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“Every city has plenty of bike lanes, they just haven’t been liberated yet!” [Zarathustra]
Short History of Transportation
Germans invented the bicycle, the automobile and the bike lane to separate them from each other. Dutch cities picked up on the concept and made it even safer for people to ride a bicycle. Copenhagen keeps adding bike lanes because the societal and environmental cost of moving people around with automobiles is six times higher than with bicycles.
To this very day the World’s Greatest, Greenest and Most Livable Cities are built on bike lanes. Yet Silicon Valley leadership still has this fascination with various “Sharing the Road Experiments.” They keep adding and mixing modes of transportation in every way possible. They are trying to bluff their way through concepts like “Bicycle Boulevards”, “Bike Routes”, “Bike Paths”, “Slow Streets”, “Bikeable Sidewalks”, “Walkable Bike Paths”, when transportation science simply points to real bike lanes.
The “Last Generation” understands that ‘if you build it, they will bike.’
“The key difference between US and European transportation authorities is that the latter believe in science.” [Sam Schwartz, former NYC traffic commissioner]
Source: The Big Bikeway Bluff; NYT: If you build them, they will bike
Kids love Bicycles
Every child has a story about when they learned to ride a bicycle, how they learned to ride, and the very important person who taught them. Actually, they might not remember it themselves, but there is certainly a VIP (Very Important Parent) in their lives for whom this was a big deal. But if the child remembers, they will recall the feeling of despair and failure in the beginning and the glorious moment when they realized they did it. But most importantly, they remember the freedom and fun that comes with exploring your neighborhood, your school route, and your city on your own.
To continue riding into adulthood, these kids need bike lanes.
“It does not matter how slow you go, so long as you do not stop” [Confucius]
Source: 5 Things kids can learn from riding a bike
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Seniors need more Bike Lanes
Smart seniors and people with disabilities (ADA) love bike lanes because they need to stay active. EBikes started with the stigma of being ‘old-people bicycles’; seniors with various abilities were the early adopters. Noticing this as well, AARP came up with 10 reasons why bicycle-friendly streets are good for all people. They dive into safety, connectivity, congestion, livable communities, economic vitality, opportunity, tax savings, health care savings and the environment.
“P.S. People of All Ages Like to Bicycle” [AARP]
Source: AARP – 10 Ways Bicycle-Friendly Streets Are Good for People Who Don’t Ride Bikes
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Adults need more Bike Lanes
The U.S. is currently in Group B of countries with high bicycle ownership, which is honestly more than I expected. In this group, 60% of households own bicycles—that isn’t exactly a minority. 46% of Americans bicycle at least occasionally. Still, U.S. city planners think about bicycles as either A) a child’s toy, B) a rich man’s obsession, or C) a poor man’s last choice.
According to the SMC Grand Jury Report, 53% of Americans worry about being hit by a motor vehicle when riding a bicycle; 47% say they would be more likely to ride a bike if pathways were physically separated from motor vehicles. [SMC Grand Jury Report 2023]
Only 1% of brave adults ride bicycles for transportation. Sharing the road with cars that go 30 and 40 mph can be scary and dangerous. San Mateo’s “shared road experiments” did not improve on that number over the last 20 years – kind of pathetic, actually. To convince the 60% Interested but Concerned, the county needs to stop paying lip service.
“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” [H.G. Wells]
Source: NYC – ‘Interested, But Concerned’ want more bicycle infrastructure
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Pedestrians need more Bike Lanes
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here, for once, was a product of man’s brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.” [Elizabeth West]
Yearly an estimated 7,500 pedestrians get killed by motorists. Usually, people who walk and cycle get along fairly well. Many pedestrian malls could easily accommodate bicycles as well. Yet pedestrians usually want to be separated from people on bicycles because the difference between 3 and 15 mph might feel scary for everybody. Elderly cyclists don’t want to maneuver their bikes around dogs and kids. Elderly pedestrians don’t want to walk around bicycles, period.
It’s time to segregate the speed daemons so the weaker mode doesn’t get maimed or killed.
