Widening the roads to give dedicated Bike paths is a great idea. But will it connect one village to the next by the short route, or just give bike access around towns? All the dedicated bike lanes do in our area is give the pedestrians a wider area to walk on- hence blocking the bike path- or give better parking for cars for "Just popping into the shops for an hour or so"

Here in the UK we have a fair amount of MUPS and they normally are the old Railway lines and Paths that have been used to connect communities. Initially it was just a hard surface put down and gradually these are being tarmaced. Unfortunately there is not just the initial building cost- there is also the maintenance cost. One local trail has an area in which the Tarmac has broken up and has been closed until it can be repaired.

Lets go back to the days when the path went through fields and woods and the only bike that can negotiate them are Mountain bikes. The cost would be a lot cheaper.

MUPs are great- They do get people out walking, cycling, running on them and have given people a good place to get out as a family to get some exercise. It is also a great place for the local yobboes to ride their Motorbikes without the police bothering them, Drug addicts can smoke their pot in peace and You can get abused by crowds of youths without the police bothering to answer to complaints.

I sound negative on mups- but I use them rather than go on the road. they are safer from traffic- but the cost- both financial and the problems they can cause have to be addressed.