This is exactly what GP meant by "blinders" — people (including children, the elderly, the disabled) should be free to engage in healthy, enjoyable, green recreational activities without fear of death by two ton tank.
why stop at bicycles? lets make cities safe for horses too, while we are at it. Thats what bicycles are closer too when it comes to planning for traffic.
There are some pretty big differences. Bikes don't poop, for one.
Horses are more stable a riding platform and much more visible. Point is that trying to retrofit bikes in a city is much more similar to making horses work in a city; both simply do not work particularly well in any form of mixed traffic.