One of the best moments of the piece is when he speculates, "Does he think 0.01 percent of Americans will ever regularly bike to work?" According to a 2007 article it's about .4 percent already.
He may want to take a look at the Pearl District. It's an upscale, urban neighborhood built around a streetcar. It nothing but warehouses and rail lines just 15 years ago, and not the type of neighborhood you'd want to be in unless you were looking for drugs or whores.
The Pearl District Now
As for his claims about how everyone needs a car, well, I don't. If I really do need one Enterprise will pick me up, or I can use ZipCar which has several sites near my neighborhood.
In some cities bicycle usage is much higher than the average (like San Francisco, New York or Portland). 6% of all trips in San Francisco are made by bicycle (http://www.cyclelicio.us/2009/05/san-francisco-state-of-cycling.html) and it has been going up steadily every year! Cars are expensive, and eat up a huge percentage of many people's household budgets. I hope George Will reads a bit more on the topic and has a change of heart.
ReplyDeleteI saw this today and thought of you: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28235890/
ReplyDeleteYet another reason to encourage people to get out of their cars- they'll lose weight!