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We can prattle on and on about rules of the road but the laws of physics trump all of the ones made by man. I know. I was riding a bike when I was cut off by a car. It didn't matter who was in the right. It didn't matter who hit whom. I lost. So we can dream on about sharing the road and doing something about all of those damn car doors but it's not going to change the laws of physics.
Transportation departments should build extensive bike lanes along side highways. This would allow bikers to travel long or short distances along major thoroughfares. End of problem.
Transportation departments should build extensive bike lanes along side highways. This would allow bikers to travel long or short distances along major thoroughfares. End of problem.
I feel obsolete. sigh!
I agree that we should do more to encourage cycling. But it seems like tolerance in general is what is lacking on this issue and many others. Just as drivers are generally intolerant of other drivers, it shouldn't be any surprise that drivers would be intolerant of cyclists as well because it means they have to pay attention more. Ooooh, god forbid. You mean I can't text while I'm driving?
However, I do not agree that cars are responsible for obesity. That is just a ridiculous assertion. Everyone that drives cars contributes to pollution and the oil addiction and all of that, sure. But not everyone who drives a car is obese. Obesity comes from bad diet and lack of exercise, plain and simple. Reasons for eating bad are many -- poorly educated (on eating right), emotional issues, etc. So don't claim that cars are responsible for obesity. That's just plain wrong.
Driving is ingrained in our culture now. Most people's lives revolve around getting around by car. You're not going to change that anytime soon, and you'll probably find that you'll receive a lot of backlash if you do try to push it too hard. So, fight for cycling, sure. But don't fight to stop people from driving.
And again, what we need is computer assisted and eventually computer controlled driving. People simply suck at driving and they can't be trusted to do it on their own. We need sensors to detect when you are not paying attention. We need sensors to detect pedestrians in proximity. And we need the government to step in and require these safety features on new car models just as they did with the seatbelt.
I certainly think bikes need to be insured for damage to and theft as well as the damage they can do to cars. Which would also require registration and identification. The theory is simple..fair treatment means fair regulation. What if a cyclist hits a pedestrian or a parked car or runs a stop sign and piles in to the side of a car? You have to admit that would be the fault of cyclist...
I know several bike taxi drivers that work the West Palm Beach downtown.. and they must carry insurance for these reasons.. as well as for the passengers. And they are required to follow the same street laws as cars and buses.
In the opposite corner; laws protecting the cyclist should be toughened and enforced.
I think bicyclists have every right to the road that cars do. That being said, I think they should follow the same laws that cars do as well. I drive in the city and I can't count the times I see a bicyclist ignoring traffic laws and red lights.
Yeah, everybody knows high fructose corn syrup is responsible for obesity. :P
Seriously, I agree with the anti-bike guy, if we assume that there are dedicated bicycle roads that go everywhere that auto-dedicated roads go. Until then, bicyclists are forced into a contended space and drivers need to put up with it.
I'd also take this argument a little more seriously if both pedestrians and drivers respected bike lanes -- at least here in NYC, peds treat bike lanes as sidewalk extensions and drivers treat them as parking and passing lanes...
I see the biggest problem of cyclists is those that either don't know the rules of the road (if you've gone to driving school, you know the rules of the road, they're the same for bkes as they are for cars) or just don't care to follow the rules of the road. I can't tell you how many 4 way stops I have come to in Providence (yes, I live in the same city as the author) where I stop and start to go and have to slam on my brakes because a cyclist decided he didn't need to stop at the stop sign. Bikes must stop at all stop signs and red lights, yet many cyclists decide that if no one is coming, they can just run the red light or the stop sign. Sure, cars do this as well, but when was the last time you saw a cop give a ticket to a cyclist or the last time a cyclist got his picture taken and a $75 ticket from a red light camera?
I have no problems with cyclists. I have problems with the mentality that they don't have to follow the same rules that the cars do (and I have almost been hit by cyclists while I was walking, in fact, more often than with cars). Personally, I take the bus. It saves me money, it helps save the environment, and I'm safer in the bus than I would be on a bike, especially on the streets of Providence.
I agree that cyclists should not be on the roads with cars.....and...I am a cyclist. The trouble is, bikes are legally allowed on the roads...but why are they not considered a slow moving vehicle? Many many times when driving my car I will be in slow moving line up, only to find it's some doofus on a bike, who thinks he belongs on the road, impeding traffic. When I am on my bike, I get out of the way. I don't sit blocking half a lane to try and prove a point. I don't belong there...just like the farmer in his tractor who pulls to the side to let you pass...cyclists should do the same. That is what I do.
