Originally Posted by HoustonB
Which part of "up from 30% in the 90's" did you not understand.
As someone that has toured in Holland, Belgium and France. Commuted in London and plenty of other places in the U.K. (I'm a Brit) and now actually resides in Portland, all I can say is I see a lot of opinion and not much actual (Amsterdam) experience in the tone of your post.
I would say that Portland is one of a very small set of U.S. cities that has any chance of modifying its car / bike culture. To scoff and call it "wasted money" smacks merely of sour grapes.
Your VC (Vehicular Cycling) extreme fundamentalism is showing.
Good call. There's definitely truth in what you say. For example, I totally missed the "up from 30%" line, thanks.
I don't think my lack of Amsterdam experience (I've never been there) is very relevant.
Now, my lack of Portland experience (once in the 80s),... that matters. I can't even picture downtown. I've gathered that car use has gotten more difficult, but so it has in many other cities. Many New Yorkers don't even own cars.
I still think that until bikes become the most practical alternative to many Portlanders, not much will change. I do continue to question how much a difference the facilities can make relative to their cost in terms of making bikes more practical.