Bing Bing Bing. We have the answer. A bike path has the same potential to allow people to travel great distances in relative safety and effeciency that a freeway has. But they have to be designed with that intent in mind. The one that I use appears to have begun life as a utility access road for a freeway therefore it can make use of the grade crossings and limited access that the freeway has.

Traffic for me isn't to big of a deal, I leave early enough in the morning that it is just bikers and the really serious runners (which there aren't that many of), and in the evenings I just work until 6-7 and then go home, by that time the runners and dog walkers have left.

The only downside of a bike path designed like a freeway is the public safety issue, by nature the path will be more isolated than a path designed for MUP use.

What I would like to see is bicycle paths being included in any new freeway construction.