No, cars really are responsible for obesity. A little time looking at texas motorists should be enough to settle any doubts on that issue.
also, a curious trend the the proportionality in sizes; if you look at the driver of, say, a hummer or an expedition / escalade, they are likely to be quite a bit more on the portly side then say, a prius or smart car driver. I often understate.
more fuel consumption = more lardass to haul around = more fuel consumption! when does the vicious cycle end?
-patrick-
The government already has too much involvement in the design of cars... why can't I buy a cheap bare bone car with no safety features if I want to take the risk myself (for example for city driving where speeds are under 30 or 40, why do I need a car that is designed for 120mph?) Cars are already too expensive. So government mandated sensors is a terrible idea!
Insurance
"As more cyclists get on the roads, policy makers, insurance companies and others will come up with new products and laws to meet the needs of cyclists." ... "NEEDS"? That is absurd. No one "needs" insurance. It is already a crime that auto insurance is mandatory in our state, having bicycle insurance is even worse a crime. Cycling is supposed to be in-expensive alternative, and when I cycle to work, I take the risk... I want the risk.
It seems that we as a society are all way too scared! Live a little.
I like your assessment. Here is a proposed solution: require cyclists to be licensed and have insurance, just like drivers. The age restrictions might be different, as might the required levels of insurance (your insurance includes covering the other guy's medical expenses, and for bicycles this will rarely be an issue), but at least policeman might make an effort to ticket those bicycles who break the rules, and those drivers who drive unsafely around bicycles.
@Anthony
Except, that's ridiculous.
Children can ride a bike, leading to the assumption that even a child can ride a bike, so riding one as an adult and getting a license and insurance is beyond ludicrous unless you're insinuating they get them just for roads where cars travel (which is all of them). So who is to decide what roads they need a license to ride on? I know 55 mph roads that nobody travels on, so it's easy to ride a bike on them, and I know 25mph roads that are so heavily traveled it's hard to even get on them.
No, the problem lies heavily in the car driver's responsibility. I'm not saying all accidents are car's faults, but by and large you can't possibly say bike riders are the issue with a straight face. If a car hits a bike, the bike is totaled and usually the person with it. The car might get a scratch. That to me places the responsibility with the person able to cause the most harm or damage to the other person.
I think it is not correct to say that cyclists don't know the rules of the road. I think the vast majority of cyclists do in fact KNOW the rules, they just choose not to obey them. I exclude small children there, but then they shouldn't be on the roads unaccompanied anyway.
I would be happy to ride on the bike path. Would this person be willing to increase their tax payments to pay for the paths to keep the bicycles out of his way? Likely not, the same as most people. I have had more than a few cars pass me [when riding a bicycle and while driving] and then not maintain the speed limit themselves or any consistent speed [not too hard for some cyclist in a 20 to 25 mph zone]. So who is slowing traffic in that instance? The argument about cyclist not knowing the rules of the road is weak at best. On any given day I can find countless examples of drivers who don’t exhibit much knowledge of the rules either. Has Mr. Urban always followed every rule? Why is it only up to everybody else but the person complaining?
As for the liability, if a cyclist is truly at fault in an accident, I haven’t seen many stories where this wasn’t proven. Insurance companies are happy to prove liability/fault to avoid paying, especially when larger sums of money are at risk. Licensing and insuring every bicyclist sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare unless one is advocating for more government.
"cars are responsible for over 40,000 fatalities a year"
And that's not counting cats, dogs, racoons, deers, squirrels and other friendly animals that get hit by drivers every day.
As the "laws of physics" guy suggests, bicyclists should be respectful of their inferiority on the road. Unfortunately too many bicyclists let their selfrighteousness trump their common sense. If you are going to be on the roads, stick to the wider roads when possible and be aware of your impact on the faster and bigger vehicles.
I "love" how so many cyclists pat themselves on the back for eliminating their emmissions without also understanding that their selfsih driving habits can slow down the cars on the road and increase other people's emmissions thus eclipsing their efforts.
Traffic is a team sport. We are all better off when we are helpful and AWARE of the other driver's intentions and needs.
