Are bike lanes bad for the environment?
In general, I'm a major proponent of bike commuting: it's fun, it's cheap, and it's carbon-free -- isn't it? A San Francisco traffic activist thinks that bike lanes will actually hurt the city's air quality instead of help, and as much as it irks us, he may actually have a point. In the same way that London's congestion charge has resulted in more congestion, Rob Anderson believes that taking space away from cars to create bike lanes will only result in more idling cars in bumper to bumper traffic -- and fuel what he calls a "bicycle fantasy."
Since he persuaded a judge to halt SF's bike-friendly overhaul in 2006, he's been the object of scorn for all sorts of cycle advocacy groups. Despite the intuitive response that bike lanes are great, SF can't proceed with its bikeification until it has conducted a survey of the environmental impacts -- especially on congestion.
Not only do bikers feel they've been dealt an injustice because they're not the ones spewing carbon, but simple bike racks can't be put in place until after the survey is concluded. Bummer.
Anderson (who hasn't owned a car in 20yrs) contends that anti-car fanatics are willing to screw up traffic "on behalf of what he calls the "bicycle fantasy." In a way, he might be right -- but I still wouldn't want to be in his highly unpopular shoes right now. It's hard to be the guy who backs unpopular arguments. It also helps if you're not a jerk about it.
[via Treehugger]
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