Source: Five Great Pedestrian Malls
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Drivers need more Bike Lanes
Silicon Valley traffic planners are using people on bicycles the same way they use speed humps and STOP signs – as traffic calming devices. However, that policy keeps causing injuries and fatalities and is suppressing ridership. The U.S. keeps re-inventing and re-introducing the same “Sharing the Road” experiments under different names. However, all share the same huge flaw: American drivers don’t want to share!
Drivers complain about these “sharrows,” something nobody seems to know or understand. However, drivers rarely complain about people riding bicycles that are separated from traffic.
It’s time to segregate these speed daemons so the weaker mode doesn’t get maimed or killed.
Source: Sharrows, the infrastructure nobody wants
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Automobile Industry needs more Bike Lanes
What do the Wright Brothers, Peugeot, BMW, Mercedes, McLaren, Jeep, Ferrari, Porsche, Hummer, Polestar, Volkswagen and RadPower have in common? At one time or another, they all have been in the bicycle manufacturing business. Bosch, Brose, and Yamaha are big players in the fossil fuel transportation industry but they also deliver some of the best eBike motors.
Source: Why Automakers Are Suddenly Obsessed With E-Bikes
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SRTS needs way more Bike Lanes
Safe Routes to School supports increased physical activity. Just 10-15 minutes of physical activity before school has led to better math scores, better and longer concentration, and kids feeling “ready to learn.” Walking or biking to school can help form healthy habits that can last a lifetime. This would help decrease the risk of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, or dementia.
By now, everybody must have heard how much Paris, France, is becoming more bike-friendly in preparation for the Olympics. But did you know Paris, TX, has a better Safe Routes-To-School network than Redwood City? Their Trail de Paris is connecting several local schools, regional cities and a larger trail network together. There is a fabulous bike path leading from Moab, UT, all the way to Arches, NP.
Meanwhile, kids can’t even ride a bicycle safely to Red Morton Park in Redwood City.
Source: Safe Routes Info Org; Physical Activity before school benefits students [CDC]
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Education needs more Bike Lanes
Children walking and biking to school in groups have higher attendance and show less tardiness – education means more to them. Children riding their bicycles to school leads to improved cardiovascular health, enhanced concentration and increased mental well-being overall. Bike lanes promote healthier students who are better equipped to thrive.
“After walking for 20 minutes, children responded to test questions with greater accuracy and had more brain activity than children who had been sitting. Children also completed learning tasks faster and more accurately following physical activity.” [Saferoutespartnership.org]
Source: Benefits of Safe Routes to School
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SMC Grand Jury needs more Bike Lanes
Here is what the Grand Jury has to say about safety:
The benefits of increasing bicycle riding are important to all residents of San Mateo County: reducing motor vehicles, healthy lifestyle and an inexpensive form of transportation. Accordingly, San Mateo County, and its cities and towns have a responsibility to make it safe for drivers and pedestrians, as well as bicyclists.
Source: RWC keeps defying the SMC Grand Jury
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The “Fiscal Cliff” needs more Bike Lanes
Public Transportation is supposed to reduce Vehicle Trips (VT) to save the planet. But that only works if people don’t drive to the train station, but many do. And once people get into their automobiles, the ‘Sunk Cost’-thinking sets in and they just keep driving. Bike Lanes can fix the Last Mile conundrum, which U.S. transportation experts seem to struggle with a lot. A case study in Hamilton County, Ohio, demonstrated that the distance by bicycling is tripled compared with that by walking. The extended access distance increases the transit job accessibility by 43.70%. It also advances transit equity, which is reflected in an upgraded transit accessibility to jobs for low-income and minorities.
Caltrain is mostly known as the tech-bro-train for the rich. With SR2T, Caltrain could attract more riders, something they are always complaining about.
“It’s important to think about alternative transportation to work holistically. In American cities, the connection between public transit and biking is often an afterthought.” [Chris Bruntlett, Dutch Cycling Embassy]
Source: First-and-last mile solution to improving transit accessibility (Ohio)
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Car Parking needs more Bike Lanes
People on bicycles don’t need large parking spots. Just imagine parking 11,000 cars in one underwater bike parking garage. On a trip to Amsterdam or Copenhagen, people with automobiles will face less congestion and will have no issues finding parking spots in the center of the tourist areas because locals and tourists come mostly by bicycle. Fewer cars, means more parking for the rest of us. According to the National Safety Council over 50,000 yearly crashes are causing 60,000 injuries and over 500 deaths. It would also lead to fewer cases of murder as stabbings over bicycle parking are rare, but killings over car parking spots are more common than people know.
