Ironically, the faster that vehicle traffic moves the greater space is needed to provide a buffer front, back and to the side of each car. In Denmark one third of the adult population use bicycles regularly. I'd like to discuss a few of the facts related to this. Sidewalks add another 2 percent. Not many people demand that pedestrians pay the full costs of sidewalks.
Bicycle lanes benefit all users.
A 1995 FHWA study found that bicycle lanes reduce motor vehicle crashes by 49 percent. Another 1995 FHWA study determined drivers pay less than 20 percent of the total costs of driving, including costs for building and maintaining roads, costs for air pollution, congestion, accidents, loss of open space and other factors. We pay for some of the road costs through other means, including housing costs for roadways built as part of developments, property taxes, sales taxes, such as those used in Phoenix freeway system, and development impact fees. The indirect costs are paid through higher insurance premiums and hospitalization bills. Even more significant, the U.S. now has the highest obesity rates in the world and heart disease is the number one killer of Americans.