Cities are failing cyclists. Here’s what needs to change.
Amsterdam has gone to great lengths to establish its cycling infrastructure. ( Noralí Nayla/)Roads can take up as much as one-third of land mass in some metro areas. During COVID-19 quarantine, these giant swaths of cities laid empty and largely unused. Those who did venture out—many to either to work in essential services or to access them—faced tough decisions about their mode of transit. Some risked the enclosed spaces of public transit or shelled out for ride-shares. In increasing numbers, though, Americans have hopped on bikes and headed out into the streets, whether their city’s infrastructure was prepared or not.During the week of June 24, transportation monitoring service EcoCounter logged a 28-percent year-over-year increase in US bike ridership. Similarly, a May 2020 survey conducted by advocacy group People For Bikes of 11 major metro areas found that 55.8 percent of respondents were either changing their primary mode of transportation or...