I appreciate Johanna Neumann’s excellent column on cycling (“Where bicycling is the new norm,” Nov. 21). I am an avid cyclist, and probably put more miles on my bicycle per year than I do on my 30-year-old car. I am self-employed and fortunate in not having to commute to my workplace.
I agree that the lack of bicycle infrastructure is a major impediment to the spread of cycling as an alternative to private cars. I believe, however, that an even more significant problem in the U.S. lies in the collective choices we have made — choices that are both explicit and implicit — to disperse ourselves across the landscape in large houses separated by acres of lawns and connected by labyrinths of serpentine streets.
Such inefficient use of resources works against the use of human-powered transportation as much as it inhibits the development of strong, mutually-supportive communities. This pattern of settlement is inherently unsustainable.
I believe that zoning laws need to discourage scatter-site development and to encourage greater housing and commercial density. Policies should be put in place to preserve open space and agricultural land while supporting the development of vibrant and affordable towns and cities where people can live, learn, work, shop and play, places where people can reach all of these activities on foot, by bike, or public transportation.
Alex Kent
Amherst