I am not sure if there are places where they do this, but why don't they put cycling lanes in the centre of the roads instead of the edges where you can be doored. Drivers would be able to see cyclist better since they are on the same side as the driver. Also, two cyclist hitting each other head on would do less damage than two cars hitting head on. This is just an idea I had riding around. But perhaps I am just out to lunch and there are many better reasons keeping us on the side!
@Larry,
Just out of curiosity, do you ride in an area that lacks bike lanes on larger roads (though not highways)? My town has tons of cyclists, and several of the streets where many cyclists ride lack bike lanes. The problem that I find cropping up most often is that if you stick close to the white line near the shoulder, motorists, more often than not, simply BLAZE by you without leaving any sort of room between their car and you. Passing without leaving room would be completely fine, if cars would simply slow down a little bit while passing. I have been cycling for about 6 years and I can't tell you how many times I have literally been blown off the road because of a car or truck driving too fast and too close. Therefore, I tend to take my right to a lane more seriously on these streets, and stay a little farther from the left line because it forces cars to pass more safely. That might be annoying to drivers, but I feel I am a responsible cyclist and that drivers should be responsible as well. And if it means making some slow down just a few miles an hour to pass safely and avoid an accident for all of us, then I'll do it.
I would absolutely love to avoid these roads if I could - I don't want to be any closer to crazy people driving cars than they want me near them. However, they are often the only way to get from my home to my office, and I avoid them whenever I possible can.
As far as the argument with the insurance and children.. if they are under 18.. it should be the same as with any issues with minors... it goes back to the parents.
in addition to that.. maybe the insurance is required for only certain "zones".. like congested cities where car/pedestrian/cyclist interactions are high.. like New York.
The WANT to see more people convert to bikes for short and inner city trips.
But with more and more people using bike in the same road space as car... stuff will happen. To say that only the heavier car is to blame and hold the cyclist innocent regardless... it at best whimsical.
I'm a cyclist who commutes 20mi every weekday. The problem is both cyclists and drivers. I see plenty of cyclists doing idiotic things and ignoring the rules of the road, but I also see just as many (percentage wise) drivers not following rules and cutting off cyclists or driving way too close.
I make an effort to use a route that combines a bike path and slower 4 land roads. My route is 3 miles longer than the direct path to my office, but I feel much safer along the way. I also pay close attention to the cars around me, especially behind me. If I feel I'm blocking traffic I make a point to give as much room as possible.
I would love to see more cities have police officers on bikes. I think they could do a good job of enforcing cyclists and drivers to obey the rules. Also the city I live in has a tax on all new bikes to help pay for bike lanes and paths. I'm all for making cyclists above the age of 16 pay a registration fee that would go towards building and maintaining bike lanes.
As for point #3, I was involved in a bike accident where a car hit me dead on with both of us going about 15 mph (he was traveling the wrong direction in my lane of traffic).
Desite being flung onto his hood, rolling over his windshield and sliding down the side of his car I was disappointed to see that the only damage I manged to do to the vehicle was crack his licence plate holder... Not so much as a dent or scratch elsewhere. Needless to say, my bike was wrecked.
I wouldn't worry too much about the damage bicycles cause in their accidents. Yes I understand you can come up with a theorectical example where a bicyclist causes a chain-of-event accident, but lets be real here, most bike accidents create little damage to vehicles or bystanders.
If I walk into a minefield, I'm endangering my life just as much as if I were to bike it traffic.
So tell me: if I get blown up, is it *my* fault for walking into the minefield, or is it the fault of the asshole who made that field dangerous to walk into in the first place?
Without cars, roads are safe places to walk, bike, and play hockey. So why is it that society expects everyone NOT DRIVING to be the cautious ones? By the same logic, we should leave all large electrical transformers that sit at ground level exposed to inquisitive fingers, and tell the public "be careful around these things, they're dangerous".
Somehow, we all think that what cars give society is that much more important than people's lives. This is the definition of insanity.
Something to keep in mind when we're advocating for more separated bike paths to keep bikes off the road: bike paths = more asphalt. I certainly enjoy having a bike path near my house for my commute and recreational riding, but it is 14 miles of additional road that in portions parallels either roads with wide shoulders or country roads with low traffic. I don't have a good answer (other than wishing that the percentages of cars to bikes on the roads were reversed), but whether we're talking dedicated bike lanes or separate bike paths, we're talking more pavement and more infrastructure.
in reality it comes down to this:
roads are there to move people, products, and services. most of those move via truck, but or automobile, however motorcycles, bikes, and even horses are around.
rules have been established to make transit on roads reasonably safe, and convenient. IF everyone follows the rules, people tend to not get hurt.
when someone gets hurt, it's usually one person's fault for breaking a rule or not paying attention. usually the smaller vehicle, bike, small car, etc takes the brunt of the damage, but they may be the one at fault for failing to yield. they may not be at fault as well.
i'm VERY happy to share the road with cyclists, however, when they're riding at night w/o lights, against traffic, and running stop signs, i have as little sympathy for them getting hit as i do for a driver of a geo doing the same thing. likewise critical mass running lights in a pack just shows a lack of respect for others, and disdain for rules intended to keep bike riders safe.
