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Roads became more automobile friendly (and, in at least your estimation, less bike friendly) because a critical mass of motorists was reached in fairly quick fashion once the assembly line made automobiles affordable to all. (A similar situation which we can relate to was how quickly computers became widespread in usage once the personal computer was developed and one didn't have to have a room full of computer banks to harness the power of computing.)

And this was only able to occur because the automobile offered benefits to one and all that far surpassed what had been available before the invention of the automobile. (Again, the anology for us would be how quickly we left behind pens and adding machines and slide rules and all manner of "hard copy" books, devices, and 'tools' for the computer once it became affordable to us ... and not just NASA or other 'deep pockets'.)

Do you really see the benefits offered by bicycling being so great that they would generate a similar critical mass buildup to the point where the public in general would favor seeing roads and sidewalks and storage facilities altered to disfavor cars and pedestrians in favor of bicyclists? (i.e., have a reversal of what occured at the start of the 20th century occur at the start of the 21st?)

I really don't see it happening. If you do, please explain how/why it is you do. Under what scenario do you envision a "critical mass" of people giving up their cars in favor or changing the roads and the rules to favor bicycling vs. motoring ... AND vs. pedestrians given the challenges faced by pedestrians when encountering bicyclists in cross walks and on sidewalks.

by Lance on Jan 13, 2009 4:11 pm • link • report