From the WTF files via PBS:
US Transportation Secretary Peters: “Well, there’s about probably some 10 percent to 20 percent of the current spending that is going to projects that really are not transportation, directly transportation-related. Some of that money is being spent on things, as I said earlier, like bike paths or trails.”
Yikes.
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Hum. This man is clearly out of touch with the thousands of people for whom bikes are a very valid form of transportation. No wonder biking in America is a terrifying experience.
Oh, Amy Ortiz, you should see what happens herein my homeland, Recife (Northeast Brazil). We have regulations, but no-one to enforce them. So, accidents involving bikes, buses and cars are veeery common. Each one (bikers, too) thinks he/she is the street’s owner and always invades the other transportations space. Despite citizen claims for better transport conditions, the authorities are dumb to us.
I want to support bikers, but in my country they sometimes come with the same stubborn attitude we criticize in several car drivers. And things aren’t going to improve soon…
@ Ivan – While I completely recognize that reckless bikers are a danger to themselves and others, their vehicle’s capacity for harm are far lesser. This plays out on both a macro and micro level. Bikes do not significantly contribute to global warming, while cars are one of the largest culprits. Further, a car in the hands of an impaired individual is a weapon. Bikes…not so much.
I think you get my point. An aggressive, distracted driver will most likely be an aggressive, distracted cyclist. Nonetheless, cycling is a necessary component of my vision of just, sustainable future and we can’t let a few bad seeds condone a business as usual attitude.