-everyone- needs to share the road, AND obey traffic laws.
In this discussion of bike vs. car, it just reminds me of when I lived in Boston. Yes, Boston is notorious for bad drivers, and that is all true.
Boston is the only place in the world that I felt this way: I felt I was safer on a bike rather than a car. The drivers there were so bad that on a bike I could jump out of the way of a car, but in a car I was a sitting target.
No where else is that true.
I am a cyclist who obeys the traffic laws when I cycle in Japan: because most people there do, that's the safest way to ride. I don't trouble myself with the letter of the law cycling in Toronto, because no one else does, and the police barely enforce the speed limit.
Get it? I ride the way I need to in order to get home to my family. If you are too stupid to understand this, let me spell it out: stop talking $#!+ from inside your car. Ride with me in Toronto and Japan, and tell me if you have a better approach, then ride according to your approach for a year. See how that work out for you.
At best, this author is a bike racist. He stereotypes all cyclists. To be fair, when every car driver on the road starts following the rules of traffic to the letter of the law, then he can start complaining about bike riders who don't. There are thousands of uninsured motorists on the road each day. The day I go an entire day without seeing a car break a traffic law, is the day I'll start walking everywhere I go. I agree with the rebuttal, I know the risk I take everytime I get on my bike. It's the same risk I take whenever I cross a street or walk through a parking spot. A car passed me today and I could see the teen driver texting while doing so.
I have no problems. I'm a cyclist. In India. we have the lousiest traffic you can find. Here the roads belong to everybody and everything. Junk, bricks, discarded vehicles, cows, goats, cars, bikes cycles and pedestrians and EVERYBODY has the right of way!!! I have actually seen a car driver cutting off cyclist on the road, and the cyclist got off the cycle and beat the SHIT out of the car driver. WHILE THE GUY WAS STILL IN THE CAR !!!!! WITH HIS WIFE IN IT(not too sure about that one- there was a lady in the car who was screaming her head off) !!! (sceptic don't start pointing out what you think are holes in that story. It was close to a signal and in the afternoon when non AC car drivers keep the windows rolled down. and the guy dint drive off the moment he as being attacked was because i suppose hi face was wrapped around the steering wheel. And there were cars in front of him. Nobody got out to separate the 2 because nobody gave a damn. I din't care much, I was late for work and jumping into a fray was not going to help me especially since it wasn't any of my business)
we have biking routes in Delhi but cyclists still go all over the road, me included. why??? because motorcycles, three wheeler cabs, tea stalls and shops take up the bike routes. heh heh heh...
I have a canadian friend here who was wary about venturing onto the road on a cycle because he realized that nobody really gave a damn about hand signals, reflectors etc. Heck I dint even know until now that there were hand signals for cyclists and things like reflectors that could be strapped on the clothes.
yes we have a very high road fatality rate. about 2000 a week i think. Most of these are cyclists.
So yes I agree that roads are meant for motorized vehicles. people using non powered means of transport, stay the heck off it. you can keep whining about rights and freedoms and bore the heck out of everybody, but the fact remains that against a large powerful vehicle whether truck, car, motorcycle, a bicycle has a a very VERY low chance of survival. No point quoting facts and figures and stating that if people do this and if people do that things will be safer.
If people are going to talk about what people must do, what people should try to do, they can keep talking about it. very little is going to happen.
the no. of people who care are too small to make much of a difference any time soon. Not saying that change wont happen, but it wont happen just yet.
making a big fuss about it wont help either. people will just start calling those who started the fuss wusses, losers, and other slang words I have never heard of...
If there's a bike path take it. If not cycle on the pavement. a lot safer than the roads. but do so slowly. no point tearing through a crowded pavement and doing to the pedestrians what the cars and trucks'll do to you.
