Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

What’s So Scary About Bicycle Infrastructure?

10:21 AM EDT on March 29, 2010

4068337603_3c402f6acc.jpgBetter bicycle infrastructure is no threat to trucks. (Photo: Wayan Vota via Flickr)

Statements made by U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood in recent weeks -- including one regarding "the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of
non-motorized" -- have gotten a lot of favorable coverage from members of the Streetsblog Network. But they've caused apparent consternation and anxiety in other quarters, including the trucking industry. You can find a variety of arguments on the new DOT position at the National Journal's Transportation Expert Blog.

Today, network member Cyclelicious responds to some of the backlash to LaHood's words, pointing what should be obvious: being in favor of bicycles as transportation doesn't mean being against trucks. Here's part of what he says:

American Trucking Association President Bill Graves is correct in telling us, "These [livable] communities will not be livable without an efficient highway system and trucks to deliver the food, medicine, clothing and other necessities that make walking and bicycling possible."

Transportation policies that encourage more dense development means money that previously was spent to serve sprawling outlying communities can now be spent on fixing the highways we already have. Policies that encourage "alternative" transportation for commuters means more room on the highways for trucks to deliver their goods.

Bicycle Transportation Examiner Adam Voiland has more links to Republican anti-bike rhetoric.

More from around the network: Human Transit on the difference between light rail and streetcars. Sustainable Cities Collective asks whether we should "'can' the car or 'green' the car." And Copenhagenize itemizes the folly of bicycle licenses.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: Local Culture and Development

We chat with Tim Sprague from Phoenix about supporting local culture through development projects and the importance of sustainable development and transportation.

September 21, 2023

How and Why to Start a Walking School Bus

Any caregiver for a kid in institutionalized education is familiar with the challenge of getting them where they’re going safely, on time, every single day, well before your own day’s assignments come into play. Here's how a walking school bus could help.

September 21, 2023

Thursday’s Headlines Have a New Pattern

Working from home may have killed the commute, but people are taking more frequent, shorter trips instead. Whether this adds up to less or more driving overall depends on the city.

September 21, 2023

New Calif. Slow Streets Offer a Sampler Platter of Quick-Build Safety Strategies

The city has a sampler platter of quick-build temporary traffic calming installations to experience for the rest of the year.

September 20, 2023

Wednesday’s Headlines Go Carless

A Washington state advocacy group for the disabled is challenging everyone to give up driving for the week of Oct. 2 to find out how hard it is to get around in most parts of the U.S.

September 20, 2023
See all posts