Source: Fatal Stabbing over parking spot; People are killed in garages and parking lots
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Distracted Drivers need more Bike Lanes
While driving in parking lots, 66% of drivers feel comfortable making phone calls, 56% support texting, 50% think emailing is OK, and 42% admit to video chatting [National Safety Council]
On average, nine people a day are killed in distracted driving crashes. Many of those are pedestrians and cyclists, and the most successful solution is to keep them away from these dangerous drivers. The way to do that is by implementing the Swedish, German or Dutch version of Vision Zero instead of the one favored by the U.S.
Source: April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month
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Vision Zero Cities need more Bike Lanes
The Swedish and German versions of Vision Zero are all about Separation of Speed. Both have worked very well. Only the US version—focusing on “Education” and “Enforcement”—is faltering badly. However, that might be expected when an organization like the Vision Zero Network and its policies are sponsored by Formula One.
“I find it so shocking how the US performs compared to nearly every other industrialized nation. We are more than twice as deadly in terms of per capita traffic deaths than Canada, four times that of most of Europe. And double the average of the 28 nations in the world with the highest income. It is an abysmal record and one we are pushing hard to change.” [Amy Cohen, Families for Safe Streets]
Fremont has added bicycle infrastructure and improved its Vision Zero outcome. Redwood City and San Mateo have not and their safety records got even worse.
Source: Vision Zero Success Story: Fremont, California
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Congestion needs more Bike Lanes
According to INRX, the most congested cities in the world are London, Paris, and several other North American cities. Far less congested cities are Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, and Vienna. Not surprisingly, all these cities invested in solid public transportation and bike infrastructure. This frees up street capacity for emergency vehicles and people who need to use their cars.
Paris and London finally got the message. Both are trying to lose their top spots by investing in more bicycle infrastructure. Drivers in London were complaining that a new bike lane led to more “traffic congestion,” to which the transportation planners remarked:
“Recent monitoring data shows that central London segregated cycle lanes are moving five times more people per square metre than the main carriageway, with East West Cycle Superhighway seeing a more than 50 per cent increase in total mileage cycled.” [Transport For London]
Source: 82 percent of U.S. voters don’t believe highway widening reduce congestion
(… and yet San Mateo County keeps doing them)
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Emergency Responders need more Bike Lanes
The three biggest problems firefighters face every day are Speeding Cars, Driving Cars, and Parked Cars. The next two problems are apparently Electric Vehicles and Robotaxis. Speeding cars are causing the emergencies in the first place. Driving cars – often ignoring the sirens – are slowing down Emergency Vehicles on the way to the emergency. Around 7 drivers per day crash into fire trucks for no good reason. Parked cars often block the streets and hydrants and make it hard to turn and operate. Speed humps – supposed to slow down the speeders – also slow down the responders.
Bike Lanes are a cure for all of that.
“My career as a first responder has given me a front row seat to the Childhood Asthma Epidemic, Opioid Epidemic, Suicide Epidemic, Traffic Violence Epidemic, and COVID Pandemic. I have witnessed the devastating consequences of more frequent severe weather brought on by Climate Change. It is clear to me that the world needs saving. Let’s save the world in the simplest way possible.” [The Biking Fireman]
Source: The Biking Fireman; NYC’s first Asian American woman firefighter rides a bike to work
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Health Care needs more Bike Lanes
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” [Albert Einstein]
As usual, Einstein was on to something. Americans have balancing issues starting at age 50. People riding bicycles rarely have those issues, and riding a stationary bicycle in a gym doesn’t provide the same benefits.
