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Melissa & Chris Bruntlett Profile picture
@modacitylife
Sep 10 • 5 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
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What does an AI tool teach us about accelerating the urgent shift to cycling? We must stop engaging in bad faith arguments over bike lanes. We won’t—and don’t need to—convince everyone in the comment section. Our precious time and energy are better spent on the bigger picture. 🧵 A woman in a black jacket rides a green shared e-bike along a continuous and fully protected bike lane built in beige asphalt on a street in Montreuil, France.
Rather we should share our vision of a liveable future; sparking a values-based conversation on our aspirations, on which there’s a lot of consensus: on safety, health, greenery, equity, sustainability, prosperity. Once we agree on the destination, we can debate how to get there. People in casual spring attire cycle on Argentinierstraße in Vienna—a red asphalt “bicycle street” lined with four-storey buildings, trees and plants, and wooden benches.
We must expand our movement to bring in those left behind by car dependence. There's a coalition waiting to be formed, especially the young and old, women, and people with disabilities or lower incomes. Many would hop on a bike if it didn’t require dodging cars from door-to-door. People walk, cycle, sit, and use wheelchairs along the Underline—a linear park and urban trail beneath an elevated railway line in Downtown Miami.
We must rise above the culture war separating us into modes and leading to inaction. There is a latent demand waiting to be activated and numbers that will support politicians willing to change the status quo. Our mission is to ensure this silent majority is heard loud and clear. A red tinted bike lane sits next to a commuter train station in downtown Austin Texas during the early morning hour.
The five images in this post weren’t created by AI. They’re photos of places where the @Cycling_Embassy has worked... Pioneers that reframed the conversation, and asked, “Not what your city can do for cycling, but what cycling can do for your city.” WATCH:
People in casual spring attire ride bicycles along protected bike lanes in the center of Tirana, Albania.

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More from @modacitylife

Melissa & Chris Bruntlett Profile picture
Nov 7
The decision to invest €30-million in the world’s biggest bike parking (12,500 spaces) at Utrecht Central Station seems extravagant, but when you calculate the cost of the alternatives—in the context of tens of thousands of bike-train trips each day—it’s an absolute bargain...🧵
An external analysis put the cost of the bike parking facility (including construction and operation) at €1 per user per day, where the cost of bus or tram travel was €3 per user per day. So enabling cycling to the station saved millions in public transport subsidies each year.
The savings were even more dramatic when compared to accommodating car travel to the station. The related negative externalities—such as congestion, pollution, road safety, and public health—were calculated in the tens of millions each year; even in the most optimistic scenarios.
Read 5 tweets
Melissa & Chris Bruntlett Profile picture
Nov 5
The Netherlands’ systematic approach to road safety—especially on walking and cycling—is a textbook application of the Hierarchy of Controls: an industrial method which identifies a preferred order of actions to best reduce hazard exposure based on their general effectiveness…🧵
1️⃣ Elimination: The most effective measure involves physically removing the hazard at its source by restricting motor vehicles from accessing certain corridors and districts in the city, through the act of traffic filtering and circulation to establish car-free and low-car areas.
2️⃣ Substitution: This means using a safer alternative to the hazard source by replacing as many car journeys as possible with a combination of walking, cycling and public transport. This is accomplished by both making those alternatives attractive and making driving inconvenient.
Read 7 tweets
Melissa & Chris Bruntlett Profile picture
Oct 26
Conventional wisdom thinks of car traffic as a liquid, where adding capacity (ie. width) keeps it flowing. But in reality it acts more like a gas, where it expands to fill the amount of space available. And the only proven way to relieve congestion is to evaporate some of it...🧵
Case in point: The Netherlands boasts a 150,000 km network of high-quality bike infrastructure in a 41,500 km² country, with 24 million bicycles for 18 million residents—who now make a quarter of their daily trips by pedal power. Sounds like a driver’s worst nightmare doesn’t it?
But Waze’s Driver Satisfaction Index—which analyzes the experiences of 65 million users in 38 countries and 235 cities—regularly names The Netherlands the most pleasant place in the world to drive, specifically referencing its “smooth traffic conditions” and “solid road quality”.
Read 8 tweets
Melissa & Chris Bruntlett Profile picture
Oct 17
In 2020, 40% of motor traffic in Vilnius' city center was passing through with no intention of stopping—up to 70% on specific streets during the morning peak. In order to keep the social and economic heart of the city pumping, the city introduced a new traffic circulation plan.🧵 People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
Practically a copy-paste of the plan implemented in the Dutch city of Groningen in 1977, Vilnius' center is divided into four zones, each with one main entrance and one or two exits. Traffic in each loop is one-way only, regulated by signage, barriers, and a 20 km/hr speed limit. People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
Under the plan, residents and visitors of the Old Town continue to be able to drive to their homes, workplaces and attractions, but can't drive directly through the city center. All motor vehicles, with the exception of public transport, must exit from the same zone they entered. People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
People walk, cycle, sit, and ride buses along the low-traffic streets of the Old Town of Vilnius in Lithuania, which are lined with trees, terraces, and colourful buildings.
Read 5 tweets
Melissa & Chris Bruntlett Profile picture
Oct 14
Despite representing just 13% of trips and being owned by 33% of households, cars take up more than half of the public space in Paris. Which is why Mayor Anne Hidalgo is removing 70,000 of its 140,000 on-street parking spaces, to make the city greener and more people-friendly. 🧵 People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
The municipality is consulting residents on what they would like to see replace the 10 square metre parking places. Options include more trees and plants, vegetable allotments, composting areas, children’s playgrounds, bicycle parking areas, and public toilets, among many others. People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
“We have to plant greenery in the city to adapt to the acceleration of climate change. We want to make the air more breathable and give public space to Parisians who often live in cramped flats,” declared Deputy Mayor David Belliard in calling for residents to submit their ideas. People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
People walk and cycle through the 20th arrondissement of Paris. Rather than cars in the on-street parking spaces, they are filled with trees, terraces, benches, playgrounds, and parked bikes.
Read 6 tweets
Melissa & Chris Bruntlett Profile picture
Oct 9
Something we often hear when we're talking about cycling infrastructure is that it’s ableist... It only allows the physically fit to use their streets; to the exclusion of everyone else especially the elderly or disabled. It's worth pushing back on that idea on several levels. 🧵 People of all ages and abilities ride a variety of mobility devices—including tricycles, cargo bikes and scootmobiles—along protected bike lanes in Dutch cities.
It's first worth pointing out a car-only transport system is perhaps the most ableist of all. A third of the population does not have the physical or financial means to drive: like children, the elderly, caregivers, people with lower incomes, and those with physical disabilities. People of all ages and abilities ride a variety of mobility devices—including tricycles, cargo bikes and scootmobiles—along protected bike lanes in Dutch cities.
No single mode is perfect. And there will be some people that can't or won't cycle. But when cities get the network design and details right, when they build their bike infrastructure in an inclusive and intuitive way, then it suddenly opens up possibilities for almost everybody. People of all ages and abilities ride a variety of mobility devices—including tricycles, cargo bikes and scootmobiles—along protected bike lanes in Dutch cities.
Read 7 tweets

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