Bike Infrastructure and Why it's Important

May 10th, 2026

Cars are an incredible feat of engineering to me, and I love the culture around them. However, I believe cars are a large part of the issue with transport infrastructure and should not be the primary form of commuting for the majority of people.

Imagine the following - A morning and evening 30 minute bike ride to and from work or school. Hitting the local pub on a Friday evening after a long week. A mountain bike ride during your lunch break most days because you rode to work on it. Some folks are already able to do this, and I envy them because they live a life many of us should strive for. Bikes are relatively simple machines that are readily available to most folks and are often affordable used and sometimes new. And with advancing technology, electric bikes are becoming more common place allowing us as riders to go further and to more places.

Cars now are complex. We often cannot fix them ourselves, or do not have the time to do so. They are expensive, large and generally unnecessary for our needs. In more metropolitan areas, most folks have a commute around 20 miles one way which is no short distance but may often spend 45 minutes to an hour in the car - sitting in traffic or stoplights staring at tail lights. A commute by bike will be longer of course, but imagine fresh air, conversation with fellow commuters and less time sitting in traffic.

Of course bikes cannot replace cars - they have a place in society now that we cannot eliminate. Folks will still need to haul materials to and from job sites and trek to visit family. I am not suggesting everyone sell their cars and have bikes only. Realistically, our family would not be able to do anything like that in the near future. Rather, I pose the question - how nice would it be to have an enthusiast vehicle as you're primary vehicle or even your only vehicle? Avoiding having to pay exorbitant prices for repairs, fuel or insurance.

Public transportation would be an excellent alternative as well, but many of us enjoy the freedom of piloting ourselves to our destinations. Another option we should have of course, but one led more by legislation and less by individuals. Likewise, not everyone would be able to use public transport or bike paths as their form of transportation and that's alright. If the majority of folks would choose an alternative, it allows current infrastructure to handle traffic more reasonably and enable everyone more time away from commuting.

I intend one day to live in a place where we can rely on having one vehicle without the stress of how to share it, perhaps sooner that later. There are bike paths around us that should be expanded on, but it's also an element of safety. Bike "lanes" in the DMV are little more than lines painted on the road, with no sense of protection from multiple thousand pound vehicles directly next to you that may or may not be able to see you. Protected bike lanes are realistically not very expensive or difficult to implement but the demand is simply not currently here for them.

I think of this societal question often, and wish to experience it's answer one day: What if bikes had become more popular than cars?