ABSTRACT
In recent years, the small New England city where I live has been experiencing a surge in urban bicycling. Except during the deep freeze of winter when their numbers diminish, cyclists have become ubiquitous travelers on city streets long given over to the automobile, growing into (as one woman recently described to me) a “daily parade” on a number of the city’s main avenues and side streets. Although my city recently gained a national award for its efforts to increase the number of cyclists, the surge here is not especially unique. In dozens of major cities and suburbs throughout North America—among them high-profile cities like New York, Chicago, Montreal, and Washington, DC—bicycle riders are becoming increasingly common sights on urban roads and streets, thanks in large part to alternative transportation advocates and urban political leaders who have pursued (sometimes highly controversial) bicycle-friendly projects, such as bike-share programs, bike lane expansions, and incentive and education programs to get more people bicycling (Mapes 2009).
