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Etsy Finds: Transportation Alternatives
Story by mcfunley
Published on April 18, 2008 in Spotlight 		Photo by mcfunley

Yes! It's another bike-related Etsy Find! But this Earth Day, if you will permit me I would like to be serious for a moment.

Every Tuesday morning in my neighborhood (Alphabet City, in Manhattan), a few dozen of my neighbors ritually wake up early, get in their cars, relocate them ten feet to the right, and sit there double parked, waiting for the street cleaner to pass by. There's something about this choreographed, screetching, honking, weekly dance that highlights the fundamental absurdity of the omnipresent automobile.

Two thirds of the space between the buildings in my neighborhood is devoted to large, mostly stationary and unoccupied vehicles. They leak mysterious fluids that pool by the curb. They are often parked so close together that crossing from one side of the street to the other is awkward, if it were even a good idea to cross the street without a light. Cabs routinely thunder down 11th street at what looks to me like about 50 miles per hour.

Walk down Prince Street any day of the week and you will notice that for the benefit of the small minority that drive or own a car in Manhattan, the rest of us are relegated to sidewalks only a few feet wide. Pedestrians spill out into the parts of the bike lane not blocked by double parkers.

So ubiquitous is the notion that free parking and cheap fuel are inalienable rights that few bother to question this arrangement. Even if oil prices weren't rising, even if biofuel subsidies were not dubious and the source of food shortages in the third world — even then, America's relationship to the automobile would not be the best way to construct a society.

Call me idealistic, but I dream of a different city: one where the public space has been given back to the public. Where mass transit is not a punch line. Where biking is not considered a fringe activity, where it is not too dangerous for the elderly and the very young, but is rather just transportation. A city where the walk signal on Houston Street is long enough for my dachshund's short legs to get across it comfortably or, better yet, where walk signals are not necessary.

That dream is really what this Etsy Find is about — all of the wonderful bicycle-related artwork and photography on Etsy that fuels my hopes (pun intended) that people will sooner or later come to the realization that the last sixty years have been an aberration, rather than a necessary evolution. That more and more people will realize that it's at once faster, greener, and more satisfying to bike from place to place in Manhattan than it is to get in a cab.

Specifically, check out Aptrick Photo's cruiser shots. Visions from an alternate reality where bikes are the ubiquitous way of life and cars are the hobby.

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EGCG | Trashion | EcoEtsy | Environmentally Friendly Gift Guides | Earth Tones Series
Tags Aptrick, bikes, Earth Tones, Eco-Friendly, Etsy Finds, New York
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21 comments     Login to add your own!

April 18, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. GumballGrenade

Oh the beauty of the bike! Lovely collection.

April 18, 2008 at 11:08 a.m. scrumdidlyump

yes! I don't have a car- I have a bicycle and a trailer to haul my son. I made the decision to go carless 18 months ago and I LOVE IT! It is a lifestyle that requires more concious living- I now have to consider any purchases I make or errands I run carefully- Which has led to me living a greener life in more ways than I could have possibly expected. The funny (or not so) funny thing is that ever since I decided to get rid of my car people have been either really excited for me or, appalled and assume that I can't afford a car, so they need to t give one to me. Three people have offered to GIVE me cars in 18 months! They are amazed when I say, "No Thanks!"

April 18, 2008 at 11:42 a.m. javaslublu

I gave up my car 13 months ago in favour of a bicycle (a cool folding Brompton!).

I now commute by train and bike in pretty much the same time as it used to take by car, but I'm happy when I get to work/home instead of being stressed out. It costs less. I'm saving the planet. I gave up smoking so I could cycle faster. And my legs now look pretty darn good (if I say so myself!)

Go on, treat yourself - get a bicycle :-)

April 18, 2008 at 11:49 a.m. calebwalt

look at those hoodlums tearing up the streets. watch out, brooklynites; christine has that look in her eyes.

April 18, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. raghousenternational

Wonderful article. I so need to learn how to bike again. I live in LA and we are very, very spread out, but there are some places where I could totally use a bike allowing me to save on gas and get more exercise. I love your descriptions of New York. I haven't been there in a very long time and it made me miss it!

April 18, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. qwynwyn

Yay! Biking is great exercise. I currently bike to work most days (40-minute ride each way).

April 18, 2008 at 12:53 p.m. claudiasburningink

OK riding a bike while puffin a cig makes me laugh

April 18, 2008 at 12:58 p.m. scrumdidlyump

I saw a man in Japan once riding a bike in the rain, holding his umbrella over his head, smoking a cigarette. Even more impressive: the woman I saw in Germany, one kid in front, on kid on back, riding through the snow PREGNANT.

April 18, 2008 at 1:28 p.m. zJayne

I really liked that visual of synchronized car moving... great writing and great article. I am so impressed at the writing that goes on here.. well done! Great finds too!

April 18, 2008 at 1:35 p.m. flytie

lol @ the story of the pregnant woman. i love it!

good article. bikeriding is pretty common where i live. i personally don't own/ride a bike to get around, but it's definitely a possibility in the near future basically cause i just don't like driving my car. my manfriend has a couple, and they're his primary transporation.

April 18, 2008 at 2:12 p.m. HeyMichelle

Ha ha ha, scrumdidlyump!

April 18, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. CyclonaDesigns

We have amazing year round cycling and there is hardly any need to drive - it's awesome! I love bikes so much that I make all my stuff from recycled bike parts (well, that and I share my workshop with a bike mechanic, so bike parts are the most easily harvested resources around my house!)

April 18, 2008 at 2:53 p.m. anda

I rode my bike until i was 38 weeks pregnant. For those of you that do not know how pregnant that is: it is REALLY pregnant. Like, biking myself to the delivery room pregnant. Having a baby with a bike seat-shaped dent in it's head pregnant. Getting my hospital bills sponsored by Euskaltel pregnant.

April 18, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. brooklyncrafts

The group Transportation Alternatives really works hard to promote this in the city:

http://www.transalt.org/

Great spotlight:)

April 18, 2008 at 8:43 p.m. scrumdidlyump

Anda - you're my hero.

April 19, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. Iheartmoustaches

Great article Dan! It was fun bike riding with you. We must do it again soon!

April 19, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. artbyangie

I ride my bike everywhere :) Not only does it save the environment, but I don't have silly car insurance bills, and I don't spend any money on the sky-rocketing gas :)

April 20, 2008 at 4:39 p.m. BusyNothings

When I lived in New York, I was too scared to ride a bike because of all the cars! (I lived a few blocks from Prince.)

Now that I live in New Orleans, I bike everywhere and love it. It makes me feel healthy since I can't walk as much as I did in NYC.

April 20, 2008 at 5:07 p.m. luulamax

I'm with you!
--and think how much exercise you'll get.

The only thing that kills this article for me is the guy that's smoking.

Smoking is a no no!

April 20, 2008 at 5:40 p.m. shopgoodgrace

This is a fabulous article. Thank you.

July 30, 2009 at 10:07 p.m. aptrick

wow i am just now finding this. thanks for using my photos :D they love you back

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