On taking up space as a cyclist
Channel: Car Dependency Index
Date: 2023-12-06

Bike infrastructure is car infrastructure. Just like sidewalks, just like pedestrian overpasses or underpasses—it all exists to get people out of the way of cars. In a less car-centric city, cyclists and pedestrians would not be barred from using huge swaths of space. We wouldn’t be navigating a complex obstacle course hopping between tiny islands of safety. 

Reclaiming that space as a cyclist is a powerful act of resistance that cyclists have been using for decades. That’s what Critical Mass is all about: we’re not blocking traffic, we are traffic. Get used to it. Normalize riding on the road and taking a lane. If it adds 5 seconds to someone’s driving trip and that makes them furious, so be it. If our city won’t make space for us, we’ll make space for ourselves. That’s community care. 

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