Originally Posted by pacificaslim

As Botto would say..."Incorrect".

Explain Japan. How many times do I have to remind you guys that there are places where there is no bike infrastructure that have way more bike usage than anywhere in the usa and most of europe? Japan has just as many cars, just as much wealth... no bike infrastructure (other than parking)...and tons of bike riders.

The things that cause or allow for high bike ridership are largely independent of bike infrastructure. Infrastructure can increase rates a few percentage points. But it will never give you more than that. To get true high bike ridership numbers, you have to have solid public transportation, a healthy population, multi-use neighborhoods, etc. If you just do those last things, and skip the bike infrastructure, you'll increase cycling much more than any bike infrastructure changes are capable of doing.

So why put your energy into bike infrastructure? It's the least effective method of increasing cycling.