Not wanting to die is privileged? I walked to work pre-coronavirus, and had been nearly run over on 3 separate occasions. Jumping out of the way, hands on the hood level nearly. Yes, the walk sign was on. I was constantly breathing in pollution from construction and old vehicles/diesel/huge trucks. I live in a major metropolitan city in the southern usa. It was not a pleasant experience.
I may be coming off as too direct. But I feel you are coming off too dramatic.
Either you are not aware of your surroundings or you’re trusting others too much for your own well being due to the egocentric Identity instilled in modern society.
“Walking” and “biking” are basic traits you should be able to manage on your own. If there’s variables elsewhere affecting such actions. You’re not being proactive enough. There’s no excuse with multiple countries in the world having less resources and facilities to manage lifestyles whom go through much worse to make ends meet. Please. All it take is to cross the street for most in the states for instance.
Edit: before we prioritize biking and walking to work. We should prioritize efficiently getting the long distance workforce into hubs with less pollution and min cost.
Your assumptions are ugly. There is no possible way for me to know an Audi 6 cylinder (relevant because quiet and fast) is going to come flying around a blind corner when there are huge red stop lights all around it. The only reason I didn't die was because I always am watching the street for cars that aren't paying attention.
Stop comparing to other countries. The usa (especially the south) actively legislates to keep car as king. All of those resources you speak of don't go towards this country's public transportation or self transportation options. Bike lanes are a joke in most big cities. I've watched cars actively try to mess with bikers, run them off the road and such. I won't try to guess their motives. You are naive.
Was the car turning right, by chance? I only ask cause I was almost hit once while out walking in a similar situation. All because cars turning right often don't actually stop at red lights, feeling that can keep going as normal, especially if no traffic is coming the other way. I wish the US would do away with that law, and strictly enforce it for a while. It'd make things a little bit safer, at least.
I apologize for my assumptions. And incorrect comparables.
Your personal implications for such necessities are valid. I personally feel if change in commute were to be made I would not want bike lanes, walking restrictions and traffic control of the immediate realm be first but rather out of city commutes to be innovated upon beforehand.
For me it’s a matter of prioritization and This sense of dread of “death” via biking and walking to work doesn’t seem on par with most whom have 1hr+ commutes out of city
Living close enough to your job in an urban enter to the point where walking or cycling is an option is the epitome of privilege, and so is arguing that you deserve your own private roads to move around during your few minutes commuting.
Next, please educate us all on the immense virtues of eating cake.
I know people who use public transit to get into the city (NYC, not London) and then walk or use bike share to finish the trip. If we're really going to decide transit policy by building a hierarchy of privilege, it seems unfair to consider them more privileged than someone who can afford to take a car and pay for downtown parking.
You may be stuck in your small town because you walk everywhere. Or stuck paying more for housing because you cannot trust your car. Or decline a promotion because the gas station with the available assistant manager position is too far for you to walk before you can get a car - payraise be damned.
Only in some areas can someone take public transport, which does mean that the less privileged live further from workplaces.
You’re right that the ability to easily control where you live requires more resources. But that’s also an extremely poor (possibly bad faith) counter argument to the suggestion that we improve the infrastructure for non-polluting modes of traffic.