THE AMMO
Urbanists spend a lot of your money compiling presentations that help greenlight projects paid for by more of your money. As you can imagine, they clearly have a vested interest in coming to the conclusion that infrastructure work is required.
Obviously, their side wins every time they go unchallenged in the arcane & mundane bureaucratic meetings that most normal people avoid. Trust me: it is exceedingly rare for one of these projects to be permanently scuttled. More often than not, they just tweak the timeline (or plan) if they sense any sort of legitimate pushback.
But what if you were there to blast their shoddy research straight out of the water? In other words, what if you embarrass them so badly that they are basically forced to nix the whole project? Specifically, how many direct contradictions would it take before they admit they are wrong? One? Three? Five?
Just to be safe, I pulled together the top six comebacks for every progressive transit talking point I could see you encountering. Enjoy utilizing them to end any debate!
WHEN THEY SAY:
"More and more people are using bicycles as their primary mode of transportation."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"(Any number over one) percent of area residents ride bikes."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"If cyclists get this key piece of bike infrastructure, they will use it."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"Every bike lane is important in its own right. We can worry about connecting the network later."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"Car lovers pretend cyclists complain about everything. This is a lie."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"Car lovers also pretend cyclists will take advantage of anything. This is also a lie."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"Car lovers act like cyclists are somehow a menace to polite society. This, too, is a lie."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"My NIMBY neighbors who are against this bike lane make me unsafe. [PS: I don't actually live here.]"
WHEN THEY SAY:
"We want this 'green' infrastructure because we care about the environment."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"We care about protecting pedestrians, the disabled, etc. So, clearly, we need protected bike lanes."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"Mandating license plates for bikes is unnecessary & will cause fewer people to ride."
WHEN THEY SAY:
"Cyclists aren't the problem. Cars are the problem."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"We are making these changes to improve safety."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"This new style of design will make the street much safer."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"Vision Zero will help reduce traffic accidents & deaths."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"This is just a temporary pilot project."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"How dare you accuse us of saying one thing and doing another."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"That's ridiculous. No transportation agency employee or elected official hates cars."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"This unelected quasi-governmental regional entity knows what is best for the people that live here."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"Our city has entirely too much street parking as it is. Removing a few hundred spots won't matter."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"We support small business. If anything, this will increase foot traffic."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"We are not just going to build whatever we want regardless. We take public input very seriously."
WHEN GOV'T SAYS:
"Police are not under pressure to clear cyclists from fault."
WHEN MONEY SAYS:
"We've run a thorough cost-benefit analysis."
WHEN MONEY SAYS:
"We will increase funding to transit & multimodal programs because cars are inefficient & inequitable."
WHEN MONEY SAYS:
"This is about safety & sustainability, not profit. To suggest otherwise is highly irresponsible."
WHEN MONEY SAYS:
"We aren't squeezing every dime possible from drivers via fines & tolls. It's about reducing accidents."
WHEN MONEY SAYS:
"This idea has robust community support. Anyway, cost shouldn't matter when the planet is at stake."
WHEN MONEY SAYS:
"How dare you insinuate that we benefit financially if this infrastructure needs changing or removal."
WHEN MEDIA SAYS:
"As your most trusted news source, you can expect us to remain impartial."
WHEN MEDIA SAYS:
"To suggest our reporting squarely places the blame on drivers is preposterous."
WHEN MEDIA SAYS:
"They conducted a study and have the statistics to back up their claims."