“Give us Bike Lanes or give us Death” [Patrick Henry]
- ca. 130 million of Americans are obese
- 45 million currently living Americans will die from Alzheimer’s
- by the time we reach age 65, 80% will have at least one chronic health condition
- 80% of Americans are Insulin Resistant
- 45% of US adults have fatty liver disease
A predominantly plant-based diet and running one errand per day on a bicycle could prevent all of this and more. However, only bike lanes lead to more people riding their bicycles. Only cycling has been shown to improve balance, aerobic capacity, and cognitive and motor function. It can reduce Parkinson’s tremors and decrease UPDRS scores (Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale). But first and foremost, cycling increases social connections and joy and leads to a better mood and improved mental and physical health. And it’s even just as healthy, but easier and probably more fun when riding the Future of Transportation.
“Death may have no master, but the bicycle is, most emphatically, not its slave.”
[James E. Starrs]
Source: Adults over 50 are losing their Footing
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Small Businesses need more Bike Lanes
“For each $1 million, the cycling projects in this study create a total of 11.4 [local] jobs.” [UMass’ PERI]
PERI (Political Economy Research Institute) did a National Study of Employment Impacts in 2011. A $1M investment in bike lanes outperformed the creation of local jobs compared to pedestrian-only and car-only infrastructure. More people and more local businesses benefited directly from bicycle infrastructure investments. All research and surveys seem to indicate that a solid network of bike lanes can bring an almost instant boost to local businesses.
“The lanes slowed down traffic and people started noticing the businesses more. Our revenues have grown on average 30 percent per year.” [AARP]
Source: PERI: A National Study of Employment Impacts
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Robotaxis need more Bike Lanes
Robotaxis which are equipped with lidar have fewer problems picking up pedestrians or cyclists. But self-driving systems that go cheap and rely on cameras only have problems with light, reflections, movement, etc. But what both systems are really good at are following lines and lanes. Separate people on bicycles with simple painted lanes and everybody is better off. It would also help politicians like Dave Cortese, Kevin Mullin, Anna Eshoo, David Canepa, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Lee go back sleeping better. What we really don’t need is more “Local Control“.
source: Autonomous vehicles in San Mateo County concern Mullin, Eshoo
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Sustainable Tourism needs more Bike Lanes
“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.” [ Ernest Hemingway ]
There are plenty of fabulous bike trails all over Europe now. You can go short distances through cities and villages or long distances along rivers and valleys connecting several countries. Imagine people could ride their bicycle safely from Oregon to San Diego. That would be hundreds of miles of bliss and billions in tourism dollars. Or what if San Mateo County was building the Bay To Sea-Trail today instead of 15 years from now. Now that is something Kevin Mullin, David Canepa, Anna Eshoo, Nancy Pelosi should be working on.
“Biking is one of the most enjoyable ways to experience Austria’s famous Blue Danube. Bicyclists rule here, and you’ll find all the amenities that make this river valley so popular with Austrians on two wheels.” [Rick Stevens]
Source: Rick Steves – Biking in Europe
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The Planet needs more Bike Lanes
“Bicycling has long been one of the most climate-friendly ways to get around. Government leaders must commit to boosting cycling levels to reduce GHG emissions and reach global climate goals quickly and effectively.” [COP26]
France’s government blames atmospheric pollution for 48,000 premature deaths nationwide per year. There are plenty of research papers about GHG emissions from Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and the problems they are causing. However, one study from 2022 about Bogota in South America and Guangzhou in Asia leads us away from the usual places like Amsterdam and Copenhagen. It shows that culture or demographics have little part in all this.
This ITDP report focuses on GHG reductions from networks of protected bicycle lanes in low- and middle-income countries. Using cyclist counts and surveys, combined with lifecycle emission factors for various modes, the study estimates that these networks prevent the emission of about 22,000 tonnes of CO2-eq per year in Bogotá and 16,000 in Guangzhou. In each city, this is equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by planting 300,000 to 400,000 new trees every year. And they found out that investing in those cycle lanes provides many economic and social benefits to everybody.
“Bicycle Lanes reduce GHG emission as effectively as Highways create them.” [ITDP]
Source: IDTP- Protected Bike Lane Networks save Money and protect the Planet
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Transportation Equity needs more Bike Lanes
The top bicycle cities in the world are all over Northern and Central Europe. Some Canadian cities are trying to become more people-centric places too. But who ever heard of Africa’s most bicycle-friendly country? One of the poorest countries in the world uses bicycle infrastructure as a means to overcome poverty.
