walk, at a slow meander, DOES obstruct everyone else. And yes, I have somewhere to be, but even if I didn’t, get the fuck out of the goddamn way.
I’m so used to having to bend over backwards to walk anywhere in Greece that I literally could not see the problem
The matter of perspective, amirite? 🥁
Those rental scooters in my city are always parked so they obstruct as much of the sidewalk as possible, it’s so infuriating.
I don’t get why people do this and I get the hate for the rental escooters and ebikes (even though I think most people kick them just for “fun”). I usually take my time and put them out of the way. People look weird at me sometimes but I feel like doing something good. It’s like that’s why we can’t have nice things. They’ve banned those in São Paulo, Brazil because of that, didn’t take I think 2 months even.
I’m so mad at people who don’t properly park their rented scooters. I always take my time to put them aside if they’re a hindrance on the sidewalk but it infuriates me how it just takes TWO seconds to not be an asshole and people still don’t bother.
I know this was in the Netherlands before I even saw the Dutch licenseplate lol. This is common practise, very annoying tho.
