I'm a fan of biking to work, but my inner skeptic is wondering about correlation vs. causation. You'd also have to compare the total automobile traffic levels

I'm a fan of biking to work, but my inner skeptic is wondering about correlation vs. causation. You'd also have to compare the total automobile traffic levels to get a clear picture. It's possible that drivers are avoiding the streets because they assume they're worse with the bike lanes in place. Edit: Oops, somehow I missed this part: "You might imagine that these bike lanes decreased congestion by cutting down on the number of cars on the road. But if that played a role, it was very slight: on Columbus Ave., the DOT counted cars, and saw only a very slight drop in overall volume during morning rush hour, when travel times declined by 35 percent. Instead, it seems that a pair of design decisions are responsible."