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if it makes you feel any better a saw a fedex truck getting a ticket in dc last week. Pitty it wasn't in a bike lane, but at least we know they are not immune.

Under current circumstances, with on-street parking allocated to those who are either lucky or willing to spend long periods of time searching for a space, double-parking by delivery trucks is understandable, and even necessary to keep commerce moving. (Imagine the effect on traffic and convenient living if everyone had to pick their packages up at the FedEx office.)

But isn't performance parking the solution to this? The truck driver would be happy to pay a high hourly rate to park since he's only parking for ten minutes. If 15% of the parking spaces were almost always free on every block, there'd be no need to double-park.

Sure, performance parking would be another great solution.

But, I disagree with the notion that double parking is necessary to keep commerce moving. Making everyone pick up their package at the FedEx office is not the only alternative. What about the impact of blocked lanes on traffic and convenient living? How is holding up traffic enhancing the movement of commerce?

It would be great if I could double park everywhere I went to do my shopping. That's commerce isn't it? Not letting me double park is bringing commerce to a screeching halt. Where do you draw the line? Why is one form of commerce more important than another?

Lycra shorts and jerseys are easily the most comfortable and practical thing to wear on a bike (for me anyway). Making fun of it is like making fun of a pedestrian for wearing sneakers. More transportation cyclists would wear lycra if they had the money or knew the benefits. I'm sick of people mocking bike shorts. But I confess to avoiding bike shorts now if I'm heading for the grocery store. What a shame.

Washcycle - You're right to ask where do you draw the line. At the same time, without performance parking, it becomes impossible for a delivery service to operate downtown without double parking. Bicycles can carry the little express envelope, but not the three-box document dump.

The point is that this is yet another part of the parking conundrum for which performance parking is really the only solution. If the price of parking is high enough, the deliveries that can go by bicycle or hand truck will go that way, and parking will be available for those who truly need it.

Good point Jack. I hate the criticism of bike clothes as well and skipped over that point. No one expects you to swim in button-down or run in a pair of corduroys...

i've been commuting to work (9 miles each way) for about six years now and wouldn't have it any other way.

Through the hot and cold its an enjoyable way to start and finish my workday, and I biking for work and errands is a completely normal thing for me - not something novel.

oh and I wear jeans or shorts and a t-shirt with whatever applicable layers I need. no fancy bike clothes here

james
http://www.futuregringo.com

As for the claim that NYPD's traffic command finds that double-parking "endangers" cyclists, you have to understand that in the traffic biz it is customary to use "endanger" as a synonym for "inconvenience." Once you're attuned to it you'll see it everywhere.

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