Why Walkable Journeys Would Free Us From Cars, Bikes, Buses and More

Science et Avenir wrote an article about why we should cycle as much as the dutch. They think that we should cycle instead of taking the car for short journeys. I disagree. For me, if a distance is less than three kilometres then it can be done in half an hour or less, on foot, and even less if we run.

The thing about bicycles, is that they don’t mean that people are more sporty. Most are not cycling 25km twice per day. They’re riding their bike to the pub, or the train station or the shops, and then back, because they’re too lazy to walk, rather than because they want to do sports. That’s why they want to dress normally, and arrive with their hair perfectly coiffed, rather than ruined by a helmet.

Since the pandemic I was walking 8-10km loops for sport. In so doing I got to know every walking and running route. In the process I listened to audio books, podcasts, and seldom, to music. In so doing I got to know every lending library, and I got to see vegetation grow, and seasonal changes. I got to develop The Walking Knowledge of the area.

This walking habit only came to an end because of infrastructure changes that were aimed to encourage cycling, without, for a second, considering that they would destroy walking routes for two years.

Next week, on the 12th of Octobre they will start road works for two weeks that completely destroy a driving route. The traffic that was already awful before these road works will be unliveable.

Route de Crassier traffic, instead of going along the main road will be funneled through Eysins. This means that at rush hour all cars will be going along the pedestrian/cycling route that they specifically re-designed through their two year road works. For two years a main road will have been diverted via secondary roads that were meant to encourage cycling.

I’m a cyclist, and I barely touched the bike. I road the bike two thousand seven kilometres, compared to five thousand last year. Road works make quiet roads that are used by cyclists busy as traffic has to be diverted.

In my eyes, the most rational solution is to switch to an EV. With an EV you have the freedom of a car, without the carbon footprint and cost of petrol. With a bike you worry about bicycle thieves. I loved to walk, and leave the car parked five days a week but road works, that are meant to encourage cycling, and walking, made walking deeply toxic.

Last year, at this point, I had walked 1212km. This year I have walked 810km. Two years ago I had walked 1696km. Three years ago it was 1445km. This year I cycled 2699km whereas last year I had ridden 4426km.

They love to say we should replace the car with cycling for short journeys, and that we should replace the car with walking, but if road works that are meant to encourage cycling and walking destroy quiet, pleasant roads, due to traffic diversions, then we’re more likely to return to using the car. I did, and the numbers above prove that I was serious about walking and cycling, until bureaucrats that don’t cycle, or walk, chose pharaonic projects that look great as KPIs, but ruin cycling and walking.

And Finally, I live three kilometres from two shopping centres, a train station and more. For years, especially during the COVID honeymoon, more commonly called “lockdown” walking everywhere was safe so I did. When cars, and bad tempered drivers returned to the roads the roads that had been pleasant became toxic so I re-routed my walks towards Nyon.

The road works that are meant to improve walking and cycling have, through lasting for years, rather than weeks, ruined walkability between where I live and Nyon. As a result I use the car, not because I’m too lazy to walk, but because the road infrastructure is so busy with traffic, due to the road works, that I no longer find the walk pleasant.

My greatest barrier to cycling and walking isn’t laziness, and it isn’t motivation. It’s commuters from further afield saturating all the roads. Geneva has voted to invest 40 million francs on park and rail solutions and these are ideal because they’re elegant. If commuters drive to a P&R stop, and use public transport, then instead of twenty cars, you get one bus.

In the end, to encourage walking, and cycling, you need to make roads quieter by increasing bus frequency and convenience. With a convenient bus you don’t need to drive, and if 100 people feel that way, you have quieter roads, and more pedestrians, and cyclists.

Cycling infrastructure isn’t the solution because it costs millions of francs to implement, and years of road works and disruption that perversely, make walking, and cycling worse, not better.

For the next two weeks the toxic segment of road will be awful and instead of driving 3km to the shops, I will drive 7km to avoid rush hour traffic. My jounrey will make many more villages congested because bureaucrats didn’t consider how much worse congestion will be.