[nix0n]

> You’re better off building parallel infrastructure and taxing cyclists to pay for it via licensing.

I think it's worth talking about taxation here. Roads are generally in the top 3 costs for most municipalities along with police and firefighting.

Even when you add together tolls, gas tax, vehicle excise taxes, it doesn't cover the costs of road maintenance, and needs to be supplemented by sales tax, building property tax, etc.

If bike infrastructure reduces the number of cars, SUVs, and pickups that are on the road just to carry one person around, the reduction on road wear means it's a total cost savings.

(For what it's worth, I think the same argument applies also to buses.)

[coredog64]

My smallish town budgets less than $14M/year for streets and $300M/year for K-12 education. I would not be surprised to find that ratio generally repeated anywhere in the US.