Originally Posted by
wolfchild
Cycling infrastructure like they have in Europe is out of a question around here, I just don't see it happening anytime soon. To be honest, I would much rather prefer to see traffic calming then separated bike lanes. Public transit is improving. We just had a Bus Rapid Transit Route build in my city, it's basically a bus-only freeway which runs along an empty hydro corridor and along one of the major freeways, I am sure some day we'll be getting LRTs.
With thousands of jobs lost in the last few years in our province and our economy on a roller coaster, the only way I can see "millions" of people becoming car-free in the future, would be out of necessity and not voluntarily.
No matter where you go, there are always people like you who say: "It can't be done here. It's too hot. It's too cold. It's too hilly. It's not a part of our culture. The distances are too great." Ad nauseam. We got plently of those excuses here in Seville: "No one will get on a bicycle in such heat." "This type of thing can only be successful in northern Europe. It's not part of our culture." "It'll be a huge waste of money." "Protected bike lanes are unsafe." We shut them up by going ahead and building the infrastructure. Thousands of people started using it. The accident rate plummeted. There are still a few gearheads who complain, but their arguments are now met with derision. They've become a laughing stock.
From what I've read in this thread, it seems that Calgary has a couple of light rail lines. An expansion of that network might go a long way towards making the city more liveable for the car-free.