BICYCLE PLANNING IN AUSTRALIA. CHAPTER 3. BICYCLE PLANNING IN THE UNITED STATES

This chapter provides a survey of the current state of cycling programs in the United States. It highlights the results of more than 10 years of effort by cycling advocates to provide better facilities for cycling, effective education and training programs for new cyclists, and to improve traffic laws and their enforcement. Ten years ago, the United States was in the midst of a tremendous surge in interest in cycling. Between 1972 and 1974 more than 40 million bicycles were sold in the United States. This interest in cycling appears now to have been the product of three converging factors: increased interest in fitness, a new interest in environmental concerns and energy conservation and the return of adults to the ranks of cyclists. During this period, the number of people cycling in the United States more than doubled. The heightened interest in cycling gave birth to a range of program initiatives that started cycling on the way to where it is today. The past 10 years have seen the development in the United States of a complex, comprehensive system of bicycle "support" activities. Taken together, these activities have created an infrastructure for cycling that readily supports the entry of new cyclists. For the record of the covering entry for the book, see TRIS no 452283. (TRRL)