Bicycles are a vehicle that need roads. Nothing can change this fact. Bicycles were using these roads before the car and dare I say it will be using them after cars disappear.
Yes its dangerous to ride a bicycle on a busy road but that is the sort of thing people do when they believe passionately in something.
In Sydney (Australia) there is a lot of aggression on the roads between drivers which is avoided by riding because there is a small amount of respect riders are given that makes it a little bit easier.
That's not an op-ed. It's a letter to the editor. Huge difference.
I find that taking it a little easier and yielding more improves my blood pressure. I have started telling myself 'it's just a commute to work for Heaven's sake, not the Tour De France or something'.
It is just a fact of life that you're surrounded by assassins. Avoid what you can and try to stay out of everyone's way. Try to anticipate. When I have a solid green light and the pedestrians are just marching across the street reading their papers or texting or in their i-pod fog or just looking any other way where you're not, what are you supposed to do? I just blast my bell and slow down a little. If there is still a numbskull in the way, I stop just short enough to let him/her know how close they came to death. Why should I argue with some dope. If I have a red light or stop sign, I give everyone else the right of way as should be done. People acknowledge and stay in a better mood because they keep expecting the kamikaze.
The cars- I just try to stay out of their way. I try to hog the road as little as possible.
On 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn there is construction going on over a small bridge. It is level and has a turn so visibility is obscured. Many times I can get through and not impede traffic. If I am going to hold up the works, I'll wait until the 15 - 20 cars can go first then I'll go after.
vsk
I constantly dread the possibility of a driver hitting me, but I'm not going to let it scare me off the road - no way! We're doing the planet, our communities and our budgets for fuel prices a good deed by decreasing the number of drivers on the road. I recently relocated to St. Petersburg, FL, and am disappointed to find that the roads here are full of drivers hostile towards cyclists. At least once a week, someone yells out, "Get off the road" or "Use the sidewalk," or just blares their horn at me, which is pure ignorance to me. I recently wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper to express such. It would ultimately be more dangerous if cyclists all used the sidewalks, not only towards pedestrians but to drivers who would have to change their defensive driving to watch out for cyclists going through crosswalks or crossing in front of parking lot entrances unexpectedly. Furthermore, when a cyclist has to turn left out of a bike lane, drivers need to pay attention the same way they would if a driver was changing lanes to turn. I appreciate this article for rasing more awareness, but this whole debate is kind of redundant. We already have the right to use the roads, and only wackos would argue that or call for changes. Drivers with this perspective are just being self-centered. At the end of the day, if you hit me on my bike, I may be badly injured, may even have a dismal quality of life afterwards, but I guarantee you are going to be paying out the nose for my hospital bills the rest of my life. So if you're a road rage type of driver, stop being an ass, get over yourself and keep your eyes open unless you want to be sued and/or jeopardize being charged with manslaugter.
"All cyclists must know the rules of the road and follow them. Period."
I vehemently disagree. I know it's the PC position for bicycle advocates, but it's wrongheaded. We're all safer when cyclists disobey traffic lights with care and courtesy. It gets bikes out of the general flow.
Bikes don't need rules as serious as cars because they aren't as dangerous.
Reckless, daredevil cyclists are bad. But bike commuters that pause at a red light then pass through, pop on the odd sidewalk or even do a block in the wrong direction on a one-way street are a-okay.
It's not a position that people who "just like rules" agree with but if you really look at how the flow works, it makes sense.
I'm Jimmy and I own/drive a car and live and work in downtown Toronto. I put around 10,000km on my car each year, mostly on long distance trips out of the city. I try to avoid using it as much as possible and live in close proximity to my workplace.
I don't ride a bike in the city as I feel it's unsafe. I did ride at one point and had a close call and stopped riding. I have also seen a number of people get seriously hurt riding in the city. Also, streetcar tracks are deadly in this city for folks on bikes.
I feel that the city should close a number of routes to auto traffic and make them 100% bike lanes/low powered scooter lanes. I'm not talking about a little bike lane, I mean entire lanes of the road, with some sort of divider to keep cars out.
I also want to point out that it's a routine for many cyclists to break even the most basic traffic laws.
- running stop signs/red lights (just plain stupid)
- no lights/reflectors at night (and they wonder why you don't see them)
- wrong way on the road (it's not obvious to many cyclists why this is so dangerous until they get in a car and try to make a left turn at an intersection with cyclists coming out of nowhere)
- No helmet with headphones/cell phone
- using the sidewalk as a roadway.
