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"Bicycling In An Automobile's World" Article

I had an article I authored entitled "Bicycling In An Automobile's World" published in Trial Magazine, the publication of the national trial lawyers' association. It is written for a legal audience, but I wanted to share it because it hits on issues that affect all bicyclists in Illinois. Namely, how decades of "automobiles first" federal transportation policies and funding have left many older roadways in a condition that may be ok for cars, but dangerous for bicycles. While we have many new bike lanes and paths over the past decade, there is still a long way to go.

Here is a direct link to a PDF of the article. The article is attached to this post as well. Please let me know if you have any feedback. Thanks and Ride Safe!

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Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 11, 2016 at 10:33pm

Nice article, Mike. Loads of fact and an overarching view of the problem shows to me that progress will be slow and ongoing; behavior is hard to change, but will work with steady pressure. Civil rights do not happened overnight.

Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on February 12, 2016 at 11:11am

I was interviewed by the AP on Tuesday and was asked if things will ever change. And I responded that I think they would....in time. Eventually all these people, especially the millenials, who not just accept but embrace bicycling as a regular part of life, will be the majority. And as time goes on the idea that bike were "not accepted" will seem as foreign as every car having a manual transmission. 

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on February 13, 2016 at 10:17am

That's a hopeful vision.

But the reality for millenials may be different.  Given that walkable/bikeable communities are becoming more popular (and expensive!), when they need affordable housing for their growing families, it's likely to be in sprawling exurbs where they will be forced into cars.  Even if the will exists to increase density so that walking/biking and public transit can be safe and practical, it will take a long, long time to make such a large change to our built environment.  Millenials may not live to see it.

But the sooner we get started, the better...

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 13, 2016 at 1:29pm

Something like 69% of young adults now have drivers licenses (not sure what the age was at which the measure was made - maybe early 20s?). In the 1970s that figure was 90%. If that trend holds, it is only a matter of time before the car loses its grip as the sole means of transportation which matters to policy makers and budget committee chairmen.

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on February 14, 2016 at 9:23am

I live in Chicago, and over the last two decades it's been easy to see that many more people (mostly young) are biking for transportation.  But I wonder if demographics might have more to do with the reduction in licensing rate than the desire of some younger people to live in walkable/bikeable places.

It costs money to get a driver's license.  Normally you have to pay for Driver's Ed. class; you need access to a car for practice and some money to buy gas.  Then if you want to actually drive, not just have a license, you've got to be insured, which is very expensive.

I don't know the answer to this question, but I would pose it:  Is the affordability of driving for the young adult demographic less now than in decades past, perhaps due to a higher poverty rate?  If so, that may be the main reason that fewer young people are (legally) driving.

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on February 14, 2016 at 10:10am

I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, just like making cigarettes more expensive.

But I'd read elsewhere that the rise of social media is having a similar effect. When people can connect in virtual reality, they have less need to do so face to face. 

Consider also the rise of Amazon and the decline of retail. Just google "retail sales decline". 

Cars and their upkeep are ridiculously expensive while we've developed more cost effective alternatives. 

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on February 12, 2016 at 8:59pm

Since the end of WW2 and to this day pretty much, our whole economy revolved in large part around the automotive and related sectors. Everything from suburban sprawl, to global warming, to the four big killers, coronary disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes can all be laid at that doorstep. After all, what's good for GM is good for America, right?

Permalink Reply by Mike Keating on February 13, 2016 at 7:33am

I think about this a lot. The highways were built, ironically, to decrease traffic congestion. Instead it just created more automobile traffic, more decentralization, more traffic deaths, more pollution......

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