Civic San Diego and city council are so wrong about cars and bikes

This article's facts just don't stand up. I'll start by saying that as LOW INCOME HISPANIC WOMAN, I walked & rode my bike to work because I couldn't afford to buy a car until I was 25 yrs old until I could afford to get a car. Here are some REAL statistics: #1: The more bike lanes that are built the more people do ride their bikes. New York and Washington D.C., bike commuting doubled from 2008 to 2013. US Census - NYC and DC, protected lane pioneers, just doubled biking rates in 4 years. The average protected bike lane sees bike counts increase 75% in its first year alone. #2: Bike lanes REDUCE the amount of accidents. One of many stats is "New York City's protected bike lane on 9th Avenue led to a 56% reduction in injuries to all street users, including a 57% reduction in injuries to people on bikes and a 29 % reduction in injuries to people walking & 84% reduction in sidewalk riding. " #3: It does NOT increase traffic. They shorten crossing distances, control turning conflicts & reduce traffic weaving, NYC's protected bike lanes reduced injury rates for people walking on their streets by 12 to 52 percent. #4: NOT true only young, white "Hipsters" ride bikes: "The median age of frequent riders were between ages of 46 and 64 in 2000." • Race: "People who indicated they are multiracial or a race outside of the choices given by the Census (Hispanic or Latino, White alone, Black or African American alone, Asian alone) had the highest bicycle commuting rate at .8%. Hispanic or Latino workers had the second highest rate at .7%." (From http://bikeleague.org/content/new-census-data-bik… May 2014). More Stats: From http://bikeleague.org/content/new-census-data-bik… May 2014): • Education level: People with graduate or professional degrees bicycle to work at a rate of .9%, followed by people who did not graduate high school at .7%. • Commute time: The average bicycle commute time is 19.3 minutes & most bicycle commutes were between 10 to 14 minutes long. • Regional differences: Rates of bicycling to work tended to be highest in large cities, this was particularly pronounced in the Midwest. In other regions there was not a large difference between rates in medium and large cities. • The number of people who commute to work by bicycle increased about 60% over the past decade according to new data from theU.S. Census Bureau. • During the years 2008-12, about 786,000 Americans commuted by bicycle, up from about 488,000 in 2000, the Census says. That jump is the largest percentage increase of all commuting modes tracked by the 2000 Census and the 2008-2012 American Community Survey. Even though there are less bikers than cars, we should still have lanes to help keep them safe & encourage healthier & environmentally friendly lifestyles. It's also as important for low income who use bikes because they can't afford a car. Cat Ortiz
— August 25, 2016 10:39 p.m.