Pedal-Happy Citizens

Bicycles outnumber automobiles 2 to 1 in the world, the Worldwatch Institute reports, and pollution-free pedal power would be even more important if governments planned as well as those of the Netherlands and of enlightened California cities such as Davis and Palo Alto.

Of course bicycles also contribute to the health of cyclists while reducing the demand on fuel.

Marcia D. Lowe, who did the research, has come up with all sorts of surprises. Some 8% of daily downtown trips in Manhattan are accomplished on bikes, a higher percentage than such places as Toronto, London or Sydney, but far behind the 77% record in Tianjin, China. The ratio of bicycles to cars is 250 to 1 in China, while the United States is one of the few nations with more cars than bikes: an estimated 137 million automobiles and only 103 million bicycles.

The report singles out the Netherlands as “the most bicycle friendly of all industrial countries,” demonstrated by the construction of direct and uninterrupted cycling routes so that up to half of urban trips are made on bicycles. Having land flat as a pancake doesn’t hurt. The report also notes the extraordinary success in Davis, which encourages the use of bicycles, which now account for 25% of total town trips: “Cycle trailers filled with groceries or children are not an unusual sight.” And it cites Palo Alto for building ordinances that “ensure that new developments provide secure bicycle parking and showers for employees.”

“Cyclists’ needs are seldom addressed in public policy, and only in China and a few Western European nations do traffic data count bicycles among forms of transport,” the Worldwatch report laments. “The U.S. Department of Commerce refers queries about bicycle sales to its division of toys and games.”