Ok but bike lanes are just perpetuating the problem, which is that people need to travel too far to get to things. What we need is zoning reform, encouraging commercial construction in residential neighborhoods.
I reject your premise wholeheartedly. Bike lanes are for bikes. Bikes are for any destination. Why walk for 10 minutes when I can cycle for 3?
By all means, build the bike lanes. But my point is that it’s like going vegan by ordering a salad with your steak. Adding bike lanes won’t make cities less car-centric.
Yes it will. How can it ever become anything else than car centric if you can’t get around without a car? People need to go places, and bike lanes get them there without cars.
I’m really trying to understand what’s tripping you up here.
There are cycles available for almost every type of disability – it’s actually an inclusive mode of transport that will often act as a mobility aid for people who find walking difficult, people who can’t walk far and even those who cannot walk at all.
Evidence from the Netherlands (and increasingly from the UK, where new infrastructure has been built) shows that high quality cycling infrastructure is often shared with wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other assistive modes of transport.
And in general, cycling infrastructure should go hand-in-hand with other improvements to the physical environment too – like smooth, continuous footways across side roads, for example.
So in fact the truth is the opposite of the myth – cycling actually gives people with physical disabilities more transport options and independence, not less.
The point of a city is all the things that you can journey too. If you just want the things in your local neighborhood then you can find that in small towns in the middle of nowhere. However in a large city a short journey of beyond walking distance is the real goal. We need more bike lanes and public transit!
We need zoning reforms because people shouldn’t have to get to go far to get the basics (milk or whatever your culture sees as basics). However that doesn’t change any need for getting people around.
I think you’re being down voted bc of your bike statement, but you are correct that zoning changes are required. It is a multifold solution. If you live in suburban hell and need to commute 20 miles to work as a result, the community won’t adopt cycling as much as a community that has mixed zoning that puts commercial and residential closer together and residents can walk or bike.
