Originally Posted by
Helmet Head
Do not confuse the presence of excellent facilities in places with high bike usage as a significant cause of the high usage.
This goes against most traffic engineering logic. The more you build, the more traffic you generate.
I'll agree that the facilities themselves may not cause more ridership... but the associated efforts that go along with them, advocacy, public awareness, local culture, etc etc all feed into this.
Cars captured the imagination of folks - open roads, 'freedom' of mobility, etc. If bikes were perceived in similar ways - easy to use, safe for getting to school or the grocery store, freedom of mobility, and riding on an open road free of traffic... you might see a similar response.
Jam up bikes and cars and sprawl and its no wonder usage drops.
What has been the pop increase in Davis? How much does sprawl play into the drop in ridership? Rising income and the perception that a car is status and 'easier', and a bike is unsafe and cheap?
I'm all for riding on the road, on the path, and on the trail. Build it and they will come - safe roads, respect from drivers, bike lanes, wide outside lanes, dedicated paths, racks on buses, racks on trains, incentives to get out of cars...