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=A0http://fastlane.dot.gov/2010/04/what-we-know-about-bike-infrastructure-p=
eople-want-it.html#more

What we know about bike infrastructure: people want it

We know that 90 percent of the people are not going to be cycling to work or
around town. But that opportunity and that kind of alternative is something
people have said they want.=20

They said it in a recent study by Transportation For America. They said it =
last
week in Tupelo and Hernando, Mississippi. They've been saying it in Portlan=
d,
Oregon, for years. They're saying it in Washington, DC.
They said it after an interview I gave in the New York Times earlier this m=
onth.
And New York bicyclists have said it loudly and clearly with their pedals,
increasing their numbers by 28% in the last year alone according to a study=
 by
Transportation Alternatives.

And in response to an All Things Considered interview, NPR listeners have b=
een
saying it over and over on the NPR website. You can listen to the NPR piece=
 below:

 On Facebook, I sometimes have trouble seeing my own wall posts because bic=
ycling
fans have been so busy posting their support for DOT's bicycle-pedestrian
initiative in such strong numbers.

 Even Lance Armstrong, America's 7-time Tour de France winner, has added his
voice to the mix, urging his 2+ million Twitter followers to listen to the =
NPR
story about bike infrastructure in America. Thanks, Lance!=A0=20
Why devote resources to a transportation mode that fewer than 10% of the na=
tion
is using? Well, bike infrastructure is relatively inexpensive--particularly=
 if
you compare it to, say, adding a lane to an existing roadway. Now, imagine =
if
those people who do bike around chose instead to make all of their trips in
single-occupancy vehicles. Our already congested roadways would be brought =
to a halt.

So, even for those folks who have no interest in bicycling, this relatively=
 low
investment actually pays dividends for those who still choose to drive. Eve=
rybody
wins.

 And the fact is, as Washington, DC, DOT Director Gabe Klein noted on NPR, =
"We
see a direct correlation between our investment in bike infrastructure and =
an
uptick in usage. When you make it hassle-free and inexpensive for people to=
 use a
certain mode, they will use it."

I'll say it again--because I want my online friends in commercial trucking =
and
the people who make their living behind the wheel, to know--we are not out =
to
make their jobs any harder than they already are.

I know they're paying a lot of taxes to use the roads, and I appreciate that
fact. But we're talking about making their jobs easier by taking vehicles o=
ff
those roadways and easing congestion so the trucking community and bus and =
taxi
drivers can deliver their goods and passengers more smoothly.

Look, in the 54 years since President Eisenhower launched the interstate sy=
stem
that connects America, we've committed almost all of our transportation res=
ources
to highways. Part of our commitment now should be to create alternatives to
congestion.

We know that making biking and walking safer creates more livable communiti=
es. It
makes Americans healthier at a time when the US military has indicated that=
 27%
of recruits are too overweight to qualify for service. It lowers greenhouse=
 gas
emissions. It reduces our dependence on foreign oil.

And it's what Americans have said they want.