Will bicycle riding take off in Santo Domingo?

[Dolores]

Traffic jams in the city make getting around by bicycle faster than going by car, especially at peak hours. The Banco Popular continues to lead in making it easier to be a bicycle rider in Santo Domingo. The bank continues to add bike parking areas to encourage people to use their bikes.

This past week, the Banco Popular inaugurated a new bicycle parking area at its Núñez de Cáceres branch with free parking for 10 bikes. This brings to three the BPD bank branches that have dedicated bicycle parking areas. The other two are at the Torre Popular (Av. John F. Kennedy) and Avenida Bolivar. Overall, it’s only for 32 bicycles, but it is a step in the right direction.

A press release from the bank points out that the parking facilities at the Torre Popular and Núñez de Cáceres also serve as interconnection points with the Santo Domingo Metro. Furthermore...

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[CristoRey]

Having lived in Santo Domingo, it gets hot. Really hot. Perphaps people will consider using bicycles during the winter months but from May going into summer (during rush hour) no way. Plus security will be a major issue. My neighbors ride here in Santiago and they constantly have issues with rogue conchos and armed roberies.

 

[Chirimoya]

I am a cycling advocate and it was my sole mode of transport for about a decade until I moved to the DR. I lived in a cycling-friendly city in the UK with bike lanes and cycle routes. My workplace even provided showers and changing rooms as well as large bike sheds to encourage people to cycle, and a huge proportion of the workforce did. Even if I were 20 years younger, I would still never use a bicycle in Santo Domingo for transport, apart from exercising on Avenida de la Salud and similar spaces.

 

[CristoRey]

I am a cycling advocate and it was my sole mode of transport for about a decade until I moved to the DR. I lived in a cycling-friendly city in the UK with bike lanes and cycle routes. My workplace even provided showers and changing rooms as well as large bike sheds to encourage people to cycle, and a huge proportion of the workforce did. Even if I were 20 years younger, I would still never use a bicycle in Santo Domingo for transport, apart from exercising on Avenida de la Salud and similar spaces.

I lived in Amsterdam back in my early thirties. City is made for cyclist.
I lived down in the Capital in my early forties. City is not safe for bicycles
or any mode of transportation with less than four wheels.
I would love to see it happen but I think it's going to take a very long time
before it would be something most people will consider doing.

 

[SanFran01]

I am a cycling advocate and it was my sole mode of transport for about a decade until I moved to the DR. I lived in a cycling-friendly city in the UK with bike lanes and cycle routes. My workplace even provided showers and changing rooms as well as large bike sheds to encourage people to cycle, and a huge proportion of the workforce did. Even if I were 20 years younger, I would still never use a bicycle in Santo Domingo for transport, apart from exercising on Avenida de la Salud and similar spaces.

Never say never. There would be a need for substantial change in attitudes but it could solve many of Santo Domingo's urban problems relatively cheaply and what is the alternative? Certainly cheaper when compared to the cost of the construction of a Metro system. Same thinking is happening in London where significant cuts in capital expedition for major transport schemes means that cycling and walking is being heavily promoted as the way forward.

 

[ChelseaRose]

I live in the Capital, and I'm a woman in my early forties. I bicycle everywhere! Sure, it's hot, but you learn the exact pace you need to go to get enough breeze to stay cool, but not so fast you are profusely sweating. And yes, I do plan my outfits to minimize sweat. Sure it's "dangerous" - in that you're sharing a road with all the crazy Dominican drivers. But the trial bicycle lane is a good start, side streets are lovely, so is the Malecon, Mirador Sur and la Zona Colonial, and the more bicycles we have on the roads, the more alert drivers will be. Wear a helmet, be alert! Sure, you might be targeted by thieves if you're riding a sweet thousand dollar rig. But the same goes for walking around with a fancy watch or cell phone. NOTHING beats the freedom to pedal past the tapones clogging the streets of the Capital! Live a little, people!

That said, what we really need to promote more biking in SD is more bike lanes - with protection - rather than bicycle parking. Parking is the least of my worries on a bicycle - I just park with the motos and carry a big chain.

Anecdotally... I've been a bicycle commuter in many cities in the US before moving to the DR. I've been hit, threatened and run off the road more times in 2 years in San Francisco, or 5 years in Seattle, than I ever have in my 5 years in SD. Current count in SD = zero.

 

[Chirimoya]

Never say never. There would be a need for substantial change in attitudes but it could solve many of Santo Domingo's urban problems relatively cheaply and what is the alternative? Certainly cheaper when compared to the cost of the construction of a Metro system. Same thinking is happening in London where significant cuts in capital expedition for major transport schemes means that cycling and walking is being heavily promoted as the way forward.

If they introduced a network of designated cycle routes, as opposed to painting white lines on existing roads, guaranteed to take you all the way from A to B without having to negotiate vehicular traffic, but this is rare even in the most bicycle-friendly cities.

 

[CristoRey]

Never say never. There would be a need for substantial change in attitudes but it could solve many of Santo Domingo's urban problems relatively cheaply and what is the alternative? Certainly cheaper when compared to the cost of the construction of a Metro system. Same thinking is happening in London where significant cuts in capital expedition for major transport schemes means that cycling and walking is being heavily promoted as the way forward.

You ever tried winning an argument with a Dominican?
or better yet, been in Santo Domingo traffic at 5:30pm on
a Friday afternoon? I'm not saying never but I seriously doubt
either of us will live long enough to see bicycles or walking become
the preferred mode of daily commute in Santo Domingo.

 

[NALs]

More dedicated bike lanes could work, but they have to be for bikes only. Remember when Roberto Salcedo created the bike lane on the center of avenida Churchill? Shortly after it was created someone used it to drive their SUV and skip the traffic jams on the avenue. A bike lane becoming an express-tapón-skipping lane in mere seconds.