Originally Posted by
Mos6502
I guess I just don't understand the reasoning that putting bikes on bikeways makes bicycles inferior.
My quip is suggesting that trains be inferior to cars, because they operate on purpose built railways, instead of the on the roads with other traffic. Obviously drawing such a conclusion (seriously) could only be achieved through some sort of non sequitur logic.
You use the phrase "putting bikes on bikeways", which means kicking them off the roadways. The argument justifying this treatment has always been that this makes cycling so much safer that prohibiting the use of the roadway would be justified. However, bikeways cannot make cycling safer to any significant extent, and probably make it a bit more dangerous, besides encouraging negligent, and therefore dangerous, behavior by cyclists.
If bikeways are provided only for those who choose to use them, believing (I think incorrectly) that their advantages outweigh their disadvantages, that can be considered reasonable. But the right of those who recognize, correctly, that vehicular cycling is better than cyclist-inferiority cycling must not be infringed merely to satisfy either erroneous public opinion or the desire of motorists for bicycle-free roadways.