Originally Posted by
DCCommuter
You got any proof for that very broad generalization?
What is true is that bike facilities tend to be built in places where bike usage is popular and growing. But correlation is not causation.
Any proof for causation?
Yes, the Hunter study showed roads without bike lanes had over five times as many sidewalk cyclists than bike laned roads at the numerous intersections he studied.
and please. Evidence is overwhelming that building bike infrastructure increases modal share of bikes. seen in repeated locales acround the world. the paltry argument 'causation doesn't imply correlation' is yet another tired talking point, often used in forensics and debate, but turns a blind eye to the positive effects infrastructure has on bike riding.
Bike riding share was declining in Denmark after WWII, the addition of bike infrastructure has nearly tripled modal share in Copenhagen in the lasty thirty years. what reversed the decline? bike infrastructure. Repeated turns in declining bike share seen in Germany, also, many american cities.
Simply taking a look at american accomodated cities versus poorly unaccomodated ones, the cities with vigorous bike infrastucture programs CONSISTENTLY show higher modal share- to claim bike riders 'just increased', magically somehow, to 12 times the nation average in some cities is an ignorant and arrogant denial of reality. I'd link to a recent Oregon study showing the positive effects bike infrastrucure has there, but suspect it wouldn't sink in past the vigorous anti-infrastructuralist stance of some of the posters.
Despite worthless attempts to deny portlands bike infrastructure has anything to do with the numbers, portlands bike infrastructre has increased numbers of bicyclists there. It's on the ground reality, seen in dozens, hundreds of cities around the world: bike infrastructure increases bike modal share.
ALL off topic, however. why did i have to dredge up statistics and quotes from federal and cross agency reports to rebutt internet talking heads with an axe to grind against the accomodationalist model?
what is this thread about? OP complaining about bike lanes just 5 feet wide on higher speed arterial roads? Bike lanes aren't limited to five feet, AASHTO repeatedly instructs traffic engineers to consider wider lanes for bikes if bike use and/or road speeds are high. LOBBY the community to improve road conditions for bicyclists- and that doesn't mean 'rip out the bike lane'
