On the Right (Bike) Path

There are no accidents when it comes to bicycles.

Of course, I don't mean bicyclists are never hurt or killed. What I do mean is that creating a place where bicycles are a priority and a success is not magic. If people commit to making bicycling a viable and respected form of transportation, it will become one; if people want to make bicycles a contentious issue, it will become one.

This video of Portland, Oregon's, bike-to-school efforts illustrates the successful results produced when governments and individuals come together to create infrastructure and systems for bicycling:

In Portland Every Day is Walk & Bike to School Day! from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

The citizens of Portland have made a commitment to bicycles. Consequently, bicycling has flourished, and people's lives have been improved. Meanwhile, people elsewhere continue to fight bikes, and those efforts have created strife and endangered cyclists.

When it comes right down to it, the direction bicycling takes is more of a reflection on us as people than it is on bicycles themselves.