The most important thing…

The most important thing when deciding which measures to adopt to reduce gridlock is - will it work? - and not - is it the most popular? - and not - does the general public think it will work?

This can be researched. Beat practices from other places and modelling using actual data are a better way to figure this out.

Gridlock happens because the city is a destination. People are going there. They stop. They park. They buy coffee. They have dinner on a cafe TO patio. They don't zip through. If we could zip through it wouldn't be a city.

People biking reduces gridlock in many cities. Bikes are just smaller than cars. Roads don't get wider. Cars seem to get wider. Restricting left turns speeds up traffic, as does enforcement of no parking in rush hour, off street parking lots, more reliable transit, etc. Money spent on reducing gridlock that doesn't actually reduce gridlock is waste and inefficiency. One car parked illegally during rush hour clogs up a road for many blocks in a way a bike lane just can't. Don't waste money on feel good solutions that are fake. Deliver results. Many squeaky wheels predicted the death of bars once smoking was banned. Same same with this bike lane drama. Change is hard but in retrospect it will prove to be the right move. More people moving around with bikes on the road leaves more room for cars. Cities are destinations.