Stephen, you raise a good point. About 2% of all work commuters commute by bike. 48% commute alone by car and 12% carpool. (2004 Portland numbers) That means that 30 times as many people commute by car as by bike.
One of the problems with traffic engineering is that when a system nears its capacity, very small changes in volume can severely impact its efficiency. In other words, if 100,000 people in the city work, and 60,000 of them drive cars, adding 2,000 cyclists would seriously impact the system. Instead of having roughly 54,000 cars on the road in the morning, we'd have roughly 55,500. Now that doesn't sound like a big increase, does it?
Here's the kicker - that's about 1-2 extra cars in the road segment you're currently driving in at any given time. Still doesn't sound like a lot, until you consider stoplights. When a system nears capacity, small changes in volume cause large changes in efficiency. If you are lined up as the last car in line in the left turn lane at a signal, and you just make it through before the light turns red, how will that affect you if there are 1-2 more cars out on the road where you are? You might not make the light, and have to wait 2-5 minutes for the next light cycle. Now let's say this happens at 2 or 3 intersections. You've added 4-15 minutes to your commute.
Now, these numbers are approximations - they're not accurate. That's not the point, though - it's the principle that's important. The more people we get out of cars and walking, rollerblading, skateboarding or bicycling, the better off we are traffic-wise.
And for those who say "why spend all this money for a small minority?" - Everyone is a minority. How many of us use the parks? The library? We fund those. They're not, strictly speaking, necessary for the survival of the community. What they do is make the community LIVEABLE. It's not enough to provide the minimum of services for the majority of the citizens. This other stuff is important, and before you shoot down something because it doesn't benefit EVERYONE, take a look at your life and how many things you *do* use that others don't see as a benefit, but which they pay for.
re: Bicycle Expenditures with Some Context
Stephen, you raise a good point. About 2% of all work commuters commute by bike. 48% commute alone by car and 12% carpool. (2004 Portland numbers) That means that 30 times as many people commute by car as by bike.
One of the problems with traffic engineering is that when a system nears its capacity, very small changes in volume can severely impact its efficiency. In other words, if 100,000 people in the city work, and 60,000 of them drive cars, adding 2,000 cyclists would seriously impact the system. Instead of having roughly 54,000 cars on the road in the morning, we'd have roughly 55,500. Now that doesn't sound like a big increase, does it?
Here's the kicker - that's about 1-2 extra cars in the road segment you're currently driving in at any given time. Still doesn't sound like a lot, until you consider stoplights. When a system nears capacity, small changes in volume cause large changes in efficiency. If you are lined up as the last car in line in the left turn lane at a signal, and you just make it through before the light turns red, how will that affect you if there are 1-2 more cars out on the road where you are? You might not make the light, and have to wait 2-5 minutes for the next light cycle. Now let's say this happens at 2 or 3 intersections. You've added 4-15 minutes to your commute.
Now, these numbers are approximations - they're not accurate. That's not the point, though - it's the principle that's important. The more people we get out of cars and walking, rollerblading, skateboarding or bicycling, the better off we are traffic-wise.
And for those who say "why spend all this money for a small minority?" - Everyone is a minority. How many of us use the parks? The library? We fund those. They're not, strictly speaking, necessary for the survival of the community. What they do is make the community LIVEABLE. It's not enough to provide the minimum of services for the majority of the citizens. This other stuff is important, and before you shoot down something because it doesn't benefit EVERYONE, take a look at your life and how many things you *do* use that others don't see as a benefit, but which they pay for.