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Cities all over America are currently
expanding their budgets in order to improve city sidewalks. These
sidewalks provide a safe path for pedestrians and bikers alike. However,
even when we pay extra taxes to the government in order to provide a safer
environment for people by enlarging sidewalks, many still staunchly refuse
to take advantage of this new improvement. Bikers still roam in the middle
of the street, directly blocking cars and traffic. Such insolent acts not
only degrade the well-being of our societies, but also renders much of our
tax money useless.
Needless to say, it is only obvious
that sidewalks are for non-motored modes of transportation, whereas the
streets are for cars and other motored vehicles. This idea incorporates
safety and efficiency because traffic is much faster without bikers
blocking the pathways of cars, and drivers don’t have to worry about
potentially dangerous incidents. Many accidents can’t be avoided when
there are so many operational vehicles in the U.S, and thus, drivers
should not have to be burdened with nervousness about circumventing
accidents that can be avoided only if bikers started using sidewalks.
Indeed, many are cognizant of this
fact, including some bikers themselves. When questioned about why they
don’t use sidewalks, one biker said, “I don’t really know, everyone else
is doing it…” Such capricious actions based only upon impulse endanger
many people. Many opposing options have also stated that the sidewalks are
unsmooth and thus bicycles cannot achieve optimal speed. However, this
only fuels an expectation for a change in their views because it is
indecent to jeopardize human lives just to be able to achieve a higher
speed on a bicycle.
Sources:
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
U.S. Department of Transportation |
