Originally Posted by
randya
as a society we have subsidized motor vehicle use both directly and indirectly for so long there is no question that similar subsidies should be offered for bike use if we are really serious about altering the transportation mode split in any significant way.
+1 Absolutely agree. Despite all the Federal rhetoric about bicycling they spend about .1 percent of their budget on bicycle infrastructure. The Netherlands spends 10%.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it would be hard to think of a better way to advance the automobile and petroleum industries than to build the freeway system that facilitated the growth of suburbia.
Whether or not this massive change was something the people as a whole wanted I'll leave to others.
If you gave me a magic wish and I could get rid of the private automobile, it would be tempting to wish for it.
Yes, it would curtail some individual freedom, and I'd miss my excursions into the wilderness accompanied by more food and drink than I could bring by bicycle, but it's still a tempting thought.
But it is not realistic. Americans are in love with their cars and trucks. They're addicted. I'm in favor a massive gas tax (coupled with an equal reduction in other taxation), but it is hard to think of a more unpopular idea in this country.