>>1770712Bike infrastructure in most of America perfectly represents neoliberal ideology in American politics. Adding small lines of paint or cheap quick "fixes" gives off the illusion of change while the problem never is really solved. You can't really "change" anything as a city mayor, but you can make these small fixes that don't really shake things up.
Small city mayors will put down painted lines on a stroad that goes downtown since it looks like progress if you squint hard enough and it will only slightly annoy the car commuters or the businesses worried about parking loss. It doesn't really matter that it's unpleasant to use or that only 6 people choose to use it. It looks like change without actually making an impact.
So yeah, these lanes aren't really for cyclists or even really about encouraging better bicycling culture. It's more a signal than anything.
