California is facing an acute housing crisis.  We know that new housing next to transit can help meet the need for housing while reducing the need for driving, but it faces opposition from long term residents concerned about traffic and changing neighborhood character.  Complicating the situation, without proper planning new development along transit will displace low income transit riders and bicyclists and actually increase car use.  How do we balance all of these conflicting pressures in bicycle advocacy, and what should we do?

In this session, we look at the political and technical tools behind two additional strategies cities have used to build whole bikeway networks quickly. First, we look at  New Orleans, Louisiana and Fremont, California, where leaders have decided to consider the bikeway network itself as the (single) bike project instead of the eventual result of scores of separate projects. Then, we look at San Francisco’s landmark “Quick Build” policy that has resulted in protected bike lanes being constructed within weeks of the decision to do it.

Jim Dyer, Flickr