Incentivizing cycling is one…

Incentivizing cycling is one element of several that should be taken to reduce the existing gridlock in our cities by reducing the number of vehicles on them. A cyclist (or even 2 or 3) who would otherwise occupy a private vehicle requires far less space than that of a vehicle both while in transit and upon reaching their destination (i.e. parking space for a bike is tiny compared to that of a vehicle). The proposed legislation that prevents municipalities from installing bicycle lanes where doing so would reduce the number of lanes for automobiles is based on the claim that doing so will improve automotive traffic flow. What is the evidence to support this claim?

An article entitled "The Traffic Calming Effect of Delineated Bicycle Lanes" published in the Journal of Urban Mobility in June 2024 makes the following observation in the literature review section:
"The relationship between introducing a bike lane and motor-vehicle travel speeds has been a topic of conversation among cyclists and transportation planners, although there is a lack of empirical evidence on the topic."

The same article highlights the safety benefits of bicycle lanes as do many others, some of which are cited in the article.

Removing cycling lanes installed in the past 5 years is an even worse idea. By now, such routes will have become established for some cyclists and though many will stop using it when the cycling lane is removed, some will continue with bad outcomes resulting for cyclists and motorists alike. Poor cycling infrastructure leads to poor behaviour by both parties which will hamper traffic flow and may lead to increases in serious injury or death of cyclists. Furthermore, it requires spending money to reverse a change which has already been paid for!

This legislation is unsupported by evidence and it restricts municipalities and their citizens from making appropriate decisions locally.