The other Department of Transportation project that caught my attention was the widening of Highway 20 from Mount Vernon to Oak Harbor. This construction process lasted for months, encroached upon farmland and who knows how many roadside trees lost their lives during the process. Rock sides were blasted along Fidalgo Island and through Deception Pass. I grew up in that area so my heart broke a little every time I saw the natural world paved over in more asphalt. And when I lamented the situation, people told me that the road construction, though devastating, was crucial for safety reasons since every day more and more traffic came through. No one discussed sustainable transportation alternatives and everyone it seemed bowed down to the might automobile, except for me.
Then serendipity happened and I found the book An Introduction to Sustainable Transportation by Preston L. Schiller, Eric Brun and Jeffrey R. Kenworthy at my local library. I thought I would scan through the book, read a little here and a little there, only I ended up reading the thick book cover to cover with keen interest. Then later I attended a sustainable transportation lecture and forum at Western Washington University with Preston L. Schiller leading the discussion. I learned about the complete streets in Montreal, in Freiburg, Germany and Denmark. And much later I would learn about the bicycle and pedestrian-friendly mayor in Bolivia.
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Sustainable-Transportation-Planning-Implementation/dp/1844076652/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368568861&sr=1-1&keywords=An+Introduction+to+Sustainable+Transportation
More recently, I heard about the Bike Works Project in Mount Vernon (Washington State) who have plans for a bicycle bridge across the Skagit River starting in downtown Mount Vernon, Complete Streets campaign with Smart Growth America, http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete-streets and where I live, Bellingham, Washington, the city planning department has also implemented complete streets in certain areas of town and are meeting with bicyclists and advocates to implement their concerns and ideas into redevelopment plans of the city.
Picking up a copy of Momentum (a bicycle magazine out of Vancouver, Canada), at a Everybody Bikes event last Saturday, I can see that bicyclists and community leaders are busy taking back not only streets, but cities. While I'm not a bicyclists myself, I also don't drive a car. I can see, as anyone can see how dangerous car traffic is to a city, and when people live in their cars (meaning they do everything by car and no other mode of transportation), we choke the life out of a city. When people don't have safe places to walk, jog or ride bicycles, they are forced to drive or at least take public transportation. However, when we place less emphasis on cars and more emphasis on people, we foster real communities where people gather, share information, make new friends, or help one another. Suddenly, neighbors have faces, voices, and feelings and share things in common. http://www.momentummag.com
While it's true that bicycles have grown a little too trendy for my tastes with all the expensive clothing, fashionable helmets, and accessories, they represent a viable alternative to cars. And they're still not going to be doable for everyone. And yet, I enjoy seeing all the colorful bicyclists and bikes on the streets where I live, some carrying heavier loads, some for cruising the park trails and others used for getting to and from work. I like hearing the jingle of the bike bell while I'm walking on my favorite trails, so much nicer than a car horn blaring at me. And I like the term used by bicycle advocates, "human-powered" though walking certainly fits into this description too. And walking has advantages over bicycling such as you don't have to worry about someone stealing your bike, you don't have to worry about where to store your bike, catching a bus when the bike rack is already full with bikes, riding in downpours up hill or getting a flat tire. Plus my butt doesn't get sore from walking.
However, bikes have advantages over walking in that you can get places much faster, there are events to celebrate bikes in my city, and not events for celebrating walking to work or walking in general. Bikes are trendy and walking is nerdy (sort of) and hardly anyone makes trendy clothing and cool accessories for hoofing it around town. Yet, both walking and bicycling offer viable alternatives to getting around by car. I'm also encouraged that less college age adults are buying cars and that an increase in women cyclists has occurred over the past few years. I've seen bicyclists of both sexes, many races, and a range of ages and body sizes.
If you like bikes, I encourage you to read books on sustainable city planning and transportation and learn what's happening locally in your area to create user-friendly streets and promoting mobility that fosters healthier communities. There's more at stake than bike shops gaining new business. Consider air quality and quality of life in general.
Also look into bike share programs such as Bixi Bikes in Montreal and some US cities. Here's a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3mZlztEIzY