been riding a bike around towns for 20 years and everywhere I go I find that rich white people spend an absolutely incredible amount of time, money, and energy designing ways to keep everyone else away from the waterfront.
@rebeccawatson one of the things Chicago got right many many decades ago (over a hundred I think) was making all beaches public as well as stopping nearly all construction adjacent to the lakefront (Lake Point Tower where famously Oprah used to live is the exception that luckily was well designed and then the loop hole it used closed)
As a result the entire lakefront of Chicago is open to the public (though in places erroding and needing repair) even in the most expensive neighborhoods
@rebeccawatson in the city of Greensboro, NC, almost all the lakeshores for the sources of drinking water are public biking or walking trails. It's a nice departure from the norm.
The bike lane on 75th ended in a highway on-ramp. the road south to 98th was in utter disrepair. on 98th there’s no bike lane and two freeway on-ramps to avoid. I checked Strave later to learn I should’ve left Oakland entirely to reach the waterfront it borders.
@jeanoappleseed alameda itself is great for laidback cycling which is why I wanted to get there from my (newer) place in Oakland. Once I dial in the route it’ll be fine (for me). Just so frustrating
Chip Wilson, of LuLuLemon fame, had streets rerouted, parking enforcement hyperpoliced, and influenced increases in the parking fees at community centers to lower usage of the public areas near his home.
It's also a way to artificially increase housing valuations, keeping the hoi poloi out of the area.
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