I constantly wonder what is the reason for US cities not making any greater progress in introducing bicycles as a normal and regular mode of transport – whether for commuting to work and school or for just pleasure. Many US cities where I have lived make great attempts — YES, I call them attempts — at getting biking in their infrastructure. Moving from the US East Coast to Phoenix in the mid-1990s I was pleasantly surprised to see bike lanes on many streets in the city. That was a huge improvement over where I came from…but, was that enough to get people on their bikes? I would say NO! I biked to work every morning, but I hardly saw anyone else on the streets… Why was that the case?
Well, I think there were many reasons, here is a list of what I observed:
- Lack of places to park your bicycle
- Not enough contiguous bike lanes across the city
- City culture
- Employeers attitudes and support
So, now let's talk about these…
How often have you found suitable places to park your bicycle even in the most bike friendly cities in the US? I would say rarely. Austin, TX, Phoenix, AZ, … the story is relatively simple. If you bike into the city, you have to look for a street sign so you can lock your bike to it!
Take a look at this photo from a New York web site…perfect example…!
In many cases even when there are bike lanes in the city, they often end abruptly and leave you to "fight" for your way with the cars and trucks on the road. Tough situation…but is it unavoidable? Not really. But it needs commitment from the local governments to ensure biking is truly part of the growth strategy.
There are quite a few more reasons why bicycles will continue to be a marginal strategy for managed growth in the US cities. I certainly hope that changes — and I think that will happen when the US cities start getting gridlocked for real. Bicycles are affordable, great form of exercise, convenient – they can get to many places and of course they allow for MUCH greater density of people moving around.
What do you think?