Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

When does going backward mean progress? When you're talking about bicycle use in the city of Beijing.

According to Streetsblog Network member The City Fix, Chinese officials have woken up to the idea that the city's traditional bicycling culture, which has been in sharp decline over the last 20 years, should be restored and fostered:

beijing_nov_07_kf_024.jpgMore bikes are coming to Beijing. (Photo: Karl Fjellstrom, ITDP China)

Liu Xiaoming, the director of the Municipal Communications Commission, said in a Xinhua article
that the government will “revise and eliminate” regulations that
discourage bicycle use and impose greater restrictions on car drivers...

The government also plans to restore bicycle lanes that were torn
down, as well as to build more parking lots for bicycles at bus and
subway stations to encourage additional cycling.  Also an improvement:
The city will make more bikes available for rent to defray the cost of
owning a bike (a new one can cost as little as $20-$40) and allay fears
of bicycle theft, a rampant problem in the city. By 2015, the number of bikes for rent will total 50,000. 

Meanwhile, in a galaxy far, far away, Los Angeles blog Westside Bikeside has a post that indulges in a little futuristic fantasy, putting convicted road rager Dr. Christopher Thompson in a quasi–Planet of the Apes scenario. (Thanks to Stephen Box of SoapBoxLA for pointing us to this one.)

Here's the idea: Dr. Thompson, as you may have heard, has been sentenced to five years in prison for his vehicular assault on two people riding bicycles on Mandeville Canyon Road in Los Angeles. His driver's license has also been permanently revoked. The folks at Westside Bikeside are imagining what would happen if the city of LA underwent a paradigm shift in those five years, and Dr. Thompson emerged into a landscape that was much friendlier to bicycles — one of which, of course, would be his most efficient form of transportation:

To Thompson it really would look like the Planet of the Apes. Hewould have left a city where the car is king and its necessity isunquestioned by most. …He might return to a city which put cyclists and pedestrians, asvulnerable road users, first. He might return to a city where cyclingis fashionable, and cyclist intimidation, in any form, isunfashionable...

I’d like to announce Bikeside’s Planet of the Apes meta-project.It’s not really a project — what the hell would a Planet of the Apesproject grant application look like? It’s more of a goal: total,unfathomable, transformation. Total transformation of LA’s streets;unfathomable transformation of LA’s minds... We should begin our journey not entirely certain of ourdestination, just intention and resolve to work like hell to get itdone.  I say we point to the mountain in the distance and say “that’swhere we’re going, screw the map.” That’s the Planet of the Apesmeta-project -- a commitment to all out transformation of LA to a lush,livable, fun-able, paradise.

Ridiculous? Or visionary? To those who would say LA's sheer size makes bicycling as transportation impractical, Beijing's example may be instructive: Los Angeles County contains some 4,061 square miles; the city of Beijing encompasses nearly 6,500 square miles.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Why No BRT For NYC? Two New Reports Tackle Why Your Bus Service Sucks

Years of bus priority projects barely made a dent in speeds because Big Apple leaders won't install real bus rapid transit, two recent reports argue.

July 11, 2025

Citi Bike Riders Are Pissed About Eric Adams’s 15 MPH Speed Limit

Citi Bike's new 15 mph max speed limit is a bad deal for riders and a potential threat to safety, riders said.

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: Cyclists, Check Out Your Next City

Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson visited London earlier this summer to check in on the Big Smoke's cycling revolution.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Just the News Edition

We've got one more workday before we can hit the beach. Plus the news.

July 11, 2025

Council To Close Instacart Loophole, Pass Delivery Industry Regulation Bills

The City Council will vote on Monday the "Instacart loophole" and force all app companies to pay workers a minimum wage.

July 10, 2025

‘Blood On His Hands’: Cyclists Slam Eric Adams After Judge Lets Him Remove Brooklyn Bike Lane

Mayor Adams will have “blood on his hands” for his decision to rip up three blocks of the popular protected bike lane.

July 10, 2025
See all posts