Originally Posted by
Kontact
Gee, you really have trouble understanding stuff, eh?
The initial article emphasized the major difference between the direction in stats in the US and Europe during COVID. I replied to that. I didn't insist that there was no difference previously.
And I'm not talking about the difference in designed infrastructure between the US and Europe, but the fact that many parts of Europe you simply can't drive a car because there is no room to do so. Old cities, narrow roads, no room to park. Those places only allow for walking or cycling, and that greatly increases the number of cyclists that everyone has to deal with.
The US could quadruple bike lanes tomorrow, but the number of cyclists that everyone else would see and be aware of would not change much. The wide open spaces, modern layout of our cities and a lack of need to cycle would keep the numbers low. The average US commute distance is 41 miles a day, round trip because we have a suburban housing model. Only the most ardent commuters are going to ride that far on a daily basis - regardless of whether there is a special lane or trail available.
So exposure to cyclists is always going to be relatively low - especially in parts of the country that are very rural or have long average commutes. Drivers just aren't thinking about the bikes that they hardly ever see.
If you thought that the OP article was not about how this is a continuing trend that went through COVID involving systematic differences between US infrastructure and European, it's not me who's having the comprehension problems. The article was also about more than just cycling and commuting, it's also about the dangers of being a pedestrian.
You seem to be arguing with a point that literally no one is making. You do so in a manner that, if anything, actually understates the differences between Europe and the US. And your point about commute distances is completely consistent with y main point, which is that the US infrastructure has overwhelmingly been constructed for the convenience of drivers over pretty much every other consideration. The US is an outlier in this regard, you're just identifying one of the major reasons.
You really don't understand that roads ARE infrastructure? Europeans also do a lot more of their commuting by public transportation (also infrastructure). I also think we haven't seen the end of the rise of telecommuting and remote work. Obviously, there's some retrenchment from that since the lockdowns, but it is being used increasingly as a perc to attract employees. But no, we are not likely to see car-free roads permeating through the U.S. The closest equivalent is MUPs like the Minuteman through several of the Boston suburbs, and those do get trafficked, but they aren't anywhere near the network you'd see in much of Europe.
So given that the US infrastructure is not going to change drastically in the next few years, it is rational for us to approach this as an individual safety problem. That approach, however, can only have limited effectiveness, and shouldn't preclude thinking about and advocating for reforms that can happen within the current crappy framework we have.