Originally Posted by
Chris L
That's a nice idea in theory, but the cost of retro-fitting entire cities (or at least creating a transport network large enough that it actually becomes usable) is prohibitive in most places, and most cities don't have the space for such a network anyway. Yes, I know someone will chime in here with a single exception where it's worked for them in some obscure part of the world, but in most places it's just not practical to build it.
Fact is, if you're gonna get around on a bike, sooner or later you're going to have to share the road with someone else. Get used to it.
I'm used to it, but not everyone is. If you want to get more cyclists out there, you need to attract the timid and hesitant, not us crazies on BF.
If hacking up a perfectly good street costs too much, might as well do it when rebuilding and repairing them. Repaved streets around here are often getting bike lanes. Not perfect, of course, and having a triathlete mayor isn't exactly fair to other cities
, but at least it helps (at some times during the day, it's hard to find a stretch of bike lane that doesn't have a cyclist on it).