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> My beef is that cyclists increase traffic congestion but don’t pay taxes to fund the infrastructure they’re using. Not sure where you are, but where I am my

> My beef is that cyclists increase traffic congestion but don’t pay taxes to fund the infrastructure they’re using. Not sure where you are, but where I am my property taxes go to road maintenance and gas taxes don't even come CLOSE to covering the cost of road/highway maintenance. If anything, drivers are hugely subsidized by the state.

MisterMower 4y ago
I’m sorry your municipality’s finances are poorly managed, but that’s not an argument for giving cyclists a free ride when it comes to paying for what they use. Both drivers and cyclists should pay for their usage. I don’t think my original comment implied they should be treated differently.
- comte7092 4y ago
  >I’m sorry your municipality’s finances are poorly managed I can almost guarantee that your municipality doesn’t collect enough gas taxes to cover road maintenance. Regardless, cars do significant more damage to roads than do bicycles and represent an infinitely larger proportion of usage. The cost of maintaining bicycle infrastructure is infinitesimal in comparison.
- avianlyric 4y ago
  How much do you think cyclists should pay? An actual concrete figure for your specific region, how much damage do cycles do to your local roads? Also has it occurred to you that most cyclists are also drivers?
  - MisterMower 4y ago
    Something more than they're paying now, which is zero. Figure the cost to build and maintain bike lanes, divide that cost by the number of bikes sold in a municipality. Assess a tax on each bicycle sale in that municipality equal to whatever that number comes out to. Or better yet, make cyclists go through the same process that vehicles go through to get tags. Any cyclist using a bike lane without a valid tag affixed to it should get a ticket, just like a driver would receive when driving an unregistered vehicle, or a vehicle found on the road containing dyed farm fuel. It's amazing I have to keep pointing this out: bike lanes and infrastructure are NOT free. It doesn't matter how little damage they do to the pavement: the pavement was built and maintained using funds paid for by drivers. They are usually created by expropriating infrastructure from drivers, or by using funds designed to support new infrastructure for vehicles. Cyclists who drive pay taxes on fuel and on their vehicle, so I'm not sure why it would matter if a cyclist is also a driver. By definition, if they're driving a car legally, they've paid to use the roads, unlike when they use their bicycle in the bike lane.

MisterMower 4y ago

I’m sorry your municipality’s finances are poorly managed, but that’s not an argument for giving cyclists a free ride when it comes to paying for what they use. Both drivers and cyclists should pay for their usage. I don’t think my original comment implied they should be treated differently.

comte7092 4y ago
>I’m sorry your municipality’s finances are poorly managed I can almost guarantee that your municipality doesn’t collect enough gas taxes to cover road maintenance. Regardless, cars do significant more damage to roads than do bicycles and represent an infinitely larger proportion of usage. The cost of maintaining bicycle infrastructure is infinitesimal in comparison.
avianlyric 4y ago
How much do you think cyclists should pay? An actual concrete figure for your specific region, how much damage do cycles do to your local roads? Also has it occurred to you that most cyclists are also drivers?
- MisterMower 4y ago
  Something more than they're paying now, which is zero. Figure the cost to build and maintain bike lanes, divide that cost by the number of bikes sold in a municipality. Assess a tax on each bicycle sale in that municipality equal to whatever that number comes out to. Or better yet, make cyclists go through the same process that vehicles go through to get tags. Any cyclist using a bike lane without a valid tag affixed to it should get a ticket, just like a driver would receive when driving an unregistered vehicle, or a vehicle found on the road containing dyed farm fuel. It's amazing I have to keep pointing this out: bike lanes and infrastructure are NOT free. It doesn't matter how little damage they do to the pavement: the pavement was built and maintained using funds paid for by drivers. They are usually created by expropriating infrastructure from drivers, or by using funds designed to support new infrastructure for vehicles. Cyclists who drive pay taxes on fuel and on their vehicle, so I'm not sure why it would matter if a cyclist is also a driver. By definition, if they're driving a car legally, they've paid to use the roads, unlike when they use their bicycle in the bike lane.