[Mekkanox]

Regarding commuting via bicycle: it's not necessarily a problem with traffic, as more with weather. Also it's wrong to compare a single city, Amsterdam, with a bunch of American cities because of drastically different weather patterns in those cities.

Amsterdam has average temps (in F) from the mid 30's to the mid 60's[0]. That's prime bike weather. That's pretty much in line with San Francisco, which is a good city for biking. Even Manhattan and Brooklyn have reasonably overall pleasant weather for biking.

But compare SF to somewhere like Washington, DC, or Austin, TX. For 3-4 months of the year, DC feels like a swamp. Same with Austin. It's much more preferable to use public transit or drive than bike in that weather.

[0]http://www.holiday-weather.com/amsterdam/averages/

[mateo411]

While the weather may be comparable, San Francisco is a very hilly city. I imagine that Amsterdam is relatively flat. In spite of its problematic, yet aesthetically pleasing topology, there is a strong culture of biking in SF.

[CaptSpify]

Sure, the US climate is diverse, and it makes sense to use the appropriate transportation method for that climate. That doesn't negate the fact that "just keep using cars" is a bad idea.

[eli_gottlieb]

Look, if Bostonians can seriously commute by bike, basically anyone can.