Something must be wrong. I find I agree with you about something. When did I start to go so wrong?
Bicyclists in Portland and other cities are advocating safety measures and they have gotten good support. Time pay up. $15 bucks per bicycle in the form of sales tax isn't theft. It is generally resisted because we Oregonians don't have sales taxes on most items.
If more people rode, overall cost of transportation will go down. This is a good investment if the changes make it safer to ride and more people start doing it.
I tried riding to work when I lived in Silicon Valley. It was only seven miles but so unsafe that I gave it up. Where I live now, bike paths everywhere and safe. I ride every day now.
Haha, what has the world come to that we agree on something?
Yeah, there's a lot of bike paths by me and I appreciate having them. I still ride on the roads too, but like you know and said, it can be dangerous. I'm in a rural area and these fools drink and drive out here, I see plenty of beer cans in the ditches, I get pretty nervous sometimes when I ride the roads. I have lights on my bike and stay on the shoulder of the road, but still some of the motorists don't respect cyclists and zip past pretty damn close.
The bike paths by me are nice and well maintained. There's markers every .5 miles to know how far you've rode, nice benches every couple miles to take a quick break if you want, trash cans every couple miles so people don't litter. The county keeps grass and bushes and trees trimmed back along the trail, it's just overall a nice safe place to ride.
It's not asking too much to pay a small tax to keep the bike trails nice. It's money well spent.
Plus, in the winters, there is some serious snow where I'm at (not far from lake Michigan=lake effect snow) and the bike trails get groomed for the cross country skiers, so these trails have a year round purpose.
http://trailsmichigan.com/Kent-Trails-52.php
