Optimistic note: It doesn't have to take 40 years. One of the reasons it took so long in the Netherlands (ignoring the politics for a moment, which were not as

Optimistic note: It doesn't have to take 40 years. One of the reasons it took so long in the Netherlands (ignoring the politics for a moment, which were not as smooth sailing as many assume) is because the Dutch were, literally and figuratively, paving the way—they had no other country to copy. Protected bike lanes, protected intersections, protected roundabouts, bike superhighways, best-practice bike parking and curb design and bike lane texture and lighting...it was all more or less invented by the Dutch, which took time. But now that the Dutch have spent 40 years figuring out what works, other countries are free to copy all of it. (The Dutch have even translated their best-practice guide into English: https://crowplatform.com/ https://crowplatform.com/) Of course, construction takes time. But it doesn't have to take 40 years—you can accomplish a lot with political will and quick-build infrastructure (see: Paris [1]). I think most US cities (NYC, Boston, Portland) could start looking like the Netherlands in about 10-20 years as soon as they get serious about infrastructure. [1] https://twitter.com/BrentToderian/status/1472894991177371648 https://twitter.com/BrentToderian/status/1472894991177371648