Originally Posted by
spare_wheel
"paths"
How vague can you get hagen? And can you please cite some actual data. I fully understand that you prefer copenhagen-style infrastruture. Well, I don't. I prefer German-style infrastructure.
And this is exactly the kind of infrastructure that is being built in the USA.
In the USA one of the common arguments for physically-separated infrastructure is that it is better associated with increased mode share than other infrastructure (or reforms). I have provided examples of a doubling in separated infrastructure in Holland with only a tiny increase in mode share. If its not obvious to you why I cite this and the unfortunate decline in cycling mode share in Denmark then you are clearly being intentionally obtuse.
PS: I have always been a huge fan of woonerven and other forms of traffic calming/elimination. IMO, we already spend too much on separated infrastructure and too little on traffic calming and elimination in Portland. Eliminating car traffic entirely in large swathes of downtown Portland is the obvious thing to do.
In light of what I wrote this is either stupid or disingenious.
Mode share increased in Holland, but even more important to the Dutch (in light of the already high mode share): So did safety. And as you will remember, safety was the initial idea in having bike-specific infrastructure. But still: Mode share increased. And to the degree that by now, Amsterdam will have to find new ways of accomodating their cyclists, as there's hardly room for them anymore. You see, not only did mode share increase (moderately), but so did the total amount of bike trips, along with the general increase in traffic. Really: your degree of cherry-picking is amazing.
Your claim that "this" (Berlin style bike paths) is exactly what is being build in the USA is false. In some places, no doubt it is correct (as documented by several examples in this thread), in other places not (as documented in other threads here on BF, with examples from, among other places, New York). So again: cherry picking; thus false. That said, the bike lanes made in Berlin look pretty good, and certainly will be more inviting to most cyclists than the bike paths" they had. But again, you should remember that the funds allocated to bike facilities vary hugely from region to region in Germany; as it does do a smaller degree in Denmark, and to a very, very small degree in Holland. Calling anything "German-style" in this context muddles the issue even further.
"The unfortuate facts" of mode share in Denmark were explained to you in detail, (and elsewhere i cited the examples of Aarhus and Odense as premium examples of bike paths leading to increased modal share) and you'll have to try to understand it if we're to have any meaningfull discussion about this issue.