> And then there is the stigma that if your riding a bike, it means you obviously have DUI and/or other issues.
How deep is this stigma in Florida? I guess that this stigma is regional. I definitely don't feel this stigma living in Western Europe.
How deep is this stigma in Florida? I guess that this stigma is regional. I definitely don't feel this stigma living in Western Europe.
In downtown Atlanta most of the bike riders are younger people and they're rarely dressed for riding. They are however aware of their rights and usually ride with a chip on their shoulder.
Counterpoint: many affluent suburbs are adding multiuse paths all over the place.
In the United States, the land usage policies actually encourage people to move out of towns and cities into the suburbs. This is known as urban sprawl or urbanization and it makes public transit less effective and more costly to implement and maintain. The taxes are much lower on vehicles and fuel, and acquiring a driver's license is trivial. Thus vehicle ownership is much more attainable and appealing.
Because of the high vehicle ownership in the United States, communities have developed with distinct residential, commercial, and industrial zones that are often many miles apart. There are residential zones that touch commercial and industrial zones however they're often low income zones that are usually in disrepair or high in crime making them unfavorable.
Because it's so easy to acquire a car and communities are planned around vehicle ownership, not having one raises questions and if you're not living in a low income zone, it's often assumed that your lack of a vehicle is due to a restriction such as a DUI offense.
The OP asked about the stigma of bike riding and I was providing some context to help him understand why the stigma exists. I wasn't trying to advocate for or against anything, just trying to explain the current state of affairs.
Apparently speaking the truth has become a punishable offense around here.