Originally Posted by
no motor?
I agree with you that separate pathways are the best answer and a long term solution, but another frequently overlooked option is to ask for increased enforcement of existing laws protecting our right to ride on the roadways. I've been a member of several city bike advocay groups and whenever I've brought up that idea I always get the "well that would be nice, but let's be practical" answer and then the conversation goes back to how there isn't enough money to pay for all of the proposed infrastructure projects.
That is largely ineffective though. Incidents of bicycle riders being killed or injured are overwhelming due to brief inattentive driving by otherwise fairly law abiding drivers — a quick look at a cell, something on the cars display, grabbing a bite of a sandwich, checking out the gal walking on the other side, a bee or other bug in the car, acknowledging something a passenger said, etc.
NO country has ever achieved ANY level of safety for bicycles sharing the road with cars. You are about 5 - 12 times as likely to be killed and 70 times as likely to be injured riding on the road in the US as riding in a car (per mile). OTOH in The Netherlands it is slightly safer to ride a bicycle. In Denmark it is about the same risk and in Sweden, Norway, and Finland the risk is only slightly higher. These lower risks due primarily to protected bikeways.
The Netherlands, Denmark, and others have found that the only way to make sharing somewhat safe is very narrow roads with frequent chicanes, 12-18 mph speed limits, and generally no passing. By narrow they've found curb to curb or curb to parked cars width of about 8' with parking side switched frequently to create the chicanes is best. They know that they can't depend on drivers paying attention or obeying laws so they force it by design.