“The use of bicycles has led to a strong increase in earnings and savings. Since the resulting additional funds would generally either be reinvested in further income generating activities or for the purpose of an overall improvement of the living conditions, the bicycle has offered its users the possibility to slowly overcome poverty.” [Poverty.ch about Burkina Faso]
Remember when we talked about bicycles being a child’s toy, a rich man’s obsession or a poor man’s last choice? The obsessed rich man might tell you that a bike helmet and “clown wear” are all you need to ride a bicycle anywhere, but don’t listen to the obsessed rich MAMIL (middle-aged man in lycra). The child can’t drive and the poor man might not own a car, providing safety and bike lanes for them is called Transportation Equity.
“Lower income primarily-minority neighborhoods are less likely than other neighborhoods to get the safest bicycle facilities.” Anne Lusk
Sources: Harvard – More blacks and Hispanics than whites want to bicycle with family and friends; How Low-Income Cyclists go unnoticed
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Real Fiscal Conservatives need more Bike Lanes
“Motor vehicle use imposes various public costs for road and parking facilities, traffic congestion, crash risk, and environmental damages. Shifting travel from motorized to non-motorized modes reduces these external costs.” [Todd Litman, VTPI Canada]
Non-motorized transportation is often cheaper than the alternatives. Walking and biking are cheaper than owning and operating a car. Walking and biking are cheaper than paying for a gym membership. Walking and biking to school is cheaper than driving them. Building sidewalks and bike lanes is cheaper than highway-widenings and County parking garages.
“New York City plans to widen sidewalks, add more bike lanes, and allocate one hundred miles of roads for “open space” vehicle-free pathways. All of these conditions reduce traffic, and reduced traffic also means improved air quality and environmental changes.” [Hoover Institution]
Sources: Denmark – Cost-Benefit of Cycling Infrastructure; Why conservatives should be all in on bike lanes
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High Gas Prices need more Bike Lanes
While California has some of the highest gas prices, this doesn’t seem to have changed the behavior of many people. Congestion has returned quickly; overused streets are in terrible shape. People still drive and speed everywhere, and automobiles here are still large and have low mileage. The most polluted cities in America all seem to be in California. California’s gas tax on infrastructure is around $0.58 per gallon, and people keep complaining about it. However, the profit margin of oil refineries went from $0.66 to $1.49 without much scrutiny. A new law required oil companies to come clean with their pricing. And sure enough oil company profits in this state jumped to levels 70% higher than elsewhere. Gov. Gavin Newsom called it a “fleecing” of California drivers, but not much has happened since.
“What we’re asking for is simple: transparency and accountability to drive the oil industry out of the shadows. Now it’s time to choose whether to stand with California families or with Big Oil in our fight to make them play by the rules.” [Gavin Newsom]
Gas prices in California are not high because of “cleaner fuels” or high gas taxes. They are high because Californians are willing to pay no matter how much for the convenience of driving. Governor Newsom could kill two birds with one stone here by pushing for better Active Transportation. This would reduce pollution and save smart Californians money.
Source: U.S. Most Polluted Cities; California energy panel should limit oil refiners’ margins
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YIMBYism apparently does NOT want Bike Lanes
By my count these were at least 24 solid reasons to install more bike lanes already, but let’s add one more. According to every plan ever written, high-density housing only works in conjunction with high-density transportation. And yet city and county politicians – endorsed by YIMBY Action – have constantly opposed bike lanes in Redwood City, San Mateo, or Palo Alto.
“If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places.” [Fred Kent]
Google “Arnold Schwarzenegger” and “bicycle,” and you’ll find hundreds of photos and videos of the Governator riding around Santa Monica and L.A. Since he has European bicycle training, he doesn’t even need the helmet or “clown gear.”
Now google “Gavin Newsom” and bicycle and all you find are a few staged photo-ops or deep-fakes and a list of bicycle safety bills he vetoed while in San Francisco and California. Can anybody explain what is wrong with those YIMBYs?
JFK loved Bike Lanes
Still not a progressive believer?
“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” [John F. Kennedy]
… and yet, Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City has no bike lanes.
Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in all blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Redwood City Pulse or its staff.
