This is Christians Brygge, a central Copenhagen traffic thoroughfare. It varies between one and two lanes for motor vehicles in each direction, along with a physically separated bike lane. The photo was taken in the middle of a Thursday and not during peak rush hour, so there isn’t a lot of traffic. It’s also a cold winter’s day, so most Danes are staying indoors in their hyggesphere. But you get the picture: there’s plenty of road space to drive on if drive you must.
I once drove a car in Copenhagen, and was surprised by the lack of motor vehicle traffic and the speed at which I could move …until I had to turn onto a side street, at which point I had to wait for a break among a long line of cyclists. The reason for Copenhagen’s efficient traffic? An extensive and safe network of bike lanes. Yes, that’s right: bike lanes improve motor vehicle traffic, because the more bike lanes, the more people will ride instead of drive. That’s the case in Amsterdam too, where I once lived and biked everywhere except on the very rare occasions when I rented a car. Extensive and safe bike lanes ultimately free up driving space on streets. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Why, then, are mayors like Barcelona’s pseudo-socialist Jaume Collboni, or the late “crack-smoking mayor of Toronto” Rob Ford so vehemently opposed to bike lanes? Ford, who once famously accused cyclists of being “communists” (WTF?), went as far as ripping out recently installed bike lanes in his drive to crush cyclists. He was obviously not employing common sense in doing so, but motivated by a deep-seated ideological hatred. So much for the commonly-held misbelief that it is the right that uses common sense while the left is ideological.
If common sense and even research tells us that extensive and safe bike lanes are good for reducing motor traffic, then why are some politicians still opposed to them? After all, the only losers when it comes to bike lanes are the fossil fuel pushers and the automotive industry; corporate welfare bums who knowingly cause air pollution, climate change, and species extinction on top of receiving handsome public subsidies. The only remaining reason why certain politicians might oppose bike lanes, then, is because they are lobbyists for the only economic sector that stands to lose. Now, why would anyone in their right mind lobby on behalf of losers? Must be because the pay is very, very high.
How ressuring to know where a lot of our tax dollars ultimately go. They’re much better spent on bike lanes.
Criticalista 