Reply to D.C. needs to get a lot more car friendly

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP, just jumping in to add that a major benefit of bike infrastructure isn't just that it provides space for cyclists. It's that it slows drivers down to a speed that is appropriate for environments with pedestrians and others.

Drivers on overbuilt roads kill far too many people, and reckless driving is a serious problem in this town that also causes injuries and property damage and just makes places unpleasant. Maybe when self-driving cars finally pry the steering wheels from our hands that will change, and we can talk. In the meantime, I think bike lanes just make city neighborhoods a lot more pleasant to spend time in.

- person who uses all the modes including driving and who had a bike lane built in front of their house[/quote]

This is super important- and if you slow down drivers then people are more likely to bike and walk places rather than drive.  I sometimes drive a routine one mile trip I need to do, not because I don't want to walk it but because the walk is incredibly unpleasant because of how much cars speed, fail to yield to pedestrians at turns, etc.  If you built an environment where cars are able and allowed to go 30MPH then they will go 40 and be extremely hostile to anyone not in a car.  I walk more than any other mode and always support bike lanes if they will slow cars down (I hate the painted bike lanes with no bollards etc because they are basically just more space for cars to speed; I think bike lane advocates hate them as well)

Providing infrastructure that lets people speed induces more car trips; slowing down cars induces more people to walk, bike, scoot, etc.  If I can safely cross the major street near me I am more likely to take the bus which picks up across the street.

I know that it is easier to dismiss ideas like this by saying that they are just the ideas of only white tech bros but that is simply a false narrative.  [/quote]

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