- illegal left turns
- no signaling
and the list goes on.
One more thing, I wish every cyclist had a bell or whistle and used it ALL THE TIME. As a driver that would be nice to see.
jimmy
don't forget to vote
Well, as you all know, I am a huge campaigner for bikes sharing the road with cars and vice versa. But tonight I change my mind.
I attend college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA. I get off late from school, my last class ends at 9 p.m. As I'm riding home, a soccer game was ending. I obey all the laws when riding to and from anywhere on my bike, stop at all the signs, etc.
In front of me is a professor with his wife and teenage daughter riding home from the game. They don't obey ANY of the rules and refuse to let me (the faster biker) pass. The Prof. literally pushes me INTO traffic, where, THANK GOD, the driver is paying attention to nutty Prof. and lets me have room to pass.
After a while I stop at a light, Nutty Prof. and family pass me, ignoring light and turn right veering into traffic. They weren't wearing helmets, didn't have lights or reflective anything.
The problem is, no matter how good a biker you are, someone is worse and those people leave impressions and consequently they are also the people who think they are doing no wrong. We have them in car drivers and in bike riders.
So it is a dilemma, but it's also life. So I guess we just have to just deal with it? BIKERS MUST KNOW THE RULES, not just for their safety, but for other bikers. I would never in my life do what that nutty Prof. did, it was just rude (and accessory to murder).
Well, as you all know, I am a huge campaigner for bikes sharing the road with cars and vice versa. But tonight I change my mind.
I attend college at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA. I get off late from school, my last class ends at 9 p.m. As I'm riding home, a soccer game was ending. I obey all the laws when riding to and from anywhere on my bike, stop at all the signs, etc.
In front of me is a professor with his wife and teenage daughter riding home from the game. They don't obey ANY of the rules and refuse to let me (the faster biker) pass. The Prof. literally pushes me INTO traffic, where, THANK GOD, the driver is paying attention to nutty Prof. and lets me have room to pass.
After a while I stop at a light, Nutty Prof. and family pass me, ignoring light and turn right veering into traffic. They weren't wearing helmets, didn't have lights or reflective anything.
The problem is, no matter how good a biker you are, someone is worse and those people leave impressions and consequently they are also the people who think they are doing no wrong. We have them in car drivers and in bike riders.
So it is a dilemma, but it's also life. So I guess we just have to just deal with it? BIKERS MUST KNOW THE RULES, not just for their safety, but for other bikers. I would never in my life do what that nutty Prof. did, it was just rude (and accessory to murder).
I'm sorry, but whether you are on a bike, in a car, or whatever you have no god given right to pass anyone. And when you do pass, it is your responsibility to make sure you have proper clearance. Did you ring your bell? Announce your intent to pass? That is not a "RULE" but good practice for anyone on a bike.
When you ride a bike, you don't need to follow the same "RULES" that motorists do, and you don't really need a helmet, but what you do need to do is ride in a way that makes sense and is safe for riding a bike. And be aware of what is happening around you.
Peak oil is coming. Get the cars off the road, and the fat people out of their air conditioning NOW!!!!
There is no room for my bike on the road when the go-juice runs out and highways turn into permanent parking lots.
The fact of the matter is that it is unfortunately too dangerous to cycle on the road in many areas in the U.S. Sure we have the right to bike on the roads, but the danger of doing so prevents cycling from being a commonly accepted form of transport.
Protected bike lanes (or bike roads) are relatively cheap to build, have a small footprint, and last a lot longer than roads that have multi-ton trucks rolling over them. Instead of ineffective take back the roads rides, we need legislative mandates to build bike lanes and dedicated sub-25mph vehicle roads.
I don't cycle to work because the majority of my friends who do so have been in a serious (or at least very frightening) accident. Most of them stopped after the accident. Not their fault, but bike vs. car is bad news and I'm just not willing to take that risk.
Go to Austria. Go to Salzburg for example and you will find an extensive network of bike paths, shared bike and pedestrian paths, uniqely bike paths and uniqely pedestrian paths. Its mostly an old network and it still continues to grow. They have separated the cars from the discussion. It works.
I live thousands of miles away in Australia, and in my city there are a few bike paths without cars which we use a lot, however there are just not enough. We ride on the roads with all the inherant dangers
Salzburg was built in a different era. Its a pre-car city. The issue is how to re configure a car age city into a bicycle friendly city.