Originally Posted by
bragi
Seattle is supposed to be a very bike-friendly city, but even here, when they started eliminating some car lanes to make room for bike lanes on arterial streets, it created a very bitter backlash among a lot of drivers. I fully expect our bike-commuting mayor to lose the next election in part because of his support of this "new infrastructure."
Personally, I think just repainting the lines on some roads to accommodate more bikes is a good start, but if that's all you do, it just means that bicyclists have a lot more opportunities to get doored. I think a better idea would be to restrict or eliminate on-street parking. For one thing, it would give cars a lot more room to pass, which would greatly reduce accidents and drivers' frustration. It's odd that people think they have an automatic right to park their personal cars and trucks on public property, putting other road users at greater risk of injury, for FREE.
Isn't a good part of the problem the fact that our system is based on pleasing the majority? In the US at least scoop world reported that 9 out of 10 Americans claim to own a car. That gives the automotive transportation block a monsterous voting advantage to the 1 out of 10 that don't drive.
for the last two years I have been working with our local Green Coalition and while several down town businesses support our cycling programs that support comes to a screaching hault when we suggest a bike lane through the central business district. I live in a small farming community that has grown into a town of less than 80k. The opposition we get from downtown stores for a bike lane or no parking is, the malls have free parking.
Walmart has free parking.
Target has free parking.
When 9 out of 10 potential customers drive it is hard to convince a business to give up parking to service the 1 out of 10.
If the elected officials ignore the 9 out of 10 they will find themselves replaced in the next election. That is just how democracy works.
